Ministry of Defence cuts legal spend to top billing advisers as magic circle firms see fees fall

Legal fees for the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) biggest billers fell by more than 80% last year, as the government department cut back on spending to top UK law firms.

Law Firms Mentioned

<a href="http://www.almcms.com/contrib

Dentons
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Linklaters
Slaughter May
Squire Patton Boggs

/uploads/sites/378/2017/09/13-002-001-Article-201710061546.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-67983" src="http://www.almcms.com/contrib

Dentons
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Linklaters
Slaughter May
Squire Patton Boggs

/uploads/sites/378/2017/09/13-002-001-Article-201710061546.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="372" /></a> Linklaters, Simmons & Simmons and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have emerged as the top-billing��legal advisers to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the past three years. Figures��released by the MoD��in response to a Freedom of Information Act��request show the pair have billed the MoD ��20.5m between them over the last three years, more than the eight other firms appointed to its major projects panel Linklaters has billed the MoD more than ��12.2m over the last��three years - almost 50% more than the next highest biller,��Simmons & Simmons, which has been paid ��8.3m��over the same period. Linklaters billed the MoD ��4m in 2013-14, ��5.1m in 2014-15 and ��3.1m in 2015-16. The magic circle firm��has advised the MoD on numerous projects in recent years, including advising on aspects of the��production of<strong>��</strong>the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. The warships will be the biggest ever built for the Royal Navy. Simmons has also handled a number of high-profile mandates for the ministry in recent years, including��the financing for a��training package that involved the delivery of a range of helicopters, infrastructure and ground based training equipment. HSF��is the third-highest biller over the past three years at ��6.6m,��followed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer��on ��4.2m and Dentons with ��2.4m. Three years ago, the MoD appointed <a href="http://www.legalweek.com/sites/legalweek/2014/12/22/freshfields-linklaters-and-eight-other-firms-win-spots-on-mod-projects-panel/">10 firms to��its major projects panel</a>, with Linklaters, Simmons, HSF, Freshfields and Dentons among those winning places. Between them, Linklaters and Simmons have billed more - ��20.5m��- than all other firms on the panel combined (��16.4m). Of the other five firms on the panel, only Mills & Reeve��has billed more than ��1m over the past three years��- ��1.5m. Gowling WLG and��Burges Salmon��have billed around ��700,000 and ��400,000 respectively, while Addleshaw��Goddard and Shepherd and Wedderburn��have both billed less than ��50,000. Despite not being a panel firm, Slaughter and May has been paid more by the MoD��than the majority of the panel firms over the past��three years, billing ��3.2m. Work Slaughters has handled for the MoD in recent years has included advising on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mod-sells-the-government-pipeline-and-storage-system-for-82-million">the ��82m sale of the Government Pipelines and Storage System to Spain's Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos��in 2015</a>. Other non-panel firms to have billed more than ��1m over the past three years include BLM (��1.9m), Squire Patton Boggs (��2.2m) and Scots firm��Morton Fraser (��1.6m). Personal injury and medical negligence firm Leigh Day has billed the MoD almost ��4m over the three years, including ��3.4m��during 2013-14. Public Interest Lawyers has billed the MoD ��2.3m, with the bulk also coming in 2013-14. Earlier this year, the��the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) cleared Leigh Day of��acting improperly or dishonestly in legal claims against the MoD relating to the actions of British troops in Iraq. However, Public Interest Lawyers founder Phil Shiner was struck off after the SDT upheld 12 charges of misconduct relating to claims against British troops. <

Dentons
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Linklaters
Slaughter May
Squire Patton Boggs

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Ministry of Defence cuts legal spend to top billing advisers as magic circle firms see fees fall

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