Tendering & procurement

Probity expertise with a commercial sensibility

The spending of public money, the divestment of assets, and the awarding of government contracts are areas that are subject to substantial regulation.

Given the opportunities for corruption in the procurement process this is both necessary and understandable, yet for local government officers, drafting, managing or assessing tenders or expressions of interest, the process can be fraught with complexity and difficulties.

In addition to access to lawyers who understand the probity aspects of tendering and procurement, procurement officers need lawyers who can assist in ensuring that they achieve commercial terms which are favourable to Council and truly protect the interest of the organisations involved. This becomes particularly important when dealing with the legal representatives of national and international corporations.

With an unparalleled background working in and for local governments, along with top tier legal practice experience working with the private sector, LTL’s senior lawyers have the rare mix of probity expertise with strong commercial acumen.

Whether it is advising on the legal or probity aspects of a tender, drafting the Heads of Agreement, negotiating commercial terms or dealing with the complaints of unsuccessful tenderers, LTL regularly assists our local government clients in ensuring they are running transparent and fair procurement processes, and are able to achieve true value for money through their tendering process.

Where we can assist

LTL provides specialised legal services to our clients in relation to tendering and procurement issues. We offer specialist legal services in the following areas:

  • advising on tender or expression of interest processes, and drafting of suites of tender documents
  • advising on the assessment of individual tenders including non-conforming tender submissions and negotiation with tenderers
  • acting as probity advisors for major tender processes
  • advising on, drafting and negotiating contracts, deeds, Heads of Agreement, memoranda of understanding, and the like
  • advice in relation to breaches of contracts and the enforceability of agreements and the like, including recourse to litigation and remedies
  • advising on all aspects of intellectual property, trademark and copyright, including transfer or retention of intellectual property, and claims of infringement
  • trade practices, fair trading and competition issues affecting procurement functions and client businesses
  • preparation of template contract documents for use by clients

With particular respect to our local government clients, we assist with:

  • Council’s obligations under the Office of Local Government’s Tendering Guidelines for NSW Local Government
  • advice in relation to the execution of contracts, agreements and deeds by the council