The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), has appointed a new legal panel on a four year contract from 1 April 2010.

The 15-strong panel, which is further divided into a national and three regional panels, consists of:
National: Berwin Leighton Paisner, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons,Trowers & Hamlin
South: Ashfords, Bond Pearce, DLA Piper, Denton Wilde Sapte, Hammonds
Central: Browne Jacobson, Denton Wilde Sapte, Hewitsons
North: Forshaws Davies Ridgway, Pannone, Walker Morris

The firms replace the 21 legal firms inherited from predecessor bodies, English Partnerships and The Housing Corporation, which joined to become the HCA in December 2008.

Head of HCA legal services, Judith Roberts said: “We believe this streamlined panel will allow us to operate more effectively and achieve efficiencies on costs. As a new agency we are facing new challenges and initiatives that have inevitably involved our acquiring additional skills and expertise, which is why the make up of our panel is different from its predecessor. While we have divided the panel into national and regional teams, we expect the firms to work together on a collaborative basis, sharing knowledge between themselves and with our in-house legal team.”

The new panel will begin operating from 1 April 2010. The national panel will generally focus on the provision of advice and services relating to corporate and major programme matters, together with projects of national significance and regional firms will provide a local focus. However, skills and expertise will be drawn on from across the panel to ensure the right fit for specific jobs.