Administrative Law, Agency Litigation & Public Procurement

Our administrative and public law team has specialist skills in protecting and advancing our clients’ interests in navigating the rising tide of public sector law and governance issues, whether contentious or non-contentious, arising across the commercial and regulated industries.

From representing clients facing major regulatory crises, to engaging in litigation against the government, to helping clients resolve complex statutory or regulatory problems, our lawyers have the requisite strength, substance, and credibility to provide clients with a complete approach to dealing with government-related issues.

Administrative Law & Litigation

Our Administrative Law & Litigation Practice has an exceptional capacity to represent clients seeking to challenge or defend government regulation or to bring about appropriate regulatory action. We regularly represent clients in enforcement actions before administrative courts and commissions. We have also extensive experience challenging – and defending – regulations and other agency actions in court.

We provide our clients with full support in hearings before the Council of State, the Court of Auditors and ordinary administrative courts. This support involves the drafting of statements of claim and the representation of the client in hearings relating to issues of public and administrative law.

In addition, our team has a wide range of experience litigating against agencies. This broad experience with government litigation matters includes regular appearances in administrative courts and before administrative/regulatory agencies. Furthermore, our lawyers handle a variety of other agency-related matters on a daily basis, seeking variances, exemptions, approvals, and opinions in connection with existing regulations. In these and countless other regulatory matters, our familiarity with administrative/regulatory agencies – and our expertise in specific industry sectors – are often decisive.

From disputes over statutory or regulatory language, through challenges to statutes, regulations and government actions on constitutional, statutory, or administrative grounds, to the defense of contentious government enforcement actions, our understanding of government processes and our highly ranked litigation team enable us to develop inventive and effective strategies for our clients.

Public Procurement and Competitive Tendering

We have a particular expertise to provide advice on issues ranging from procurement structuring of transactions to establishing procurement compliance programmes. We advise on contentious proceedings before courts and regulatory authorities.

Public procurement or competitive tendering rules often apply when contracting with public authorities and utilities operators. Private companies themselves may also award contracts through a tender process. Non-compliance with these rules can have very serious commercial consequences.

Advising both purchasing bodies and bidders on complex procurement processes and procurement law challenges and disputes, we provide integrated advice on procurement law, commercial negotiations, contract drafting and dispute resolution. Clients turn to us for the value we can add to their involvement in the procurement process, whether through advice on procurement strategy, structuring bids, helping to resolve disputes or just an instinct for what to do next.

We provide expertise in all areas of law affecting procurement transactions at any stage of the lifecycle including: planning and advertising; negotiation; short-listing; contract award (including making and defending legal challenges); contract management (including dispute resolution and avoidance).

Our team has the experience to address public procurement issues from the perspective of all those involved in the procurement process. We advise on:

• how to anticipate potential issues and prepare suitable strategies for dealing with the rules;
• preparing a clear, structured approach from the initial commercial assessment to the final award and performance of the contract;
• procurement disputes;
• guidance for contracting authorities and utilities operators whose tendering processes have come under attack;
• disappointed tenderers seeking to challenge the award of a public contract.

Recently, we have been helping:

• bidders on participating in the award procedures for public works, supplies and services contracts
• contracting authorities on preparing and implementing public tenders and implementing detailed procurement structures
• contracting authorities and bidders in court proceedings relating to public tenders and in other contentious proceedings concerning alleged breaches of public procurement law

Government Contracts

Contracts between public entities and the private sector represent a significant part of the economy. We act for public authorities and private companies and offer advice on all types of public contracts, ranging from public procurement (public works, services, supplies) to large transactions and public-private partnerships (PPP) (hospitals, roads, renewable energies, etc).

Our practice is also known for its litigation capabilities in this area. We advise on all types of disputes, whether occurring before the contract enters into force (challenge of tender procedures) or relating to the performance of the contract. We work closely with our clients to develop the most effective strategy taking into account our client’s objectives and budgetary constraints.

Compliance Counseling

Our lawyers are skilled in designing, implementing and supporting government contracts compliance programs, as well as providing compliance counseling on discrete issues. Whether the matter involves designing a compliance program from scratch or providing advice on existing compliance risks, we focus on giving tailored and practical counsel that can be immediately translated into action. Our lawyers also ensure that our compliance solutions are enterprise-wide and include consideration of obligations imposed on our clients through compliance regimes that are not specific to government contracting.

Based on the above, our Administrative Law, Agency Litigation & Public Procurement Practice offers legal/strategic advice and responds to clients’ needs in a broad range of issues, including:

• Training and Compliance Programs / Compliance Counseling
• Government / Administrative contracts
• Public Procurement & Competitive Tendering
• Litigation, bid protests and dispute resolution
• Representation of clients before relevant Regulatory Authorities and Agencies
• Representation of clients in appellate court cases involving Agencies’ orders
• Agencies’ enforcement proceedings
• Administrative and court litigation / Public law litigation
• Investigations undertaken by Agencies and Regulatory Authorities
• Enforcement investigation and litigation
• Defense of regulatory enforcement proceedings
• Corporate transactions involving government contractors
• Permits and authorisations
• Public and mixed entities/structures
• Public-private partnerships (PPP)
• Protection of intellectual property in government contracting
• Environmental transactions and litigation