Clayton Utz has the most to lose from a review into the procurement of Commonwealth legal services: it has been revealed that the firm received A$30.7m from various Commonwealth agencies in 2008-2009. Clayton Utz’s revenues from federal government work were A$11m more than those of second-placed firm DLA Phillips Fox, which received A$19.6m.

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department said that the Australian Government Solicitor billed almost A$90m for legal services and is listed as a separate entity along with private law firms.

Along with Clayton Utz and DLA Phillips Fox, Blake Dawson (A$17.5m), Minter Ellison (A$12.6m) and Sparke Helmore (A$10.1m) all received more than A$10m from government agencies. Corrs Chambers Westgarth (A$9.3m), Mallesons Stephen Jaques (A$5m), Deacons (A$4.3m), and Freehills (A$4m) rounded out the top 10 recipients of Commonwealth legal spend.

The report found A$304m in total was spent by federal government agencies on external legal services last year – down slightly from a record high of A$311 the year before. Commissioned in March, the review examined existing arrangements for the procurement of legal services and advised on how the Commonwealth can lower its legal spend.

“The report finds that the current system of agencies individually tendering for legal services is very costly both to the Commonwealth and to external service providers,” said Attorney-General Robert McClelland.

As a consequence of its focus on minimising legal spend, the federal government has pledged, among other things, to increase competition by enabling a broader range of firms to act on behalf of the Commonwealth. It will also implement common tender arrangements for agencies seeking to purchase legal services and encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution in place of courts.

Related stories:

Federal government to copy private sector in legal procurement