After 20 years of representing North Sydney Council in legal matters, Mallesons Stephens Jaques has declined to tender for the council’s new legal panel.

Head of property, construction and environment and partner at Mallesons, Peter Pether, said the firm and the council had parted on good terms. “We made the decision not to tender for the council's work this year based on our own business requirements,” said Pether.

Mallesons has assisted the council with litigation and advice for planning, environmental law and local government law matters since 1988. According to Mallesons, none of the ten largest Sydney firms submitted applications to be on the legal panel, which has since been awarded to HWL Ebsworth and Sparke Helmore.

The council’s general manager Penny Hollway told The Mosman Daily that the big firms may have been put off by the council’s low spending on legal works. She said, as of November 15, the council had spent A$71,568 on legal fees from a budgeted amount of A$650,000.