City council and procurement group to set up 27-lot flexible purchasing system for legal services worth up to £1bn
Bristol City Council and procurement solutions provider Constellia are to establish a flexible purchasing system for legal services – dubbed "Agora Legal" – that will be made available for use by all UK public sector bodies.
The system, which has been given an estimated value of £1bn, will consist of some 27 lots which will be further divided by region.
The lots are:
- Cross Category
- Business and Corporate Services
- Health and Social Care
- Adult Care and/or Court of Protection
- Education
- Local Authority Education
- Planning and Environmental
- Employment and Pensions
- Regulatory and Compliance
- Local Authority Licensing
- Local Authority Prosecutions
- Commercial
- Public Procurement
- Commercial Litigation
- Construction, regeneration and infrastructure projects
- Property and real estate
- Housing Disrepair
- Local Authority Housing
- Property Litigation
- Private rented sector housing regulation
- Public Sector and government
- Technology
- Immigration
- Judicial Review
- Anti social behaviour actions and powers
- Intellectual Property Law
- Tax
All suppliers meeting the selection criteria will be admitted to the system. It will also be open to new entrants at any point during its lifetime, which is expected to be 72 months.
The time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 20 March 2025 (12:00 pm).
Constellia said Agora Legal would enable public sector buyer access to a diverse pool of pre-qualified legal experts, including micro-SMEs, SMEs, and large corporations, and including local, regional, and national specialists.
It claimed that procurement cycles would be faster, “with direct awards completed in as little as five working days and mini-competitions in 10, ensuring timely legal support”.
Rob Levene, CEO of Constellia, said: “Agora Legal marks a significant step-change in how the public sector can procure legal services quickly and compliantly, completing Constellia’s professional services offering with this new solution.
“Developed in partnership with Bristol City Council, Agora Legal embraces innovation to help clients and suppliers work together successfully while streamlining access to expertise—making legal services procurement faster, fairer, and more cost-effective.”
In ancient Greece the ‘agora’ was an open space where a market was held.