Some in-house counsel would give their eye teeth to be in a monopoly position when purchasing legal services. Not only could they remorselessly drive down fees, they could also use their power in other ways. They might require a panel firm to open a new office, or transfer a team to another firm, or even merge – if it would help them get their services to order. In the private sector such monopolies are forbidden for the good reason that they restrict competition and encourage corruption. But they do exist in the public sector. One example of a purchaser of legal services that enjoys a highly potent monopoly is the National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHSLA).
Last week, Legal Week reported that Manchester firm George Davies Solicitors had transferred its clinical negligence team to its larger Liverpool-based rival Hill Dickinson, the pair having initially held unsuccessful merger talks. In its subsequent press release, George Davies acknowledged that it felt it was under pressure from the NHSLA to join forces with another NHSLA firm in the region. In the event the Manchester firm opted to go it alone by shedding its clinical negligence team and focusing on the other parts of its business that it had deliberately been building up for fear the NHSLA may one day pull the plug.
