Press Articles & Comment

kemp little advises eds on mod contract win

Legal Business, May 2005

Denton Wilde Sapte's new TMT head, Catherine Bingham, has advised the Ministry of Defence on its epic £4bn outsourcing, which closed on 21 March. The firm billed £2.2m on the Defence Information Infrastructure Project, a key component of the UK's military strategy.

'We've been heavily involved for the past three years, drafting the terms and conditions and negotiating with the various suppliers,' she said. 'Its been interesting dealing with the in-house teams at EDS, CSC etc. We've been the only firm fronting negotiations.'

Lawyers at primary contractor EDS, Emma Courtney and David MacKeith, negotiated the MoD contract. Nevertheless, the deal marked a coming of age for technology boutique Kemp Little. Partner David Meredith and associate Jim Leason advised EDS on the four consortium partner contracts, with a value of around £2.3bn.

The Atlas Consortium is made up of: EDS as the lead contractor; Fujitsu as the tier-one partner; and key subcontractors General Dynamics, EADS Defence and Security Systems and LogicaCMG. Barlow Lyde & Gilbert advised Fujitsu. The sub-contractors were advised in-house.

'This high-value, high-complexity technology project had a relatively low legal gearing,' Meredith said. 'To have fielded two of the four lawyers within the EDS legal team placed us on the front line at all times, enabling us to provide seamless support from within the client team. We are also very pleased that EDS have asked us to continue to support Atlas.'

'Kemp Little provided the high standard of service we have become accustomed to,' EDS UK legal direct Matt Bennett said.

Legal Business, May 2005, Page 24