Browne Jacobson appointed to Serco Group plc legal services panel

Browne Jacobson will provide Serco Group plc (Serco) with a full suite of legal services to its UK and European business after being appointed to its legal panel.

The UK and Ireland law firm was selected after demonstrating impressive private and public sector credentials, and a clear understanding of the “O Shaped” principles in providing a more holistic approach to client relations.

The panel covers a wide range of legal services including corporate work, data protection, litigation, property, procurement, employment and HR, contract management, health and safety regulation, and tax.

Serco is a leading provider of services to government in the UK and Europe, and also operates in Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East. It delivers services across a range of sectors spanning justice, migration, defence, space, customer services, healthcare and mobility.

Craig Elder, who is the Partner leading the relationship with Serco, said: “This is a highly significant contract award for Browne Jacobson and testament to our firm’s ability to support industry-leading clients across the public and private sectors.

“As a major supplier to government which works at the forefront of society’s biggest issues in areas such as prisons, border control and healthcare, Serco is exactly the type of exciting client we want to work with.

“Our knowledge and application of O Shaped principles as a firm, alongside our work for local and central government clients, and for corporates, was also a key factor in our appointment. Given we have common clients, this offers great potential for synergies and demonstrates confidence in our knowledge, expertise and ability to support Serco on a wide range of work.”

Gavin Cummings, Corporate Partner, said: "Our appointment to Serco's panel is also testament to our growing reputation servicing large corporates. Our unique position of advising both public and private sectors gives us a vantage point that provides valuable insight into both worlds, particularly in understanding how businesses and government interact.

"In our corporate work, we bring together deep expertise in complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions. Our presence in Ireland continues to strengthen our ability to advise across borders. What truly sets us apart, however, is our approach. We’re not just legal advisers but strategic partners.

"As an O Shaped firm guided by O Shaped principles, which Serco particularly values, we focus on building genuine partnerships. Through initiatives like our Ascensus Leadership Programme for In-house Counsel and our emphasis on understanding the complete business context, we're increasingly being selected by leading corporates as their trusted advisers. 

“The significant growth in our private sector practice reflects this approach, especially in complex, multi-faceted transactions where technical excellence is combined with commercial understanding."

In an innovative move, the tender process used the O Shaped mindset and attributes as the framework for the panel selection. Serco invited law firms and legal service providers to collaborative workshops where, using the O Shaped approach, they explored how they would build strong relationships with each other and work together on the panel to help Serco make a real impact. 

Anja Beriro, Partner who plays a leading role in embedding Browne Jacobson’s O Shaped approach, said: “To see a household name like Serco also putting O Shaped into practice as part of such an important procurement exercise was a refreshing and novel approach. This further illustrates the intrinsic link between Browne Jacobson’s and Serco’s values, and we’re excited to develop our relationship over the coming years.”

Heather Key, Chief Legal Counsel for Serco’s UK and Europe business, added: “For the past few months, Serco’s legal team has been working with the support of O Shaped to refresh our legal panel. Each of the firms invited to participate in the process demonstrated excellent O Shaped credentials and we enjoyed working with them to build a new approach to tendering for legal services. 

“We look forward to working with our refreshed panel as strategic partners to our UK and Europe business, and further developing O Shaped relationships as enablers for success.”

Serco’s legal panel, which runs for an initial three-year term, features four firms – Browne Jacobson, CMS, DWF and Radiant Law.