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I am a partner in our Litigation team and a partner in the litigation department. I have particular expertise in the resolution of public procurement challenges, advising both suppliers and contracting authorities across a wide range of sectors. I have acted on some of the most complex and high profile public procurement challenges in the High Court, and lead a team of specialist public procurement litigators who act for clients at all stage of the disputes process. I also have wide experience of other public and commercial law challenges.
I deliver training on the procurement litigation module for the LLM in Public Procurement at the University of Nottingham, and am Band 1 ranked in Chambers and by Who’s Who Legal Government Contracts as a Thought Leader. I am currently extensively engaged in delivering training to clients on the implications of the Procurement Bill/Act.
I am a CEDR Accredited Mediator and am also a Registered Mediator with the Civil Mediation Council.
A copy of the CMC complaints policy is available here.
Mediation experience
Emily has extensive mediation experience as a party representative, and has participated in numerous mediations over the course of her career in a wide variety of sectors:
- A dispute between Transport for London and a construction consortium over the public procurement process in relation to the Silvertown tunnel under the River Thames.
- A dispute between a pathology provider and a hospital Trust in relation to
- A dispute between a hospital Trust and an IT services provider
- A dispute between a local authority and a waste services provider
- A dispute between a local authority and a schools management information services provider
- Various policy disputes involving financial services providers and insureds
- A fraud action involving a financial adviser
In addition to the mediation experience above Emily has observed mediations as an Accredited Mediator in relation to IT services disputes, property development and joint venture/shareholder disputes.
Approach to mediation
Emily’s approach is to engage with the parties to understand their objectives, and to facilitate an environment in which the parties can progress towards a mutually beneficial outcome.
Emily Heard stood out with how approachable and flexible she was.
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- R (Fair Crime Contract Alliance) v Lord Chancellor - included within The Lawyer magazine’s top 20 cases of 2016 and described by the High Court as the most complex public procurement dispute ever brought.
- Bristol Missing Link v Bristol City Council [2015] EWHC 876 (TCC) – described by the High Court in a subsequent judgment as a "paradigm case" whereby the automatic suspension was kept in place in favour of our client (a landmark decision). Following the judgment, my team and I were tasked with finding a solution to the dispute between the parties, which resulted in a contractually agreed re-evaluation of the parties' tenders by the Council. As a result, our client was judged to have submitted the winning tender.
- Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust v NHS Swale Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley ([2016] EWHC 1393 (TCC)) - this case is significant in relation to whether damages are an adequate remedy for public bodies.
- Sysmex UK Ltd v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2017] EWHC 1824.
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The Procurement Act 2023 - “Go-live” date announced
23/04/2024
What does this mean for procurement practitioner and suppliers?
Is Mediation a Must?
24/01/2024
Implications of the Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Judgment
Effective Mediation - 10 practical tips
24/10/2023
Procurement Bill – The journey so far
07/03/2023
Bevan Brittan’s procurement lawyers listed in prestigious...
03/11/2022
Four lawyers listed in Who’s Who Legal Guide: Government Contracts
Procurement reform preparations: next steps
03/11/2022
The Procurement Bill has landed
12/05/2022
The Road To Reform Section 2
08/03/2022
A series of short articles investigating the anticipated public procurement reforms
The Road To Reform Section 1
04/03/2022
A series of short articles investigating the anticipated public procurement reforms
Procurement: Public law principles and standing in public procurement...
03/02/2022
Court of Appeal reverses finding of apparent bias: R (On the application of The Good Law Project) v Minister for the Cabinet...
Autumn Public Procurement Bootcamp
03/11/2021
How do you ensure transparency whilst also preserving confidentiality?
Procurement - UK Hydrogen Strategy
13/09/2021
Pointers for Public Procurement in the Transport Sector
Bevan Brittan’s procurement lawyers listed in Who’s Who Legal
17/08/2021
Four lawyers listed in WWL Guide: Government Contracts
Procurement: Revised list of “central government authorities” for the...
30/07/2021
SI 2021 No.872 The Public Procurement (Agreement on Government Procurement)(Amendments)(No.2) Regulations 2021
The Queen's Speech - Legislative priorities
14/05/2021
ON DEMAND - Procurement Series - Part 3
12/11/2020
ON DEMAND - Procurement Series - Part 2
11/11/2020
ON DEMAND - Procurement Series - Part 1
10/11/2020
Public Procurement FAQs - Case Summary 5
10/07/2020
Transfer of competences and the “Teckal” in-house exception – European Court of Justice decision in C-328/19 Porin Kaupunki
Public Procurement FAQs - Case Summary 4
25/06/2020
Co-operation between contracting authorities - public contracts, the nature of co-operation and restriction of competition issues...
Public Procurement FAQs - Case Summary 2
16/06/2020
Void contract, misrepresentation and unjust enrichment
Public Procurement FAQs - Case Summary 3
16/06/2020
The limits of cooperation: ECJ considers the scope of the "Hamburg" exemption to public procurements
Public Procurement FAQs - Case Summary 1
12/06/2020
High Court adopts a permissive approach to amendments in a procurement dispute
Public Procurement FAQs – Case Summary 1 (detailed review)
12/06/2020
High Court adopts a permissive approach to amendments in a procurement dispute
Procurement: Public Procurement Rules after 31 January 2020
03/02/2020
Public Procurement Rules after 31 January 2020 – the Transition Period to 31 December 2020
Procurement Pitfalls 5 – More on word counts
06/03/2019
Procurement Pitfalls 4 – Word counts
27/02/2019
Procurement Pitfalls 2 – Debriefing
13/02/2019
Procurement Pitfalls 1 – Pricing formulae
06/02/2019
Designing your specification & running your tender process
09/07/2018
Ensuring pre-market engagement and/or prior involvement of tenderers does not distort competition
EU procurement thresholds for the public sector
21/12/2017
The EU Procurement thresholds for 18/19 have been released.
Procurement Alert - New standard Selection Questionnaire and statutory...
28/09/2016
The Crown Commercial Service has updated its Selection Questionnaire.
Lessons to be learned from the case of Energysolutions EU Ltd v...
09/09/2016
Part 2: The role of witness evidence
Procurement Update - June 2016
30/06/2016
Brief details of recent key developments relevant to those involved in procurement work
Procurement and trade rules post Brexit
24/06/2016
We are waking to a very different future for politics, finance and governance in the UK.
Evaluation and the audit trail
08/06/2016
As correct application of published evaluation criteria will determine with whom an authority will contract for goods, services...
Steel yourself
11/05/2016
Have the updated procurement rules to support Britain’s steel industry changed anything?
New procurement regulations could lead to greater private sector...
11/04/2016
Procurement regulations that come into effect on Monday 18 April are likely to lead to greater private sector participation in the...
New Procurement Regulations published
21/03/2016
The Government has published the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 and the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, implementing...
Classification of NHS bodies for the purposes of the EU procurement...
16/03/2016
The correct classification of contracting authorities under the EU procurement rules is important for two main reasons:
Procurement Update – March 2016
07/03/2016
This Update contains brief details of recent key developments relevant to those involved in procurement work.
Commissioning Byte 3
12/02/2016
How flexible can your procedure be? How do you give best emphasis to your desired patient outcomes?
R (QSRC Limited) v National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHS...
02/02/2016
Emily Heard, David Owens and Kate Davies provide their analysis of the case.
Commissioning Byte 1
02/12/2015
What steps can you take now with your existing contracts to renew or extend them before the April deadline?
Procurement Alert: New standard form OJEU notices published
17/11/2015
Procurement Alert: New standard form OJEU notices published
Court and tribunal fees: Bevan Brittan's response to consultation on...
06/10/2015
The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals for further increasing court fees on the basis that, despite fee increases...
Emily has demonstrated brilliant leadership and direction on a complex matter.