Invitation to Tender
Legal Services
Tender Reference JHI 11/03
25 May 2011
1. Introduction
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (MLURI) and the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) merged to form a new research institute on 1 April 2011 called The James Hutton Institute (JHI). The James Hutton Institute will be one of the biggest research centres in the UK and Europe. It operates on two main sites in Aberdeen and Invergowrie near Dundee, and operations will continue at all existing sites for the foreseeable future.
JHI requires comprehensive legal services to be in place as soon as possible, for an initial term of three years. We would like to invite suitably experienced firms to tender for the provision of legal services to the JHI and its commercial subsidiaries, Macaulay Scientific Consulting Ltd (MSC) and Mylnefield Research Services Limited (MRS), which were formed to exploit the commercial opportunities generated by the work of the two legacy institutes.
JHI is a company limited by guarantee, and is a registered charity. As a charitable company, the JHI is not a profit-making organisation and is controlled by a Board of Directors. A chart is attached (Figure 1), which shows the structure of the JHI Group as at 1 April 2011.
The commercial subsidiaries are wholly funded by grants from external commercial sources.
However JHI will be funded in the main by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD) together with grants and sponsorship from external sources. The Institute is required to adhere to a large number of regulatory requirements and is potentially liable to audit by the Scottish Executive, Audit Scotland and European Union Court of Auditors.
2. Requirements
The legal services required will include, but will not be limited to:
· The provision of legal advice over a wide range of areas including charitable company law and corporate law applicable to the activities of the JHI and its commercial subsidiaries such as intellectual property, estates and employment law.
· Support and advice on the structure of the JHI Group, including any recommendations for change to the commercial subsidiaries and on the winding up of existing charitable entities as and when appropriate.
· Implementation of any legal changes as agreed by the Chief Operating Officer.
3. Proposed contract
The contract will be for an initial three year period commencing 1 July 2011 and will be subject to annual appointment by the Chief Operating Officer for JHI.
4. Tender Requirement
Tenders should include the following information:
· The fee for the first year of the contract period specifying what is included in the charges;
· An indication of the level of fees that would be charged in the subsequent periods of the contract;
· CVs of senior staff such as the Partner, associate solicitors, sector experts and supporting personnel who would be the main points of contact for the Institute;
· Details of relevant experience appropriate to the needs of the Institute and its commercial subsidiaries and the activities and issues addressed;
· Details of any relevant services that may be appropriate to the needs of the Institute and the commercial subsidiaries;
· Details of references that might be used by the Institute and its commercial subsidiaries.
5. Contact details
For further information or clarification please contact Karen Shaw, preferably by email in the first instance at:-
6. Deadline
The deadline for responses to this tender is 5pm, Monday 20 June 2011. Responses should be sent by email, backed up by a hard copy sent by mail, post marked Monday 20 June at the latest. The Tender Reference should be clearly identifiable on all correspondence (including envelopes and E-mails) to ensure that no tenders are opened prior to the deadline and should be sent to:
Electronic responses / Address for hard copyKaren Shaw () / Dr Karen Shaw
Chief Operating Officer
The James Hutton Institute
Invergowrie
Dundee DD2 5DA
5. Assessment of Tenders
Tenders will be assessed on the following criteria:
· Experience of advising research organisations, charitable bodies and commercial entities with similar needs within the last three years
· The quality and relevance of the experience of the proposed legal team
· Experience of providing comprehensive legal services and demonstrable technical expertise relevant to the needs of the JHI Group
· Value for money
Version 3 Final