Weightmans has won The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust as a new client for its healthcare and corporate practices.

The firm won the Trust as a new client through a competitive tender process carried out under a new framework agreement.

Under the agreement, the national firm will provide legal advice to the Trust over a broad range of areas including NHS governance and public law, healthcare, primary care services, mental health law, employment and commercial law, property, corporate finance and PFI/PPP projects.

Weightmans' head of healthcare Tony Yeaman commented: "We are delighted to have been appointed by The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust to provide legal assistance and support on such a comprehensive brief."

He added: "We are committed to refining our portfolio of services to continue to meet the needs of public sector organisations in these challenging times."

The firm's healthcare team currently advises more than 140 NHS Trusts and also sits on the NHS Litigation Authority's panel of defence solicitors.

As previously reported by Legal Week, the NHS Litigation Authority paid out £257m in legal costs relating to clinical negligence claims during 2010-11 – a 58% increase on the previous year's figure of £163m.

The organisation's latest annual report showed that costs to claimant clinical negligence lawyers grew 61% year-on-year from £121m to £195m over the period.

The remaining £62m was paid out to the NHS body's panel of defence solicitors, which includes Weightmans, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Beachcroft, Bevan Brittan, Browne Jacobson, Capsticks, Hill Dickinson and Kennedys. In total 5,398 clinical negligence claims closed with a damages payment in 2011.