A mock-up of the Heathrow expansion terminal, Credit: Heathrow

DLA Piper has secured its second major Heathrow-related contract for the Department for Transport (DfT) in the space of two months.

It is the latest in a string of major Heathrow-linked mandate wins for DLA, as it continues to shore up its stranglehold on the long-running third runway saga.

Under the latest contract – worth £2.2 million to DLA – the firm will advise the DfT on the Heathrow expansion programme for up to three years to June 2022.

The government gave the £14 billion expansion programme the go-ahead in October 2016, with DLA advising on much of the DfT's work since then.

According to the government's whitepaper, the expansion programme aims to reinforce the U.K.'s trading ties, tourism and international connections.

DLA's contract win comes hot on the heels of its High Court success in May, when the firm secured a victory for the DfT against five claimants who opposed the airport expansion.

Working alongside the Government Legal Department in the High Court, DLA's team was led by public law partners Colin Wilson, Howard Bassford, Paul Stone and Maria Pereira.

The five claimants comprised the Mayor of London; five boroughs including Hillingdon; an individual claimant; several non-governmental organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Plan B Earth; and promoters of a rival Heathrow scheme.

Earlier this year, DLA again advised the DfT on the long-running Crossrail project in a £500,000 contract, while in January Heathrow overhauled its legal panel structure with the appointment of seven firms, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy.