The U.K. government has upped the value of its new legal panel for post-Brexit trade by £45 million, following engagement with the legal industry earlier this year. 

The new panel will assist the government with international trade negotiations, disputes and compliance based on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, with the line-up set to be announced at the start of 2021, according to a government document.

Previously, the contract was valued at £70 million, and was expected to be three years in length with an option for an additional one year extension. 

Now, however, the value has been set at an estimated £115 million, with the updated contract filings stating that the new sum is indicative of a four-year contract with an option to extend by a further two years. 

The legal panel has also been split into two lots – trade disputes and negotiations – according to  the updated documents made by the government's Crown Commercial Service, which is running the process.

The CCS currently manages two major legal panels for the government: the Finance and Complex Legal Services (FCLS) panel and the General Legal Advice Services (GLAS) panel, as well as a specialist legal panel for rail.

Last year, the CCS announced plans to merge the existing FCLS and GLAS panels into one single framework, worth an expected £400 million.

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UK Government Unveils Multimillion-Pound Legal Panel For Post-Brexit Trade