Clifford Chance (CC) has landed a £1m contract to advise the government on "complex financial activities", amid a wider public sector push at the magic circle firm.

It is the second major government contract win for the magic circle firm in the past month. It was appointed to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme's legal panel in January.

The contract was awarded by the Debt Management Office – part of the Treasury – which oversees debt and cash management for the government, lends to local authorities and manages public sector funds.

The lucrative legal advice contract will run for three years to the end of 2021, as confirmed in a document seen by Legal Week

CC's recent focus on public sector work has been spearheaded by former London managing partner and now the firm's public sector lead, David Bickerton.

Key mandates under his tenure include working for the UK's Trade Envoy to Peru, winning a place on the Finance and Complex Legal Services panel, and providing advice to Network Rail and to the government on Brexit.

The magic circle firm's new UK government team was established two years ago and last year brought in Andrew Dean as its new director of public law. He had advised the government for more than a decade on public law and procurement.

Slaughter and May has also enjoyed a recent successful run as Brexit approaches, picking up three government contracts with the Department of Transport – the latest of which emerged this week – bagging the firm estimated fees in excess of £1m.

Photo credit: Diliff