Our expertise in legal tenders and bids

We are experts at writing legal tenders in Australia and the UK. Our founder and director, Jason Cooney, started his career at mid-tier insurance law firm Moray and Agnew and has since helped a broad range of small, medium, specialist and large firms submit legal tenders to both government and private sector clients. Examples of Tier 1, Tier 2 and boutique legal firms Jason has assisted include:

• Baker and McKenzie
• Lander and Rogers
• Norton Rose Fullbright
• Henry Davis York
• Moray & Agnew
• Ashurst
• Lee law Group

We are often engaged to help our clients succeed in ‘must win’ tenders for legal services and our experience includes helping law firms in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. We are capable of managing large, government tender responses from start to finish across multiple practice areas. Our team has worked on legal tenders covering a broad range of practice areas including:

• Insurance Legal Tenders: We have helped write bids and tenders for a range of different insurance tenders from workers compensation to professional indemnity, public liability and P&I.
• Property Law Tenders: We have written bids for mid and top tier firms to listed property trusts and leading property businesses such as Westfield. 
• Commercial: including capability statements for a range of different clients. 
• Environmental law tenders: We have written tenders for law firms to the public sector including state and federal environmental law agencies as well as urban planning and property agencies. 
• Mergers and Acquisitions tenders: These are generally pitch documents to major organisations looking for legal advise on major mergers and acquisitions. Our team has worked on multinational pitches as well as local Australian proposals. 
• Intellectual Property Tenders and Bids: We have helped boutique intellectual property law firms write government bids and gain appointment to key government services panels. 
• ITC
• Construction tenders.
• Competition and Regulation
• Tax Tenders and Bids: including to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for strategic tax advice (as well as other services outside the legal discipline) such as valuation services. 

Jason is well regarded for his win-record (particularly where clients are not an incumbent and/or are not in a strong position or has relationship issues), and for working closely with and managing key Partners to ensure clients submit a compelling submission.

He has a track record of working with some of the busiest, most demanding and pedantic Partners in Australia all of whom are highly respected in their respective practice areas. He has been responsible for working on bids and tenders that are critical to a law firms success and often survival. For example, Jason is often engaged to work on TfNSW and other NSW and Federal Government tenders that provide some law firms with up to 60% of their work.

Jason and the rest of The Tender Team are considered to be the ‘safe bet’ for law firms looking to engage a bid or tender writer from outside the firm. There are approximately 10 freelance bid writers across Australia that are broadly recognised as leading bid writers in the legal sector and we are proud to be one of them.

Our scope of services

We help law firms across the globe:

• Write bids and tenders. We are able to take care of the tender writing process from start to finish. We will review the RFP documentation and liaise directly with the relevant partners to gather the required information. Where they have asked for case studies or other responses (such as scenario based responses), we will take the time to work with and challenge partners and other internal stakeholders to ensure that you submit an exemplary response. We will work with your HR and other departments to prepare responses to more generic questions. Where CVs are outdated or need to be tailored, we will do show in order to showcase the relevant experience required for the tender response. Finally, we will review any addenda and ensure that the tender response directly complies with the relevant requirements.
• Tender and bid review. We have helped law firms map out their responses at the start of the tender response process. This helps you ensure the structure of each of your responses is on point – and puts you in a good position to speak to the relevant partners and internal stakeholders and draft the initial response. We can also get involved at draft stage where we will review you first draft and provide constructive feedback based on our experience and expertise.
• Write capability statements to clients. These are similar to a mini-tender and involve us developing capability statements for your firm. These are usually practice group specific and can be tailored to a particular client depending on the opportunity. A capability statement is a great idea for potential client meetings and to generate interest and awareness in your firms capabilities.
• Respond to government and private sector tenders. We have experience responding to RFP to government as well as the private and corporate sector. We have helped our law firm clients write bids to multinational and national companies as well as
• Develop compelling marketing material.
• Write website content and other collateral and improve their SEO and content marketing performance. This is a key area of our skillset which is outside bid and proposal writing. We can help you design your website and associated content so that you rank well for your respective practice areas.
• Practice structure and marketing team structure and development

A sample of successful law firm bids we have helped clients write include:

• Federal Government Legal Services Multi User List (LSMUL)
• Transport for NSW
• Maitland City Council
• Queensland Nominal Defendant
• Defence Housing Australia
• ICare
• Westpac
• TfNSW
• Employers Mutual
• Dual
• Many more.

We have over eight years experience in proposal writing for law firms and have delivered bid management for legal services for clients across the country. As Australian legal tender experts and legal sector proposal consultants, we specialise in helping law firms win bids and tenders. We also have a comprehensive understanding of the tender evaluation process for law firms and legal industry tenders in general.

If you have a tender for legal services or legal tenders you need assistance with give our team a call or email. With some of the top legal tender writers in Australia on our team we deliver expert bid management for law firms and come up with innovative winning strategies for legal tenders.

Engaging with partners

One of the key skills we bring to any tender process is our ability to engage with and challenge partners. We have the confidence, gravitas and diplomacy skills to talk to partners and persuade them to deliver quality input.

Our founder, Jason Cooney, has a reputation for convincing partners who are normally not interested in the tender process or very busy, to provide valuable information well ahead of the due date. This is critical in developing a quality response. We also work constructively with marketing and business development managers to quickly and effectively gather relevant content and put a compelling bid together.

Servicing multinational firms

We are proud to be part of the ‘Tsaks‘ group – a multinational bid and tender writing consultancy. Through our team in Singapore, the UK and Greece we are able to assist firms complete multi-national bids and to coordinate with offices and personnel across the globe. We understand what firms do globally to effectively develop proposals and also have a comprehensive tender review service for law firm clients.

We offer a global bid writing service to firms through a team of writers located across multiple locations ensuring a seamless 24/7 service. 

Our experience

We have a wealth of experience drafting legal tenders for mid and top-tier firms as well as boutique practices. Drafting legal tenders is becoming increasingly common for small and mid-tier firms alike, and a given for top-tier firms competing for ASX listed clients. Relationships are just part of the equation of winning new business, with a formalized procurement process being preferred by most organizations.

Successfully submitting legal tenders involves coordinating and drafting documentation in regard to business continuity, corporate social responsibility and industry and practice area-specific expertise. Case studies and references are critical, as are exemplary CVs and thorough responses to requests for information.

Our consultants have experience working in full-time tender roles for mid-tier and top-tier law firms across a range of practice groups including insurance, commercial, employment and government.

Having project managed many multi-practice group, national tenders, our consultants have the skills and expertise to assist legal firms of all sizes with legal tenders, as well as the knowledge of industry trends and what clients are now looking for.

We will work with you to identify the key differentiators of your service proposition, from high partner involvement to presenting your firm as a safe pair of hands. Many prominent firms are coming under increasing cost pressures from clients, as organisations increasingly adopt the in-house model, and look to cut costs through appointing mid-tier and boutique firms to their panels.

Incumbents need to do more than argue the usual benefits of incumbency and should be boosting value-added services well before the expected tender release date. Firms looking for a new appointment can use technology, expertise and price to establish themselves on new panels. This is more often than not for a narrow area of work, enabling the opportunity to build relationships and expand the scope.

Questions our clients ask

Do you help smaller law firms win government tenders?

Yes we have. We love the challenge. Sometimes smaller firms have the same amount of specialist personnel as larger firms. At larger firms they have many practice groups. They may have 500 personnel, with ten practice groups. That equals approx 50 personnel per practice group. You may be an insurance law firm with say 40 personnel. When you look at your size from a practice group specific point of view, you are only slightly smaller than the larger firm.

What can we do to win more legal tenders?

A good relationship with the client always helps. However, it’s possible to secure work with no relationship at all. First of all, put the appropriate resources into the tender and bid process. Put the work into it. Tailor your case studies and other experience to the bid. Tailor each of your CVs for your proposed team to the opportunity to present them as specialists in the respective practice area.

How do I win more legal contracts and bids?

There are many strategies you can employ to win more legal contracts including:

• Providing detailed case studies which include a focus on outcomes and key benefits. 
• Tailoring your CVs and Bios to the opportunity and expected client needs. 
• Providing a comprehensive client service methodology covering reporting and client communication. 
• Putting forward your A-Team.
• Demonstrating that you have the depth of resources to service the client over the long term. 

What type of legal tenders do you specialise in?

We help clients with all legal tenders that cover all practice areas to government and private clients. Practice areas include insurance, property, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, sports law, medical, medicolegal, environmental law, workers compensation, motor vehicle, public and private liability, copyright, construction law, commercial and contracts, maritime, family law and many others practice areas.

Are you a consultant specialising in law bids and RFPs?

Yes. We write tenders for other industries. However, our hands-on Director, Jason Cooney, has spent most of his career on legal bids.

Do you help law firms across Australia?

Yes. Our reach expands across Australia and we have helped law firms in all states including NSW, Victoria, WA, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia. Over the years, we have assisted a number of regional law firms and helped them win government contracts. We have done this through highlighting the downstream economic benefits of appointing a regional law firm to state and local government panels as well as detailing the benefits of JVs our law firms have entered into.

How can I find the best bid writing consultancy for legal tenders in Australia?

We would like to think we are at least one of the leading bid writing consultancies for legal tenders in Australia. We recognise there are some other quality legal tender writers in Australia, many of whom we have worked with jointly on bids for large clients. A google or LinkedIn search would be a great place to start.

Are there specific strategies for winning government legal tenders in Australia?

We employ different strategies to win government legal tenders – depending on the specific government department and tender. Some strategies we commonly employ include:

• Tailoring each case study and CV to the client.
• Putting forward a team with the right depth of resources.
• Aligning the writing style with the commonwealth government requirements.
• Writing concisely.
• Focused on your strengths – such as having partners that take a hands-on approach to their work.

Please get in touch with us to brainstorm what win themes should be included in your next tender.

Can you provide examples of successful bid responses for commercial law tenders?

Yes we can. Please email us and we will provide a list of examples (we have bids we have worked on where the client has given us permission to use part of the bid as sample).

How do you tailor bids for niche areas like family law or intellectual property?

We tailor each response to the respective bid. If you are bidding for a single practice area, for example, intellectual property, then we will tailor the case studies and CVs as well as other responses to intellectual property. Where you are bidding for a number of different practice groups, the response will be tailored to each individual niche area on a team by team basis.

What’s the typical timeline for preparing a winning legal sector bid?

The turnaround times for the legal sector bids we work on vary from one week to two months (for larger more complex bids such as LSMUL).

What are your fees and cost structures for the comprehensive bid writing services in Australia?

We are able to provide you a day rate, fixed fee, or hourly rate depending on the service you are looking for and

Can you assist with international bids for Australian law firms expanding overseas?

Yes we can. We can help coordinate with overseas joint venture firms for international bids. Alternatively, we can help you write your bid for the overseas client and work closely with bid writers overseas if necessary.

What’s the success rate of your consultancy in winning legal tenders for clients?

Over the past five years we have an 88% success rate for legal bids. However, we must qualify that by saying that many of our clients were incumbents and in strong positions. We are particularly proud of our 65% success rate for clients who were not incumbent providers and had no previous relationship. Although a lower figure, this in our view, is a great outcome given the context of the bids we worked on.

Can you help with post-submission negotiations and clarifications with clients?

Yes we can. We have assisted clients with BAFO bids as well as responded to a broad range of clarifications. Our Director, Jason Cooney, has also attended post submission clarifications and negotiations with our clients to provide support and has coached partners to ensure they are well prepared for such negotiations.

Are there specific strategies for boutique law firms to compete in tenders with larger firms?

Yes there are. We have helped many boutique law firms win tenders where some other larger firms have been unsuccessful. We have also helped small law firms be appointed to government panels such as icare where a number of big-name law firms have been unsuccessful.

There are some strategies we employ depending on the situation. One strategy for example, is to demonstrate how the firm may be boutique, but has significant depth of resources in the specific practice area or group. So essentially, the client is getting a larger team from a smaller firm.

Do you provide ongoing support for bid revisions and follow-ups after submission?

Yes of course. We are there every step of the way. In the case that a tender is unsuccessful, we will also attend the debrief meeting with you.

What differentiates your legal bid writing services from competitors in Australia?

We have of course assisted firms in all major capital cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Call our Director, Jason Cooney today, to discuss your next bid or tender on +61410 448 770 or email info@thetenderteam.com.au

We have helped firms across Australia including in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Client testimonials

Jason is an experienced bid and tender writer. We engaged him to assist with a NSW Government bid to optimise the outcome. He communicated well with our partners from different practice areas and has the gravitas and experience to challenge their input and improve it. He project managed the tender response process with no issue and had full document control. The bid was successful, including in two practice areas where we were not particularly strong on but Jason managed to dress up our capabilities quite well. It was a worthwhile investment engaging Jason and The Tender Team to assist with this bid.

Brett H | Mid Tier Law Firm | Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)

The Tender Team and in particular, Jason Cooney, has provided exceptional bid and tender writing services for a number of years now. Jason worked in-house at Morays for a number of years and has consulted at a number of Tier-1 firms. He knows his stuff and has an understanding of all of our practice areas. It’s reassuring to know that if our in-house bid team has capacity constraints, usually due to maternity leave or annual leave, we can quickly contact The Tender Team and have them develop a tender submission that meets and even exceeds the standard our in-house team delivers. To put it simply, he helps us win. 

Tony P | Mid-Tier Law Firm | Sydney, Melbourne and Perth