Procurement & Outsourcing

The diversity of procurement and outsourcing options has increased exponentially in recent years. Where once all aspects of a business were maintained by in-house staff, most services can now be provided by outside sources that deal exclusively in specific functions, with the hope that economies of scale will help cut company costs.

In procurement, our firm has experience in the drafting of procurement criteria and documents, the enforcement of procurement rules, the Requests for Qualifications (RFQ), Requests for Proposals (RFP), and Invitations to Tender processes, as well as the selection process in pipeline, construction and public infrastructure projects, and advising on offshore procurement, to name a few. Our clients include land developers, oil and gas companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies. We have acted for the Prime Minister's office, the Federal Government, the Department of National Defence, and numerous provinces in public sector procurement transactions.

As for outsourcing, Bennett Jones has wide-ranging experience with complicated, long-term product and service contracts. Whether clients are looking to source computer hardware or support to technology providers, payroll services to banking subsidiaries, medical services to private providers or human resources functions to specialist firms, our firm has experience with the drafting of complex agreements, preventing or resolving employment issues with outsourced personnel and ensuring that agreements are met. For example, we represented AXA Financial in the outsourcing of its data management and information processing infrastructure to the Equitable Insurance Company of the United States and were lead counsel to BearingPoint and 19 large Ontario Hospitals in the structuring and commercial organization of the largest health sector outsourcing and shared-service transactions in Canadian history, at the time of the transaction.