Outsourcing

Name: Bristows
Price range: $$$

We advise on complex, strategic global outsourcing projects for some of the most sophisticated users of services across the full range of business processes. We also advise leading suppliers on outsourcing bid support and customer negotiations. Our specialist lawyers are experienced in all the varied elements of outsourcing including procurement strategies, pricing, service level agreements, TUPE, corporate, tax and property issues.

Litigation & dispute resolution Telecommunications IT & digital projects

Our experienced team has the capacity, technical understanding and commercial expertise to advise and guide you efficiently through all stages of any outsourcing project. From systems integration and multi-sourcing, to digital transformation and global business services, we regularly work on some of the highest-profile IT and BPO projects in the market.

On the customer side, we work with clients in a wide range of sectors including life sciences, financial services, energy, retail and the public sector. We help them throughout the project lifecycle, from structuring the deal and the procurement process, to contract negotiation, transition and implementation. During the life of the deal, we’re often called upon to advise on contract management issues, while towards the end of the term we regularly assist with re-procurement and exit planning strategies.

We act for several top-tier outsourcing suppliers. We provide bid support, including responses to RFPs, risk analyses on customer contracts, and lead customer negotiations. We quickly get up-to-speed with their risk management approach so we can embed ourselves within the bid team and advise in our clients’ full legal and business context.

We also deal with projects which are delayed or when there are disputes about the required scope, quality and standards. We help clients to identify and manage risks early, to anticipate change and to make the most of their contractual positions, including through renegotiation or formal legal action. We are well versed in helping clients manage outsourcing disputes alongside our expert IT disputes team.

From our London office we often work with our global network of experts to provide a seamless service on international outsourcing projects. We lead global deals on behalf of clients, project managing and integrating specific advice from outsourcing experts in the relevant jurisdictions, ensuring a globally-compliant roll-out in key areas like HR and TUPE, data privacy and sector-specific regulations that apply to outsourcing. On global outsourcing projects, we offer our clients the convenience of ‘one firm’ – one set of instructions, one conflict check and one invoice.

Experience

We advised a global financial services business on multiple business critical IT and outsourcing deals, many of which were material outsourcing transactions where we achieved favourable positions for our client and its regulators.

Most recently, we advised on the re-baselining and renegotiation of its existing BPO and ITO deals with two top-tier global vendors. We were able to take a pragmatic approach to these renegotiations, retaining the existing functional relationships and what had been working well, while focusing discussions on improving those aspects that could be improved, such as access to improvement, innovation and enhanced levels of service.

Each project involved careful analysis of the regulatory context – both in terms of the financial services regulatory and data privacy regulatory compliance and across the world.

Our client was able to call on us not only for legal advice and negotiation but also to support the life-cycle of these complex deals including counselling on procurement strategies and regulatory compliance procedures and using our in-house tools to enable swift and cost-effective reporting to CIO and board level stakeholders.

We regularly advise our long-standing client, a leading global IT and outsourcing provider, on some of its largest deals and disputes.

In particular, we have helped on multi-year outsourcing programmes for the design, build and running of banking systems, advising on complex IP, IT, data and regulatory issues. Following these deals, our team is regularly called upon to assist with contract management, whether that is the latest change control note or re-aligning the contract following an event or issue.

We have also co-ordinated multi-jurisdictional advice on a £1billion global contact centre outsourcing bid to a large energy company involving cutting-edge robotic process automation technology.

We advised a global B2C automotive parts manufacturer on a transformational business process outsourcing project.

We guided the RFP strategy and contracting process from end to end, drafting and negotiating a robust agreement to govern the global relationship. We also worked with our data protection and employment experts to manage compliance with jurisdiction-specific regulatory and HR requirements. Our lawyers were able to bring to bear their extensive experience in both procuring and delivering BPO projects when stress-testing the pricing models and drafting the service descriptions, refining the commercial model, and ensuring our client benefitted from strong contractual commitments to the efficiencies and service improvements which underpinned the business case.

Inquisitive minds: Outsourcing insights

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What others say

“The team, led by the sensational Anna Cook, continues to be genuinely interested in the topics we cover. The enthusiasm for going above and beyond to not just offer high-quality legal support but to take the time to deeply understand our sector…”
Legal 500 2027

“We work with Bristows on all of our data protection matters, whether in the UK, EU, or beyond. This work includes supporting us on our most complex matter—product development, breach response, and dealing with data protection authorities.”
Legal 500 2027

“The team really understands what we do as a business. This means that they provide commercial insights and proactively spot issues that are specific to us as a business. The team has a commercial and pragmatic approach, which we value highly.”
Legal 500 2027

“Bristows has a well-established and highly regarded IT and telecoms practice. It has strength and depth at all levels.”
Legal 500 2027

“High-quality team with a lot of useful background at technology companies. A stronger associate pool than is typical of their competitors in our opinion.”
Legal 500 2027

“The team is also innovative in how it supports clients, including investing in practical tools and know-how to accelerate drafting and analysis, and delivering thought leadership that helps in-house teams stay ahead of emerging risks and market practices.”
Legal 500 2027

“What stands out is the blend of deep technical understanding and an ability to translate complex legal issues into clear options and decisive recommendations…”
Legal 500 2027

“The Bristows team combines genuine market-leading technology law expertise with a practical, commercial approach that makes complex projects feel controlled and deliverable…”
Legal 500 2027

“What makes this practice stand out is the combination of strong legal expertise and practical commercial advice. The team is very responsive, easy to work with, and focused on finding practical solutions rather than giving overly cautious or theoretical advice…”
Legal 500 2027

“Bristows advises us on commercial contracts, and they are flexible, pragmatic, and efficient, providing a big boost to our negotiation efforts. They have quickly become a valued and trusted resource for our company.”
Legal 500 2027

“They are the best data protection team we deal with. They are extremely knowledgeable, very practical, and really nice people to deal with. Their advice is truly practical and helps us to do business in a lawful and ethical way.”
Legal 500 2027

“The team is incredibly well-versed in the subject matter, has a very broad view of various industries, and offers useful, practical advice. They take the time to really get to know the business and what matters most and don’t give advice that needs to go through further in-house filters before it can be applied. They are very approachable and make themselves available whenever needed.”
Legal 500 2027

“Not just brilliant and pragmatic lawyers, but also really nice people you want to hang out with.”
Legal 500 2027

They have taken the extra mile to help ensure they have the right information at the outset and understand where we need to get to.
Legal 500 2027

Highly knowledgeable and experienced people. Easy to connect with, always on call.
Legal 500 2027

“The team continues to be sensational. They have managed to consistently stay ahead of the curve in terms of skills and have offered us support on a wide range of international, European, and UK-focused topics across AI, data access, and commercial relationships.”
Legal 500 2027

“The team does a good job of marketing its capabilities and puts out a lot of thought leadership. They give a good impression of working at the coalface of interesting work in this space.”
Legal 500 2027

“Bristows’ advice is always commercial. They help to distil complex legal issues into a business-friendly approach. They also always take a clear view and direction with all the legal complexity.”
Chambers FinTech Guide 2026

“The department stands out through its strong client focus, deep industry knowledge, and ability to deliver cutting-edge, practical advice.”
Chambers FinTech Guide 2026

“It is an excellent law firm with very good expertise in technology and FinTech.”
Chambers FinTech Guide 2026

“Their key strengths are their dedication and focus on delivering value to their clients in everything they undertake. The firm is clear, honest, practical, highly experienced and business-focused.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“The team has excellent technical and industry knowledge which helps when negotiating a deal and drafting the appropriate agreements. They are very client-centric.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“Bristows offers clear and practical advice, which is not limited purely to the legal issues presented but to the wider context of the transaction.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“The Bristows team understand client needs and go the extra mile to deliver effective advice.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“It has been really positive – they are incredibly experienced and knowledgeable in their fields, and very responsive and great to deal with. Their advice is pragmatic and digestible.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“Bristows give the client solutions that can be be implemented. Advice is practical and experience-based, and informed by an understanding the limitations and risk for the client.”
Chambers and Partners UK 2026

“Excellent team with strength in depth in the life sciences and tech space. Strong market knowledge. Responsive and solution-focused.”
Legal 500 2026

“Bristows have always been exceptionally responsive to my queries around commercial contract matters, and really take responsibility for driving projects forward.”
Legal 500 2026