Welcome to the first Junior Professionals National Lead meeting of 2026, hosted by Jessica Lishman, your National Lead for this group.
We are pleased to be joined by Emma Beynon, Gayle Monk and Alex Lawrence from Anthony Collins for this meeting who will be sharing their tops tips and lessons learnt for the whole lifecycle of a contract plus top tips for dispute avoidance.
This meeting will take place on Zoom and is FREE for members to attend.
Emma brings a strong background in building relationships, project managing complex disputes, and excellent communication and client support to her role as legal director. She is an experienced commercial disputes lawyer working in the projects team. She has an excellent track record and over ten years of experience helping clients with outsourcing contract issues. Emma has a strong interest in PFI/PPP contract management, expiry/handback disputes, contentious construction and other commercial/outsourcing disputes.
Emma delivers pragmatic legal advice, regularly dealing with all forms of dispute resolution and dispute avoidance. This includes adjudication, expert determination, mediation and court proceedings. Emma has worked on several reported and ongoing High Court cases. She has previously worked with clients from a variety of sectors and markets including local authorities, central government bodies, healthcare bodies, blue light services, private contractors and subcontractors.
Working with councils and other public, private and third-sector clients, Gayle is a legal director advising on both contractual and corporate matters. Her focus is on optimising social, economic and environmental impact through public spending.
With a focus on procurement, Gayle works with local authorities and social housing providers on their public procurement processes and the delivery of public services through contracts, joint ventures, and other vehicles.
Driven by a commitment to achieving social value and community benefits, Gayle advises on creating value through effective procurement strategies and contract management. From leading large-scale procurement processes to offering expert guidance on the compliant application of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, her approach is both thorough and creative.
Gayle’s work includes overseeing the entire procurement lifecycle – drafting, negotiating, and finalising contracts for a range of public services, from waste and recycling to leisure, while also guiding the evaluation of tenders, specifications, and contract management.
With a fondness for upskilling those around her, training in procurement law, with a particular focus on social value, is a key part of her role, helping clients navigate the complexities of procurement regulations.
Having gained extensive experience both in-house at a large local authority and in private practice, Alex is a legal director in the projects team. Working within the local government and wider public sector, Alex specialises in commercial contracts, public procurement, subsidy control and governance matters.
Alex provides clear, comprehensive and practical advice on the design of procurement processes, the development of tender documents, and the preparation and management of contracts in line with public procurement law. As well as advising on the set-up arrangements for Teckal/horizontal arrangements, joint ventures and collaborative working.
A “leading associate” for local government in the latest Legal 500 rankings and an “associate to watch” in Chambers and Partners, Alex provides guidance on a range of further service areas including waste and environment, having acted on a large-scale waste procurement for the disposal of residual waste and management of household waste recycling centres, as well as highways, transport, leisure, adult social care and children’s social care.
On the governance front, Alex’s work includes local government vires, decision-making, standards investigations and the setup/operation of new delivery models such as companies and limited liability partnerships.
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12:00 - 13:00
Online
