Robert Breedon
Robert is Practice Group Leader for the firm's commercial, employment, pensions and projects group and sits on the Gowling WLG UK Executive Board. In this role he is responsible for the smooth running of the group and the delivery of his various Executive Board roles.
Robert is a commercial lawyer who helps clients to negotiate and agree large commercial projects and outsourcing contracts. He works with clients in both the public and private sectors to structure, draft and negotiate contracts for the delivery of various services and in establishing joint ventures and alliances between providers and purchasers. He has a particular focus on Government work and he co-leads our Government Sector Team.
He also leads our Health and Care Sector Team - one of the largest dedicated UK practices, which includes specialists in over 19 legal disciplines who support clients in the private and public health and care sectors. The team act for leading private health care providers (e.g. clinical services, primary care and care home operators), purchasers of health and care services as well as advisors and investors in the sector. Many are operating at the cutting edge of digital health – we are able to assist and support them maximise their opportunities by bringing together our experience in health care, life sciences and technology.
Robert helps clients to run procurements for various services and/or to bid successfully for tenders, building on his extensive experience in private practice, in industry as an in-house lawyer and as legal counsel for a Government Department. He is recognised by Legal 500 as 'an expert in public sector procurement regulations'.
Robert has more than 30 years' experience in a range of industries and sectors, including health and social care and logistics and supply chain management.
He enjoys removing the mystique from legal complexities, helping clients to understand the key issues as well as the implications of commercial transactions. Robert helps clients to deliver commercial solutions and to achieve the desired transformational changes in service delivery. He is experienced in advising on collaborative arrangements for the delivery of public services. He assists clients in understanding any associated governance and regulatory issues.
Robert speaks regularly on contractual options for the delivery of public services and projects and has a particular interest in contractual structures for the delivery of integrated services, including models based on different payment structures such as outcome-based contracts.
Experience
- Robert lead our team which advised NHS Test and Trace/UK Health Security Agency on various measures for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic including contractual arrangements for PCR laboratory services and the provision of various lateral flow tests
- He advised the owner of a large care home business (over 25 homes) on the outsourcing of the management of the care homes including responsibility for regulatory compliance (CQC registration etc.). Our advice included the commercial aspects of the outsourcing, and negotiating and drafting the services agreement to include an incentive mechanism to encourage improved utilisation of the homes and an increase on the overall value of the business.
- He also advised a leading UK consumer business on its arrangements for the provision of occupational healthcare services to its staff and access to primary care concierge services.
- Robert has advised a Central Government department on a complex, long term contract for military training services including a significant modernisation programme.
- Robert lead our team which advised three Central Government departments on a large procurement for a supplier of connectivity services to over 500 offices in over 170 countries.
- Robert has advised on a number of complex public private partnerships for the delivery of various public services in a range of sectors including health and care, defence and energy.
- And he advised Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust on its partnership with Johnson & Johnson for the construction of a new orthopaedic centre of excellence at the Guy's hospital site in London and the provision of an innovative 15 year managed supply chain service.