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Katherine is a Partner at DAC Beachcroft and heads the firm's Public Procurement Law team and chairs its Infrastructure & Projects group. Katherine has over 20 years’ experience of advising public bodies, utilities and the private sector on public procurement issues. Katherine has advised upon the procurement issues inherent within a wide variety of PPPs, PFIs, regeneration and outsourcing projects, across sectors and covering most aspects of local and national public infrastructure; from new homes, schools, energy facilities, roads to IT projects.

Highlights over her career include numerous education, waste and housing PPPs/PFIs; the 2012 Olympic Games; the Thames Tideway Tunnel super-sewer; high profile defence agreements; the complex alliances and other significant partnerships for the National Highways, the Metropolitan Police, Thames Water, Transport for London, the Greater London Authority and many central government departments. She also advises private sector bidders on how to do their very best in public procurements.

While Katherine is predominantly a transactional lawyer, she has also instructed Counsel on a number of high profile procurement claims including AEW vs Basingstoke and the Consultant Connect litigation. 

Katherine has been ranked for procurement in Chambers & Partners UK for many years and for Government Contracts in Who’s Who Legal. She also holds a diploma in local government law. Chambers & Partners has quoted clients as saying (2023): 

Sarah is a Legal Director at DAC Beachcroft and specialises in commercial and public procurement law. 

Having a strong commercial/projects background, after advising large, national public sector organisations for over 12 years, Sarah approaches public procurement advice from a pragmatic and solution focussed angle with the ability to see the “bigger picture”. Sarah has undertaken highly complex project structuring advice for clients including for Department of Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education and multiple NHS trusts jointly working within an integrated care system. Clients praise her commerciality and practical approach to dealing with difficult legal issues and is a go-to contact for many clients seeking sensible and pragmatic legal advice. She provides tailored commercial advice to clients, facilitating innovative solutions and successful outcomes.

Sarah is an expert in understanding the regulatory framework in which public sector clients operate. She regularly advises on all forms of template public sector contracts including the Model Services Contract and NHS Terms and Conditions. She has worked with NHS England to produce the NHS Standard Contract over a number of years. 

Key projects include: 

• Advising NHS trusts on large-scale IT procurements

• Assisting providers in establishing digital health services within the NHS, addressing commercial, regulatory, and strategic considerations

• Supporting a central government body in procuring a national logistics and distribution service

• Leading two major multi-lot procurement processes for a national commissioner of complex cancer services, overseeing project management, and providing commercial and procurement advice