Alison Ross Eckford

Partner, Mills & Reeve

Alison is a partner in the London commercial and technology team at Mills & Reeve LLP.

Alison specialises in advising on non-contentious commercial and IT matters, including outsourcing, procurement, transformation, and renegotiation projects. Her practice covers projects in relation to business-critical systems and services, as well as business-as-usual commercial contracts. Alison assists clients in developing their strategies and advising on all aspects of the contracting process from end to end: strategy, drafting documentation, change management, re-negotiations, and ongoing lifetime support.

Alison is the Lead Partner for Mills & Reeve’s ESG Legal Services offering and Deputy Head of the firm’s national Technology Sector practice. Alison regularly acts for private sector clients across a variety of industries. She has a particular focus on the financial services sector, having spent considerable time in-house on client secondments, including to Lloyds Baking Group, NatWest, and as Head of Legal of Financial Services at the Post Office.

Alison is qualified to practise law in England & Wales, Scotland, and Hong Kong SAR. She has been ranked as a partner in the London Legal Directories for IT and Outsourcing law since 2019.

Contributed to

3

Securing a resilient supply chain

Practice Notes

This Practice Note considers the practical challenges of global supply chains and the commercial lawyer’s role in securing a resilient supply chain for a business. It considers supply chain risk and the tools which lawyers have at their disposal to manage those risks (including assessing and managing supply chain partner risk, controlling risk through supply chain contracts, and additional methods for managing supply chain risk).

Commercial

Supply chain sustainability—UK

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explores the concept of supply chain sustainability within the broader context of sustainable procurement and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, with a specific focus on private sector practices in the UK. It provides practical guidance on establishing a supplier code of conduct and developing a comprehensive supply chain sustainability programme within the UK that addresses key issues such as human rights, labour standards, environmental impacts, corruption, deforestation, litigation exposure, and risk management. Public procurement is excluded from the scope of this Practice Note.

Commercial

Securing a resilient supply chain—checklist

Checklists

This Checklist sets out the key risks and matters to consider in relation to actions that can be taken to secure a resilient supply chain, including in relation to supply chain demand, supply chain communication, supply chain mapping, requirements of suppliers, supplier contingency arrangements, agreements with suppliers, supplier distress and insolvency, fraud, and de-risking. It is an illustrative rather than exhaustive list of matters to consider. This Checklist accompanies Practice Note: Securing a resilient supply chain.

Commercial