A South Yorkshire firm will appeal a High Court ruling dismissing its challenge to the outcome of the Legal Services Commission’s immigration tender.

Parker Rhodes Hickmotts launched a judicial review of the process after it received less than a quarter of the number of cases it bid for, but a High Court judge said it ‘only has itself to blame’.

The firm argued the tender criteria were ‘unfair, arbitrary and irrational’; that the LSC had unlawfully failed to apply its own policy; and that the commission failed ‘properly’ to verify that firms were capable of carrying out the work they had bid for.

The firm lost out in its case allocation because it did not employ a level 3 accredited caseworker and so lost a point in the scoring of the selection criteria.

This led to rival firms that scored the extra point gaining precedence.

The firm argued there was insufficient time from the start of the tender process for firms to employ someone with level 3 accreditation and that it was irrational to award a point simply for submitting an application for the accreditation.

Dismissing the challenge, Mr Justice McCombe rejected the firm’s claim that there had been no ‘level playing field’.

He said: ‘In human terms, the result is a sad one. The claimant has only itself to blame for not taking the simple step of putting itself in a position of getting the additional point.’

He added: ‘It is to be regretted that a firm obviously well equipped to deliver immigration and asylum law services is not able to work up to its full potential.

However, this is a consequence of the structure of the bidding process, with which it is not the court’s place to interfere in the absence of illegality.’

Amie Henshall, head of immigration at Parker Rhodes Hickmotts, said the firm will appeal.