Adviser reviews news, updates and analysis | Page 1 of 8

Vodafone has completed the latest refresh of its legal advice panel, selecting eight firms based on a commitment to shared diversity and ESG best practice.

Latham & Watkins, Deloitte and TLT are the new additions from the last review in 2018, alongside Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Osborne Clarke, Slaughter and May and Wiggin, which have retained their spots. This is a slight increase from the seven firms selected in 2018’s overhaul . The panel will provide broad legal cover on commercial, real estate, employment, regulatory and litigation, as well as support for legal transformation. Continue reading “Vodafone puts emphasis on ESG in new eight-firm adviser panel”

Herbert Smith Freehills and DAC Beachcroft were among the firms to win spots on Sainsbury’s most recent legal panel, with the supermarket chain cutting its roster by a third with 11 spots reduced to eight.

Morton Fraser was the third firm to be allocated a slot, while Addleshaw Goddard, Shepherd and Wedderburn and Cleaver Fulton Rankin, which were on the previous roster, no longer feature. Meanwhile, Linklaters, Dentons, TLT, CMS and Winckworth Sherwood all retain their spots. Continue reading “In-house: HSF and Beachcroft win spots as Sainsbury’s makes big cuts to adviser panel”

Retailer Dixons Carphone has added four firms to a revised legal roster, with DWF, RPC, Bristows and Carson McDowell winning spots.

The panel will run for four years following the expiration of its previous arrangement in March, which was the result of a 2016 review. The new additions join ten firms Dixons Carphone has kept panel relationships with, including Addleshaw Goddard, Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, DLA Piper, Doyle Clayton, Fieldfisher, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pinsent Masons, Shoosmiths, and Worthingtons. Continue reading “In-house: RPC and DWF among four new firms on Dixons Carphone’s expanded roster”

As in-house legal departments continue to push their law firms to be more diverse, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has pledged to withhold 15% of fees if diversity and inclusion (D&I) levels are not met by its 22 panel firms.

The measure introduced as part of the company’s panel review, announced yesterday (12 February), has seen a host of advisers, including Magic Circle firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, pledge that no fewer than 30% of associate time and 20% of partner time on a legal matter will be provided by ‘females, racially/ethnically diverse professionals, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, with an expectation that such commitments will move to parity over the next several years.’ Continue reading “In-house: Novartis to withhold 15% of fees if new panel firms miss D&I requirements”

Eversheds Sutherland has lost its sole-adviser mandate to Severn Trent after the FTSE 100 water company appointed five firms to its new panel, with listed firm DWF the big winner.

Severn Trent, which had run a sole-adviser mandate with Eversheds for more than a decade, has appointed DWF as its retained provider of legal services to its operational businesses, including areas such as construction, commercial, employment, regulatory, disputes and litigation, intellectual property, and planning and real estate. Continue reading “In-house: DWF leads as Eversheds loses sole adviser role on Severn Trent’s expanded panel”

BDB Pitmans, Irwin Mitchell and Norton Rose Fulbright have been dropped from National Grid’s panel, understood to be worth about £12m a year in the UK alone, following an extensive tender process which saw firms pay to compete for spots.

Womble Bond Dickinson is the sole new appointee on a roster which reduced the number of advisers from 12 to ten. The review, which began in May this year, was potentially going to reduce the number of advisers to six, but Addleshaw Goddard, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Dentons, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters and Shakespeare Martineau all retained their spots. Continue reading “In-house: National Grid drops three firms from panel following ‘pay to play’ review”

Wealth-structuring company Lombard International is creating its first-ever legal adviser panel under the watch of general counsel (GC) Monica Risam, the former Aviva UK Life GC who moved to the company in January last year.

The panel will cement and deepen relationships the Luxembourg-based company already has with firms such as Allen & Overy, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper and Linklaters. Continue reading “In-house: GC Risam draws on experience as Lombard International invites tenders for debut panel”