FTSE 100 company Land Securities has kicked off a panel review of its external legal roster now that the current three-year term has come to an end.
The review is being led by group general counsel (GC) Tim Ashby, who was appointed to the role following the departure of then legal chief Adrian de Souza in October last year.
When Legal Business powerlist member de Souza took the position in 2010, he was immediately charged with slashing the property company’s roster of more than 100 firms. Land Securities now has nine law firms on its panel, split into a two-tier system with firms on either panel A or B.
Both panels deal with property work, construction, planning and real estate litigation work across the UK. Panel A is made up of Berwin Leighton Paisner, Eversheds, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells and Nabarro.
Herbert Smith Freehills and the now defunct Dundas & Wilson secured spots on panel B during the last review in January 2013 (Dundas & Wilson has since been taken over by CMS Cameron McKenna). A firm is typically placed on panel B for a number of years until it has fully learnt the processes and procedures of the company. There is also an additional specialist panel that contains Allen & Overy for finance and Clifford Chance for corporate work.
It will constitute Ashby’s first panel review for the company. Ashby was previously group GC and company secretary at Mothercare for more than five years.
Other recent panel news includes JPMorgan signing the entire Magic Circle to its EMEA panel and the Royal Bank of Scotland appointing a raft of firms including Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Allen & Overy to its panel for the next three years.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
