The Welsh Assembly Government has completed the first formal review of its legal advisers, with national giant Eversheds and a brace of local leaders among eight firms to win places on the coveted roster.

The panel has been divided up in to five areas: property and commercial; employment; corporate finance; litigation; and environment law. Eversheds is named on four of the sub-panels, as is Cardiff firm Geldards, while Welsh rival Hugh James gets the nod in three categories.

Browne Jacobson, Bevan Brittan and historic adviser Morgan Cole are also named on sub-panels, while Ashfords and Beachcroft complete an eight-strong overarching panel which will tender for major work that does not fall directly into one of the five specialised categories.

The appointments follow a tender process overseen by the Assembly's legal director, Jeff Godfrey, and run for the next four years.

The firms will also advise a number of Welsh bodies responsible for areas including sport, the arts and rural affairs as well as the Office for National Statistics.

The Welsh Development Agency had previously operated its own legal panel until the body became part of the Welsh Assembly last April.

  • Property and commercial: Bevan Brittan; Browne Jacobson; Eversheds; Geldards; Hugh James
  • Employment: Eversheds; Morgan Cole; Geldards
  • Corporate finance: Geldards; Hugh James
  • Litigation: Eversheds; Geldards; Hugh James
  • Environment: Browne Jacobson; Eversheds

More news, deals and comment on Eversheds

For thousands of the best legal jobs, click here.