Welsh heavyweight Morgan Cole has become the first law firm to be appointed to advise the Welsh legislature.

The firm was awarded the sole contract by the National Assembly for Wales Commission after a competitive tender process, with the appointment set to last for four years.

Morgan Cole is the first firm to be appointed as legal adviser to the Welsh Assembly Commission, which was formed in 2006 and gave Wales new legislative powers.

The Morgan Cole team, which is being led by the firm's Swansea-based senior partner Peter Jones and Cardiff-based commercial partner Emyr Lewis, will be responsible for advising on its law-making powers as well as commercial, IT, property and employment law matters.

The firm will work closely with the body's own in-house legal services team led by chief legal adviser Keith Bush.

Morgan Cole's Cardiff and Swansea-based chairman, Robin Havard, said: "Wales is embarking on a very exciting agenda, and the Assembly's new law-making powers will be one of its main considerations."

The firm was also appointed to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) panel alongside eight other firms when the body completed the first formal review of its legal advisers in February.