UBS has appointed a trio of in-house staff to fill Peter Kurer's general counsel role while the bank looks for a replacement for Kurer, who was named chairman last month.

Global head of compliance Neil Stocks, group legal head and general counsel for the corporate centre Bernard Schmid and David Aufhauser, global general counsel for investment banking and general counsel of UBS Americas, will act as co-general counsels until the bank chooses a replacement.

A spokesperson confirmed the bank is looking externally as well as within the bank.

Kurer, who joined UBS in 2001 as group general counsel, was named chairman in April, despite widespread criticism of the bank's decision to appoint a lawyer in the role.

The internal appointments come as the bank confirmed that it has begun implementing its new ranking system for outside counsel.

The Outside Counsel Performance Evaluation Procedure, created by Kurer's legal team, will generate feedback for outside counsel on a variety of areas, including speed of work, skills and cost.

Firms on the bank's preferred adviser roster, thought to include Clifford Chance, Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy, White & Case, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, have yet to receive any indication of the results.

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