Drinks giant hands flagship appointment to Camerons' CMS alliance

Diageo has handed CMS Cameron McKenna a flagship appointment, with the UK firm and its eight-firm CMS alliance appointed as preferred adviser for commercial work across continental Europe.

The news comes as the drinks giant – which owns brands including Guinness and Smirnoff – launches an informal review looking at how it can cut legal spend globally without creating a formal legal panel.

The decision to elevate CMS to the preferred law firm role was reached last month, with Camerons City-based head of consumer products Louise Wallace overseeing the relationship with the company.

It is understood that CMS won the appointment following a longstanding relationship between Camerons and Diageo in the UK, which has specifically focused on procurement issues.

Camerons said in a statement: "We cannot comment beyond saying that we are happy to confirm that Diageo and CMS have agreed a preferred supplier arrangement for commercial legal work across continental Europe."

The appointment coincides with Diageo's recent creation of an informal working group to reassess the use of outside counsel worldwide. It is not expected to result in a formal panel but could still see the firm consolidating work with fewer law firms. The company expects to finalise the UK side of the review around September.

Diageo's UK-based associate general counsel for M&A and global functions, David Harlock, said: "Like all in-house legal departments we are under pressure to reduce costs. We are looking at who we instruct, opportunities to consolidate work and, of course, rates."

Firms that have won instructions from the company in the past include Slaughter and May and Addleshaw Goddard in the UK. International advisers include New York leader Sullivan & Cromwell and Ireland's McCann FitzGerald.