General Electric (GE) has finalised its European non-M&A legal panel, with a clutch of UK firms winning roles including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst and Norton Rose.

DLA Piper, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Baker & McKenzie are also among the firms appointed to GE's new roster, along with CMS Cameron McKenna and the other eight European firms in the CMS network.

In total, 12 law firms have been appointed to advise the company in the UK, with 97 firms appointed across Europe. Prior to the review, which has been going on for more than 18 months, GE instructed 270 firms, generating a legal spend of more than €100m (£85m).
The panel appointments are valid until 2012, with GE intending to deepen its relationships with the firms over that time. It will only go to firms outside the panel in exceptional circumstances, such as conflicts.

The roster is split into 10 specialist sub-panels but excludes M&A, for which GE has a separate panel. The sub-groups are dispute resolution, regulatory, general commercial, finance, real estate, environmental, labour and employment, pensions and benefits, competition and data privacy.
Pinsent Masons ally Salans has been appointed to most of the sub-groups in Eastern Europe with the roster also including a large number of continental European firms, including Slaughter and May ally Hengeler Mueller.

The review was initiated by former European general counsel Mark Elborne but finalised by Hendrik Bourgeois, who replaced Elborne in April this year.

Bourgeois told Legal Week: "We had a selection process where we looked for best quality at the best price in each jurisdiction."

GE's European M&A panel comprises a significantly smaller number of firms, including A&O, Ashurst, Slaughters and Weil Gotshal. GE's global legal team comprises more than 1,000 lawyers worldwide, including 300 in Europe, and has an estimated legal spend of £30m in UK alone.