Deutsche Bank has appointed a new general counsel for UK and Western Europe for the first time in over a decade.

Emma Slatter, who most recently held the position of head of legal for fixed income within the global markets division in London, has taken over the role from Simon Dodds. Slatter, who trained at Slaughter and May, joined Deutsche-owned Morgan Grenfell in 1994.

The news follows Dodds' appointment last month (1 April) as global head of compliance at Deutsche, having headed the banking giant's legal function in Europe since 1999. He succeeds Andrew Procter, who has taken on the newly-created role of head of government and regulatory affairs.

During his time at the helm of the legal team, Dodds has rolled out a number of initiatives including an online legal tendering system. He also called on advisers to take proactive steps to improve value such as considering sending work to the UK regions or outsourcing.

Deutsche holds key relationships with a small number of legal advisers, including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The bank also has a longer list of second-tier advisers, which includes CMS Cameron McKenna, Simmons & Simmons and Slaughters. US firms White & Case and Latham & Watkins also advise the bank in Europe, although are not official preferred advisers in the region.

Slatter told Legal Week: "The change gives us an opportunity to review our practices, but we are not planning any major changes as a result."

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