Tube Lines is pressing ahead with a panel review despite Transport for London's (TfL) plan to take over the running of the privately-owned consortium.

Tube Lines kicked off a tender process last month in a bid to trim down legal spend and is expected to finalise the review in July.

The body has invited a group of 15-20 firms to tender for the panel with the aim of narrowing it down to a group of "at least three", including a mixture of City and regional firms.

Tube Lines is looking to reduce the number of firms on the panel – which has not seen a full review for around five years – from the current line up of six.

Panel firms include legacy Lovells, Simmons & Simmons, Eversheds, Charles Russell, Bond Pearce and Mills & Reeve – although the latter two were added only last year when Claire Wardle joined as head of legal from the Post Office, where she held the same title.

Wardle said Tube Lines is likely to look for common ground with the existing TfL panel, which was last reviewed in 2007 and comprises 12 firms.

Eversheds, which is one of TfL's main advisers, and Simmons, which has advised TfL on the congestion charge, have places on both panels. In addition, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Wragge & Co, K&L Gates, Travers Smith and Bird & Bird sit on TfL's panel.

Wardle commented: "The tender process is going ahead for the moment but we will discuss all of our tendering with TfL. My vision is to get a more dynamic panel that would work better as a group, with a more full-service approach."

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