Jumeirah Group has announced its new global legal panel, with five firms appointed to the Dubai hotel chain's streamlined roster.

Herbert Smith and Weil Gotshal & Manges have won places on the panel following a pitch process, with Clyde & Co, Mayer Brown JSM and Pinsent Masons all reappointed.

Jumeirah has chosen to cut back on the number of firms it uses after setting up its first-ever global panel in 2008, which saw six firms appointed to its main roster of advisers, alongside a further six advising on specialist areas or in specific jurisdictions.

At the time, Herbert Smith was selected among the supplementary firms to advise on litigation, while Clifford Chance, DLA Piper and Simmons & Simmons all won two-year appointments on the main panel.

The five firms on the new line-up will provide full service advice to the luxury hospitality company – which is part of the state-owned Dubai Holding company – for a two-year term which started last month (11 August).

The firms will work alongside Dubai firm Al Tamimi & Co, which will advise on United Arab Emirates law.

Jumeirah Group chief legal officer Robert Swade said: "One of the aims of reducing the number of firms is to promote a closer partnership between the in-house legal team and the panel law firms, to encourage the law firms to invest time and resources, so that each firm becomes a trusted business advisor to the group."

He added: "In addition to the other, perhaps more obvious, reasons for selecting panel members, we looked for applicant firms who demonstrated a real passion and interest for our industry sector as well as for personal chemistry between the representatives of the applicant firms and the panel selection committee.