BarCap begins first legal review since $1.75bn Lehman acquisition

Barclays Capital has kicked off a review of its legal advisers in the US, marking the first time the group has overhauled its panel since its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' US investment banking operations.

The review, which is being led out of New York by Americas general counsel Michael Crowl, is believed to be part of a bid to reduce the number of external counsel after the bank's $1.75bn (£950m) acquisition of Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital markets business in 2008.

Competition for places on the expanded bank's panel will be fierce, with top law firms from both sides of the Atlantic vying for positions. The bank's current line-up includes both US and UK firms, among them Linklaters, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Weil Gotshal & Manges. Before its collapse, Lehman's top advisers in the US included Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, which have also been asked to pitch.

One partner at a US firm commented: "Barclays' investment arm has gone from a second thought on Wall Street to a power player. BarCap has always been major league in M&A, but with the addition of [the US arm of] Lehman the group boasts a top-notch balance sheet."

US expansion has allowed BarCap to add weight in Europe as well, with several hires underlining its determination to boost its global standing. Most recently, the bank hired Ashurst's head of securities and structured finance, Erica Handling, who is set to take over as EMEA GC later this year.

Barclays as a group is planning to embark on a full-scale panel review early next year, which could see a number of its 52 panel advisers removed from the roster.

The bank completed its last formal panel review in July 2009 and made a number of new appointments including Addleshaw Goddard, which joined Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, legacy Lovells and Simmons & Simmons on the bank's general advisory panel.