Brewing giant Carlsberg has appointed Baker & McKenzie as its primary global legal adviser, with the international law firm seeing off competition from around a dozen firms to secure the mandate.

The appointment, which was confirmed last week but will take effect from 1 January, will see Bakers take on all of the beer company's corporate work, as well as its banking and finance, antitrust and major cross-border commercial work.

Norton Rose has been appointed to carry out the brewer's dispute resolution work, with Kromann Reumert named as Carlsberg's Danish legal adviser. The appointments come as Carlsberg plans to expand its business in North and Western Europe, as well as in Eastern Europe and Asia.

General counsel Ulrik Andersen, who led the review, said: "Baker & McKenzie's proposal matched the current needs of Carlsberg and it was also in a position to offer us an international presence that complements the countries in which Carlsberg now operates."

Bakers' appointment as the company's main adviser is likely to be seen as a blow to Norton Rose, which has previously carried out much of Carlsberg's international work, advising on deals including the £7.5bn acquisition of Edinburgh-based rival Scottish & Newcastle in 2007.

Norton Rose's group head of commercial, Deirdre Walker, said: "I can say that we are disappointed about [Carlsberg's] decision. However, we will still advise them in relation to their global dispute resolution matters and therefore retain close links with them."

Carlsberg had occasionally used firms including Bond Pearce and Tollers, as well as Swedish law firm Vinge.