Scotland's big four firms have been appointed to the City of Edinburgh Council's first legal panel.

The panel, which was completed at the end of last year, sees McGrigors, Dundas & Wilson, Shepherd and Wedderburn and Maclay Murray & Spens appointed alongside a number of regional Scottish firms.

The City of Edinburgh Council's head of legal and administrative services Alastair Maclean led the review, which is the first time the council has put a framework in place. It will see the firms split between three panels.

The first panel covers employment, corporate, commercial contracts, finance, financial services, intellectual property, IT, procurement, competition, litigation, pensions, property and data protection, with firms appointed to this panel including McGrigors, Maclays, Shepherd and Wedderburn, Brodies, Morton Fraser and Anderson Strathern.

The second panel covers construction, environment, planning and transport and sees Shepherd and Wedderburn and Dundas appointed alongside Anderson Strathern, Brodies and Morton Fraser.

The third panel is a specialist panel covering childcare with Brodies, Morton Fraser and Anderson Strathern appointed.

The appointments are for one year with the option to extend for a further year.

McGrigors Edinburgh real estate partner Russell Munro commented: "This is excellent news for the firm. We have worked with the City of Edinburgh Council on some significant projects in the last few years and we are pleased to be able to build our relationship further.

He added: "The council is working in a unique set of circumstances with a range of pressures and demands that require innovative solutions and we look forward to assisting them to meet future challenges."