Linklaters, Latham & Watkins and Sullivan & Cromwell are among a raft of firms to have won roles on Virgin Media's inaugural legal panel.

The new panel, which will take effect from next year, also includes Ashurst and US firm Fried Frank, both of which are existing advisers to the company.

The five firms will provide corporate, finance, M&A, and competition advice, as well as offering additional support services for Virgin Media's in-house legal team, such as secondments and legal training.

In addition, Simmons & Simmons, Baker & McKenzie, Reed Smith, Osborne Clarke and Mayer Brown have all been appointed to provide commercial, industry, employment and regulatory advice.

Wiggin and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, both of which have existing relationships with Virgin Media, will continue to advise the company, with Wiggin providing advice in its specialist area of media law and Milbank focusing on capital markets and finance.

Virgin Media GC Scott Dresser commented: "The media and telecommunications sector is fast-evolving, so the formation of our first legal panel will enable us to dynamically draw upon the expertise of these firms in a targeted way as we compete in a heavily regulated and highly complex digital world."

Dresser was appointed as Virgin Media GC this January, after longstanding postholder Bryan Hall announced his retirement.

Dresser joined Virgin Media in 2006 from New York-based reinsurance company White Mountains Re Group, and became deputy GC in 2008. He previously worked at Morgan Lewis & Bockius and legacy US law firm Lord Day & Lord.