Co-op Bank to set up inaugural legal panel as it looks to trim roster
DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons and TLT among law firms invited to pitch for spots
June 15, 2015 at 07:00 PM
3 minute read
The Co-operative Bank is to set up its first legal panel with several firms already invited to tender, Legal Week has learned.
The bank currently shares a legal roster with former parent and shareholder The Co-operative Group, but from next month it hopes to create its own independent panel.
It is understood that DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons and TLT are among the firms that have been invited to pitch for spots on the inaugural roster.
A spokesperson for Co-op said: "As part of the bank's separation from the group we have decided that now is the right time to set up our own panel.
"The bank is seeking to work with firms that can meet its needs and commercial objectives, demonstrate industry-leading best practice and work closely with the bank's legal department."
The spokesperson added that the bank is aiming to reduce the number of firms it uses for legal services.
It is understood that the process is being run by Co-op's interim head of legal, Claire Morris, who recently had her contract with the bank extended until the end of the year.
The new panel will cover all areas except mortgage and property in possession work, which are done by firms on two panels the bank currently shares with the group, both od which will remain in place.
The roster is the latest development at the bank following the split from its parent group that started in 2013. As Legal Week reported in November of that year the bank's legal team was split in two following the wider group decision to separate.
Firms appointed to the panel will support Co-op's legal team headed by GC and former CMS Cameron McKenna lawyer Brona McKeown.
They may also interact with the bank's three department heads, including Morris who heads up non-contentious work.
The other two legal bosses are Tim Buckingham, head of Eversheds' financial services disputes and investigations team in Leeds, who was bought in as head of litigation in February, and Adam May, who joined from financial services group Close Brothers as head of treasury legal in the second half of 2014.
Morris leads the largest of the three teams with around 13 lawyers including a group dedicated to the sale of the bank's non-core assets.
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