Magic circle firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have won lead roles as "partner firms" on long term client Pearson's first legal panel.

Sources close to the race said Freshfields and HSF are expected to advise on international corporate matters.

Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper have also won roles advising on corporate matters while Fieldfisher and Kemp Little have won spots on a separate IT and commercial panel.

The panel appointments are effective immediately although it is not yet clear when the panel is due to end.

It is also understood that there is a separate process in the US where at least one firm is expected to make it onto the roster.

One contender is Morgan Lewis, which has previously advised Pearson, most recently on the sale of its PowerSchool business to funds advised by Vista Equity Partners for $350m (£228m) in June.

The panel appointment process originally began at the beginning of the year, and was expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

However, it is understood that it was delayed, in part, due to Pearson's sell-off of the Financial Times to Japanese media firm Nikkei for £844m in July.

The publishing group also sold its 50% stake in the Economist Group for £469m in August to Italy's Agnelli family.

Three of the firms appointed – HSF, Freshfields and Fieldfisher – are longstanding advisers for Pearson.

Freshfields advised the company on both the sale of the FT and the Economist stake this summer.

The firm fielded a team led by corporate partner Oliver Lazenby alongside London corporate head Simon Marchant for both deals.

On the FT sale, HSF acted for Pearson on UK real estate matters, with a team led by Alice Dockar.

HSF advised the company in 2011 on the sale of its 50% stake in FTSE International to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for £450m with a team led by City corporate partner Gillian Fairfield.

In the same year, Fairfield also advised Pearson on its acquisition of Education Development International for £112.7m.

Pearson, Freshfields, Fieldfisher, Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper, Kemp Little and Herbert Smith Freehills declined to comment.