Investment banking and financial services group Macquarie has kicked off a review of its EMEA legal panel.

The Australia-listed bank is expected to finalise the new line-up of its preferred European law firms within the next two months.

Macquarie reviews the panel – known as its 'legal portal' – every two years, according to partners tendering for the work.

The roster is non-exclusive, with Macquarie maintaining the right to go off-panel for specific projects when necessary.

Firms that have advised the bank in the past include Linklaters, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance (CC), Travers Smith, Hogan Lovells, Herbert Smith Freehills and Shearman & Sterling.

CC and CMS both recently advised a Macquarie-led consortium of investors on the £13.8bn acquisition of a 61% stake in National Grid's gas distribution business..

Commenting on the panel process, one partner said: "As with most clients, they like to reduce numbers and maximise efficiencies. It is probably a month or six weeks from completion; we made our submission six to eight weeks ago and are just getting some queries back."

On the bank going off-panel, one partner commented: "They tend to find it hard to constrain the individuals on the business side, who end up using whoever they want. I suppose you could call it a 'soft' panel – they would prefer people to use it, but those in the business can usually order whatever they want from the chef."

Macquarie, which opened in Sydney in 1969, created its EMEA panel in 2011 as its presence grew outside of Australia. Its operations now span more than 27 countries and include capital markets, trading and hedging, funds management, asset finance, financing, research and retail financial services.

Picture credit: Edmund Tse