BT has cut several firms from its U.K. and Ireland legal panel, while pushing back the announcement date of the full roster due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The telecommunications giant had planned to "significantly reduce" the number of its external advisers as part of its review, which kicked off at the start of this year.

Fieldfisher, CMS, and Osborne Clarke no longer sit on the panel following the review process, according to partners at those firms.

Baker McKenzie is also no longer on the roster, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

CMS was appointed to the panel in 2013 and reappointed in the 2017 review, while Baker McKenzie, Fieldfisher and Osborne Clark were all new additions in 2017.

Meanwhile, reputation specialist Carter-Ruck – which was appointed to the panel in 2013 and reappointed in 2017 -  is also no longer on the panel, after it opted not to pitch again this year, according to a person with knowledge of the tender process.

BT's panel review process was originally set to be concluded by the end of March. A person close to the situation told Law.com International's Legal Week that the full line-up announcement has been pushed back to April, due to the impact of the coronavirus on the business.

Earlier this year, Legal Week revealed that BT was planning to "significantly reduce" the number of its external advisers as part of its review.

Gambling giant GVC Holdings recently joined a number of organisations slimming its legal advisers when consolidating its inaugural legal panel in March, appointing just 11 firms from an informal roster of around 40 firms.

However, Dixons Carphone bucked the trend by adding four new firms to its panel in March, bringing its total number of legal advisers to 14.

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