Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland and Addleshaw Goddard have all won first-time appointments to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme's (FSCS) legal panel.

The FSCS, which was set up by the UK Government in 2001 under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, protects customers of failed financial firms.

After a six-month procurement exercise, CC, Eversheds and Addleshaws have all been appointed to the body's core legal services group, alongside Dentons, Bevan Brittan, Burges Salmon and Burness Paull – all of which have retained their places on the panel, which was put together for the first time in 2015.

Addleshaws will also provide advice on Scots law, while Trowers & Hamlins has retained its appointment as the FSCS's HR and employment adviser.

The new panel arrangement will run for four years, and the first meetings with successful firms will take place later this month.

Three firms on the previous line-up – Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith Freehills and King & Wood Mallesons – have not been reappointed.

FSCS general counsel James Darbyshire, a former Eversheds senior associate, said an "exceptionally strong field" applied for the panel.

"Against a backdrop of increasing customer expectation and a changing economic and regulatory landscape, I'm confident we've got the right mix of legal partners to help us deliver our strategic priorities in the years ahead," he added.

The FSCS has also set out its key strategic priorities for the coming years, including protecting consumers in a crisis, building a reputation for trustworthiness, and collaborating with regulatory and industry stakeholders to help prevent future failures.

Other recent panel successes for Eversheds have included reappointments to the legal rosters for HeathrowSEGRO and Taylor Wimpey. Clifford Chance and Eversheds also both sit on Co-op Bank's panel, which was due to be reviewed last December, but has now been pushed back to the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme panel 2019:

Core legal services

  • Addleshaw Goddard
  • Bevan Brittan
  • Burges Salmon
  • Burness Paull
  • Clifford Chance
  • Dentons UKMEA
  • Eversheds Sutherland

Scots law

  • Addleshaw Goddard

HR/employment advice

  • Trowers & Hamlins