RBS to create first-ever flexible lawyer panel as Barclays reviews current providers
Banks increase focus on flexi-lawyer providers as interest in new resourcing models grows
August 08, 2018 at 10:34 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com International
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is setting up its first-ever panel of flexi-lawyer providers, as Barclays also reviews its current relationships amid growing take-up of flexible legal resources by key clients.
RBS has invited a number of providers to take part in the process, which will see it establish a 'flexible resourcing' legal panel for the first time.
The bank contacted firms earlier this year, and the process is now "well underway", according to one partner at a firm taking part.
The partner said: "I think we'll see other banks looking at this, as well as other Fortune 500 companies. Any organisation with a large legal team that uses more flexible resources could look at setting up similar panels or supply lists. Large organisations tend to have similar setups for the provision of accountancy and IT services, and we're now seeing this in legal too."
Meanwhile, Barclays, which first established a roster of contract lawyer providers in 2015, is currently reviewing its relationships with the firms it appointed three years ago.
The 2015 process saw a line-up including Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer chosen as preferred firms. The current review is expected to be completed during the next few months.
Barclays also recently completed its last-ever traditional review of its main legal panel, as it shifts to a new system it describes as "active relationship management", which will allow it to add and remove firms on an ad hoc basis.
That process saw the panel trimmed from about 140 firms to 100, with firms understood to have won places including Allen & Overy, CC, Linklaters, Dentons, Simmons & Simmons, Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker McKenzie, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Taylor Wessing and Ashurst.
Recent years have seen a flurry of law firms set up flexi-lawyer offerings to compete with providers such as Axiom and Obelisk – including Pinsent Masons, which launched Vario in 2013; Eversheds Sutherland, which set up Agile in 2011; and Allen & Overy, which has increased the number of lawyers signed up to its Peerpoint service by more than 50% during the past year.
Market leader LOD, which was founded in 2007, was bought out by private equity house Bowmark Capital earlier this year and is now looking to expand internationally, with a US launch on the cards.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
'Substantive Deficiencies': Judge Grants Big Law Motion Dismissing Ivy League Price-Fixing Claims
3 minute read
US Fifth Circuit Departs From Sister Courts on Copyright Infringement Damages
4 minute read
Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Christopher Kamon, Shackled and Sniffing, Pleads Guilty
3 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
