Motorola has completed the first formal review of its UK legal advisers, with Bevan Brittan and Osborne Clarke (OC) appointed to handle the bulk of its UK work.
The panel follows a review by Motorola vice president and regional director Richard Pitceathly, who joined the company in August with the intention of streamlining the telecoms company’s legal roster.
The company previously used approximately eight law firms in the UK but, under the new panel, national firms Bevan Brittan and OC will conduct most of its domestic work.
They will be responsible for a wide range of matters for Motorola including general commercial, UK corporate advice, product liability, government procurement, litigation and corporate investigations.
London employment partner David Widdowson and Bristol intellectual property partner Andrew Braithwaite will manage the client relationship for Bevan Brittan and OC respectively.
In addition, the Brussels arm of US national Squire Sanders & Dempsey has been appointed for competition-related work.
Pitceathly told Legal Week: “We have recently conducted a formal review of our UK legal advisers. Previously, we had a number of firms that we instructed but decided to reduce that number to make the process more efficient and to be much more cost-effective.”
The panel will be reviewed every three years. Pitceathly is now reviewing Motorola’s European legal roster with the intention of capping its adviser list at two in each country.
News of the panel review follows the recent appointment of DLA Piper’s Manchester arm to co-ordinate all of Motorola’s corporate real estate needs across Europe, the Middle East, southwest Asia and Africa.
