Colt targets formal panel in last leg of legal reshuffle

Colt Telecom is planning to establish a formal legal panel as the final stage in a reconstruction of its legal department begun when the company relocated to Luxembourg in June 2006.

The telecoms service provider had created a London-based legal team with three lawyers earlier this year and is currently seeking to double its headcount (www.the lawyer.com, 1 October).

“We’re currently putting together a panel review as we don’t have a formal panel at the moment,” said Colt commercial, legal and regulatory director Robin Saphra.

Saphra said the pan-European nature of Colt’s business requires firms that can work on large, complex deals across various jurisdictions.

“We’re looking for firms that can offer us a seamless service across Europe,” he explained. “It sounds simple, but it’s relatively hard to find.”

Firms that Colt has used in the past include Slaughter and May, which advised the company on its relocation, Bird & Bird, DLA Piper and Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Colt, which has 17 lawyers in 13 countries, is presently embroiled in talks with regulators over a single pan-European regulatory body.