The consolidation of Bank of Ireland's UK operations has led to an exclusive employment law contract for Burges Salmon. The Bristol firm beat competition from three other firms in a rigorous two-month tender process

Burges Salmon will advise all areas of Bank of Ireland UK Financial Services (BOIUKFS), the new umbrella business for the group's sterling interests, including Bank of Ireland Business Financial Services, Bristol & West and Chase de Vere.

In the past, Burges Salmon has only advised on employment matters for Bristol & West and Chase de Vere and did not have an exclusive contract.

The consolidation of Bank of Ireland's UK operations into one umbrella division led to the consolidation of its legal departments, prompting the review for employment law.

Senior in-house lawyer David Hill said: “It was a very close-run thing. We were impressed across the board. We chose Burges Salmon because we knew them well and we felt there was an existing cultural fit there. We obviously used a variety of selection criteria. One of those was rates, but there were a number of others as well.”

Burges Salmon's head of employment Chris Seaton said: “We're naturally delighted to have succeeded in extending this relationship across all areas of the BOIUKFS group, most notably Bank of Ireland Business Financial Services.”