Regional firm to act for embassy

South west law firm Bretherton Price Elgoods has won work as the sole legal adviser to the Estonian embassy in London.

The 14-partner firm, based in Cheltenham, will handle all the embassy's affairs, particularly property and insurance issues.

It won the work through one of its corporate lawyers, John Beevor, who is the Estonian honorary consul.

Managing partner Malcolm Price says: "It's a great honour to act for a country.

"We will be dealing with anything they throw at us. I guess there will be work that is referred to us, and that could be anything commercial."

The firm has not received its first instruction from the embassy, but is already working on a denationalisation project for the Estonian government.

"People may think that because it's a little country Estonia is of no significance, but it's probably going to turn into the Switzerland of the Baltics," says Price.