Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has added Bond Dickinson to its existing list of external advisors following a three-month review of its legal panel.

The review sees Bond Dickinson join DAC Beachcroft, Dentons, Eversheds, Gateley, Osborne Clarke and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co on the panel. The six firms were originally selected in 2012 after Taylor Wimpey’s general counsel James Jordan halved the number of firms the company used.

Speaking to The Lawyer Jordan said: “We added Bond Dickinson to the panel for the first time really because they’re strong in the North East and the far South West. Therefore it really complemented the panel because of those geographical strengths as well as being a national firm, which is a criteria we look for in any firm coming on to the panel.”

Bond Dickinson real estate partner Duncan Fisher will work as the firm’s Taylor Wimpey client partner. The new legal panel will come into effect on 1 January 2016.

As part of the tendering process the firms have also been asked to provide other value added services to Taylor Wimpey such as training to the company’s in-house team. The training will cover land planning and dispute projects as well as key areas of compliance law.

Jordan also said that the firms also make secondees available to Taylor Wimpey although the company has yet to call on this service.

The Lawyer broke the news that Taylor Wimpey was renewing its legal panel in September. It was originally understood that the new panel would be announced in the first half of 2016.