Bevan Brittan is delighted to announce it has been appointed to the first-ever legal panel of UK construction giant Costain.

The new appointment, which took effect from January 2008, will see the firm advise Costain on a full range of legal issues including contentious and non-contentious construction, corporate, property, insurance, health and safety, personal injury, environmental and planning.

A Bevan Brittan pitch team led by projects partner Chris Jarman secured the appointment last month. The team also included property, planning & construction (PP&C) partners Martin Howe, Mark Calverley and Andrew Tobin, corporate partner Sarah Cartwright, commercial litigation partner Adam Kendall and associates Duncan Astill and David Kirkpatrick.

The appointment, which carries a two-year term, comes after a review of external legal advisers overseen by Costain head of legal, Tracey Wood.

Bevan Brittan has previously acted for Costain over the last eight years on a number of high-profile projects including playing a key role on the upcoming Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) project to expand a 63-mile stretch of the M25, a deal set to become the UK’s largest-ever Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

Commenting on the appointment, partner Chris Jarman said: “This significant consolidation of what was already a strong client relationship is testament to the strength and depth we have to offer at Bevan Brittan and also greatly diversifies our offering to Costain.”

He added: “We look forward to building on our previous work for Costain and making the ongoing relationship as successful and rewarding as possible.”

Costain head of legal Tracey Wood said: "We wanted to appoint firms that are leaders in the key sectors we work in.  We were impressed by Bevan Brittan and the breadth of expertise it has to offer and look forward to working closely with the firm over the next few years."

Costain, which is headquartered in Maidenhead, is one of Europe’s leading construction companies, operating across sectors including water, rail, highways, health, oil and gas, education, retail, nuclear and property.

Bevan Brittan is joined on the inaugural three-strong panel by Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard.