Bristol law firm Burges Salmon has been appointed as the official legal services partner to Bristol 2015 Ltd, the company responsible for the programme of events to be staged next year when Bristol is the European Green Capital.
It is the first official sponsorship to be announced by the company and comes shortly after he Government pledged £7m to support city during the year. 
Burges Salmon’s role includes providing legal advice on a wide range of commercial activities for Bristol 2015 including procurement, commercial contracts, IP (intellectual property), real estate and planning, financing and operations. The law firm is Bristol’s largest with 650 staff and a turnover of nearly £80m.
Burges Salmon senior partner Alan Barr said: “We jumped at the chance to support Bristol in its year as European Green Capital. Receiving this award is an important accolade for the city and people of Bristol as well as the whole of the UK, being the first UK city to be chosen as a European Green Capital.
“Now that the Government has confirmed its financial commitment for Bristol 2015, there is no excuse for other organisations not to join in through sponsorship.
“Being part of this initiative means we can give something back to Bristol by helping the city get the most from the award and build on its environmental achievements to date. Bristol is in our DNA and we have close and long-standing connections with the city. Whilst over 80% of our work now comes from outside the region, not only from across the entire UK but also from overseas through our extensive network of foreign law firms, our head office continues to be in Bristol.”
Bristol 2015 Ltd director Kris Donaldson added: “I am excited to welcome Burges Salmon as our first official sponsor for Bristol 2015. Their legal knowledge and expertise will make a real difference to the delivery of next year's programme of activities.”
Twenty-five years ago Burges Salmon became one of the first firms to specialise in environmental law. Carbon energy related work now accounts for around 15% of all its work.
