Ownership of the Advised in Birmingham marketing initiative has been transferred from Birmingham Law Society (BLS) to lobby group Birmingham Forward.

Founded in January 2003 to put Birmingham on the map as a centre of legal excellence, the scheme is being extended - as was always the intention - to promote the rest


of the city's professional and


financial services.


Advised in Birmingham involves all the different legal professionals in the city. It runs seminars, liaises with regional bodies charged with bringing more investment into the region, and even hands out T-shirts and sticks of rock bearing its logo.


'BLS made effective use of the brand and we were delighted when it asked us to take the scheme on


to the next level,' said Simon


Murphy, chief executive of Birmingham Forward, which represents more than 250 firms from 24 sectors, including lawyers.


BLS president Steve Jonas said: 'We are positive Birmingham Forward has the ability to expand the campaign even further and help other professionals share our success, just as it continues to help the legal sector in Birmingham.'