Two former City lawyers charged with eight counts of insider dealing by the Financial Services Authority have been committed to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Andrew Rimmington, former partner at US firm Dorsey & Whitney, and Michael McFall, former partner at US firm McDermott Will & Emery, were committed for trial after a contested hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Both Rimmington and McFall previously worked in the London offices of their firms.

The charges relate to the takeover of UK pharmaceutical company Neutec Pharma by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis in 2006.

The case is the FSA’s fifth insider-dealing criminal prosecution in the past 18 months.

Peter Andrew King, former finance director at Neutec Pharma, was committed alongside Rimmington and McFall. The three were granted unconditional bail ahead of a plea and case management hearing on 28 October.

The FSA secured its first insider-dealing convictions in March. Christopher McQuoid, former general counsel at TTP Communications, was jailed for eight months. His father-in-law, James Melbourne, was given an eight-month suspended sentence.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge last week dismissed McQuoid’s appeal against his sentence.