Long-serving Slaughter and May partner Sir Nigel Boardman has been hired by Premiership Rugby to lead a review of the financial position of its current clubs.
The move comes after the collapse of West Midlands sides Worcester Warriors and Wasps earlier in the season.
The appointment of Sir Nigel, who was a partner at Slaughter and May from 1982 to 2019, is the first step by the league’s governing body to establish a financial monitoring panel, which will work in parallel with a new sporting commission that will take responsibility for key decisions made by the organisation.