BAE hunts for senior talent ahead of legal review

Aerospace and defence giant BAE Systems is set to expand its in-house legal team as part of an extensive overhaul of its legal function that will ultimately see external advisers reviewed.

The department, led by general counsel Philip Bramwell, has already made a series of hires - with Clyde & Co lawyer Jo Talbot joining this week to head dispute
resolution and risk management across the group.

Talbot's appointment marks the half-way point in Bramwell's three-year restructuring of the legal team, which began when he joined from telecoms company O2 in January 2007. A series of further hires are also expected over the next few months.

Since the start of the restructuring BAE has increased its total lawyer numbers to 120, with the creation of a number of new senior roles in various business areas and geographical regions. The company has made 13 new appointments including Andrew Guest, who became chief counsel for the Saudi Arabia region, and Mark Serfozo, who was appointed as chief counsel for compliance and regulation.

The latter stage of Bramwell's overhaul is also set to address advisers. BAE has worked with a number of firms in the past, including Allen & Overy, Slaughter and May, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Wragge & Co. Bramwell said that an adviser review is likely next summer as part of the restructuring.

He said: "We are renewing and refreshing our legal function and this will include looking at our relationships with external law firms, but only when we are satisfied we have our own house in order."

Earlier this week (22 July) BAE announced a three-year programme to implement the recommendations of the Woolf Committee Report.

The plan will execute all 23 proposals set out in the report, by former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, which examined the ethical principles and practices of the company.

The report followed the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO's) controversial decision to drop a corruption investigation into the company's Al-Yamamah arms contract with the Saudi Arabian Government. The decision has since been declared unlawful by the Court of Appeal.

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