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Guy Oxnard, general counsel at Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), describes the legal function as a ‘diverse and dynamic team which has shown itself able to adapt to the fast changing international environment of the TAP project and readily able to handle both internal and external issues’. Recently, as the pipeline has moved from the business development and planning stage to the construction phase, the compliance and legal departments have merged together in order to better support the company, embedding lawyers into the business while maintaining direct reporting lines to the general counsel. This allows the team to address issues on the spot while still maintaining the necessary independence. TAP’s lawyers are operating inside host countries including Greece, Albania and Italy and work as a close-knit team to provide a joined-up legal service providing consistent advice. ‘This growth means that we now cover more areas and interface more with all departments of the company’, says Oxnard. The team has also overseen procurement issues resulting from construction services operations needed to construct the 900km natural gas pipeline across three countries and under the Adriatic Sea.