About

Team size: 28
Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Slaughter and May

Andrew Fleming was just 31 years old when he landed the head of legal role at British Airways following its £5bn merger with Spanish carrier Iberia in 2011. His tenure leading a 28-strong in-house legal team has seen him face everything from industrial action and a high-profile data incident, to the closure of its largest pension scheme and the acquisition of landing slots at Gatwick Airport.

Linklaters partner Tom Cassels says Fleming brings an impressive gravitas to his role despite his relatively young age: ‘BA throws up a lot of issues in a real glare of publicity because everyone feels they have a stake in it – it says “British” on the label and we all have a relationship with it. I know his team has resolved a number of issues this year very satisfactorily and in a way that has delivered a lot of value to the business.’

The most high-profile recent issue was last year’s data breach that affected hundreds of thousands of customers who made bookings on the company’s website and mobile app. Fleming and his team are continuing to deal with the fallout.

BA was a relatively early adopter of e-billing in late 2011 and Fleming says it has transformed the way the in-house legal function manages its budget: ‘We do a lot of work in-house for a small team but do spend a significant amount on external providers each year. We’ve now got the minutest detail on what we’ve spent with whom.’

He says he inherited a good team in 2011 but believes a strong in-house function is built around the people you recruit and creating an environment for them to be able to stretch themselves. His responsibility has gradually broadened, taking on company secretarial in 2013, compliance in 2016 and data protection in 2017.

‘Taking the head of legal role at 31 was career-defining,’ he comments. ‘I had absolutely no preconceptions about how things should be done. It was an exponential learning curve and
very exciting.’