About

Team size: 388
Major law firms used: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Axiom, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Halebury, Matheson, Paralaw, Reed Smith

In April 2018, BT replaced one of the most influential and admired general counsel in the UK, Dan Fitz, with another leading light in the community, Sabine Chalmers. Chalmers joined from Anheuser-Busch Inbev, where she was legal chief and corporate affairs officer for 13 years. Little wonder then that Chalmers was seen as a safe pair of hands to take on one of the most senior legal roles in the UK.

That experience has been vital in what was a tumultuous year. In May, BT announced plans to cut about 13,000 jobs (likely including some in the legal team) over the next three years in a bid to cut £1.5bn in costs. Then, a month later, chief executive Gavin Patterson surprisingly resigned after five years in the top job. His replacement, Worldpay’s former co-head of payment processing Philip Jansen, takes over in 2019.

‘It’s been well documented we are on a journey,’ Chalmers says. ‘We have a new chief executive coming in. I’ve been through that many times and can bring my change management skills to help the team and organisation through that.’

Chalmers has replicated the wider business strategic shift by transforming her legal function, announcing a new leadership team of seven in June. There is a GC for each unit, as well as one for corporate, a company secretary and chief operating officer. Each has about five direct reports, which means Chalmer’s extended leadership group is about 40 people. The main change for her is fewer direct reports and more senior positions within the team. She describes her management style as ‘very informal’. The focus is on giving lawyers accountability at all levels and not micro-managing. She believes that will create an environment in which everyone continuously learns and is challenged.

‘If there’s an issue that we’re dealing with and the lawyer that is accountable happens to be two or three steps removed in terms of reporting, I nevertheless want to work with that lawyer directly or ensure that lawyer gets exposure to senior management. The better lawyers are the ones that have had more experiences because it helps them to exercise judgement and solve different types of problems.’

Other legal team initiatives include an emphasis on simplifying ways of working and processes, mirroring a wider BT push. Chalmers sees a big role for legal in doing that, however, particularly in areas like governance, simplifying what needs to be seen and signed off by a lawyer. As the company moves into a fresh strategic cycle alongside a new chief executive, Chalmers says BT will take a
look at its external adviser arrangements, where there are many long-standing relationships, particularly with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

‘We’re in an industry in which the judgement calls we make, particularly around technology and investment and commitment, are long-term ten or 20-year plays, whereas we know regulation or politics has a much shorter timeline. We have to help the business navigate those two conflicting forces.’

One partner at a US firm says: ‘All the men are scared of her; she’s impressive. She took over from a man on a deal that people had been trying to do for three months and people said “now that a woman is involved, we know this deal is definitely going to get done”.’