Team size: Within the UK, approximately 150 lawyers, in addition to a significant team of trade controls specialists across the business, the Company Secretariat team based in London and an ethics function also located across the business.

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

BAE Systems is one of the largest defence, aerospace and security companies in the world. As well as the legal, trade controls and ethics function in the UK, we also have substantial teams operating within Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as in Qatar, and within the BAE Systems, Inc managed businesses in the US, Sweden and the UK.

Within the UK businesses, we have lawyers embedded across each of the BAE Systems Air, Maritime and Digital Intelligence sectors, working closely with a range of specialist lawyers in the Head Office team, supporting M&A, commercial, compliance and regulation, ESG, real estate and environmental, intellectual property (IP), dispute resolution, IT and data, employment, pensions and corporate and securities law matters. We also have substantial teams supporting trade controls matters across the Group, and a significant company secretariat function.

During 2025 and 2026, some of our key projects have included the support of key bids and contracts for major UK and international programmes, across all of our sectors, from a legal, trade controls and regulatory perspective: a number of acquisitions, investments and disposals, as well as major technology development programmes.

An example of our key technology development support in the past year, which has involved our M&A as well as our IP and Technology law specialists, was the support to all legal aspects of BAE Systems’ Launchpad programme. This programme is focused on accelerating breakthrough technologies into new business – for example, through the creation of start-ups that develop our advanced technology for use outside of defence, as well as our investment work with venture capital funds focused on backing European defence-tech start-ups.

Please provide a brief description of any internal transformation or development projects within your legal team over the last twelve months.

We have highly successful development programmes for our lawyers, which have just been expanded into other areas of the function, called the Junior Lawyers’ Network and the In-Flight Lawyers’ Network. These programmes are aimed both at lawyers early in their careers, including our trainee and solicitor apprentices, and at lawyers with many years’ experience. The purpose of these groups is not only development, but also, equally importantly, to ensure that when a lawyer joins BAE Systems, that lawyer isn’t simply joining the particular business, sector or specialist legal team, as important as this is, but is also part of a major inhouse legal team, with the support, collaboration and potential for future career growth and interest that this brings.

The networks allow lawyers to build connections with lawyers in other parts of the business, understand the range and diversity of businesses within BAE Systems, and the differing legal matters arising, and help facilitate moves and development across the business. At meetings of these networks, we also ensure tailored development training is included, often supported by one of our relationship law firms.

Alongside the networks, during the year we have offered our lawyers the opportunity to have temporary assignments to other parts of the business, to increase their knowledge and experience of the Group, and also at times to help with urgent short term support requirements. These assignments take place within the UK, but also, on a limited competed basis, across our businesses internationally, with month-long assignments in Australia, one of our joint ventures in France, as well as assignments to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These assignments, whether UK based or cross border, strongly support development of the individual lawyers involved and the function and provide helpful insight into the broader company and function, as well as supporting the host business’ needs. Assignments have also been very helpful in allowing lawyers to understand what it would be like to make a full-time move to a legal role in another part of the Company.