BT Law targets corporate clients after gaining ABS status

BT will start offering legal services to corporate customers through its new BT Law Ltd business, which the SRA authorised today as an alternative business structure.

BT Law will incorporate BT Claims, a motor claims management service provided to other companies within the BT group such as BT Fleet, which looks after the group’s 35,000 vehicles.

The intention, a BT spokesperson told Solicitors Journal, is for the service – currently run as a cost centre – to become a profit centre. "BT Law is already working on its first tender for new business," he said.

BT Law will be offered to BT’s existing BT Fleet clients, including The AA, G4S, and Network Rail.

The service will include “an in-house end-to-end motor claims solution for businesses, from incident notification, through investigation and resolution”, BT said in a statement.

In addition, BT Law will offer litigation services provided by an in-house team headed by solicitor and BT group’s head of litigation and employment Miles Jobling (pictured, with SRA’s Samantha Barrass).

Jobling, who will become director of BT Law, will supervise a team on 105 staff, including solicitors, legal executives, paralegals, and claims managers.

He said the ABS licence would give BT Law “the perfect platform” to develop the business’s experience and credibility, including the provision of legal services in relation to public liability and employment.

“We can deliver whole new areas of support for our existing clients as well as hopefully developing many new relationships,” Jobling went on. “As we carry the BT name we understand just how important it is to best represent and protect our clients’ brands, which will remain as a main component of our service strategy.”

BT’s interest in providing legal services emerged last year as the telecoms company spent £64m to buy Tikit, a technology company providing services to law and accountancy firms.

It followed the group’s application to trademark ‘BT Law’ in February last year.

"BT’s Global Services and BT Business divisions already provide telephony and IT services to legal and accounting firms," a spokesperson said. "Tikit has a specialism in IT services to these sectors and will compliment this. BT Law when it works with corporate law departments will be in a position to join them up with Tikit, should they require broader IT and telephony services, as well as legal services."

BT Law will operate from offices in London, Bletchley and Sheffield.