About

Team size: 75 (including 25 lawyers)

Major legal advisers: Constantine Cannon, Baker McKenzie, Shoosmiths, Lewis Silken, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last year?

The UK regulator, Ofcom, has just auctioned off additional 5G spectrum. I led the team as we successfully acquired the much sought-after low band spectrum to ensure that Three has the most 5G-Ready spectrum in the market. We also delivered a top flight football sponsorship with Chelsea FC in time for the 2020-2021 season. When the Government announced restrictions on telecoms providers using what it views as “high-risk vendors” in our 5G networks we negotiated contracts with a replacement network vendor (Ericsson) under extreme time pressures.

What were the main steps you took to protect the business once it became clear we were in the midst of an unprecedented challenge?

There were many business and operational challenges. Firstly, working patterns. As a business we moved rapidly overnight to remote and home working, closing our shops, offices and customer care locations. Secondly, geographic usage patterns. We shifted from urban centres to suburban and rural areas, shifting the demand on our network. Lastly, investments were required. We had to invest significantly and at speed to re-dimension our network to provide new connectivity and capacity outside of our traditional busy city centre areas.

The main steps to protect the business were as follows. We worked with the government and other operators to implement a list of targeted interventions including support for the NHS and support for vulnerable customers. Working with the Department for Education, we provided free mobile for vulnerable children and provided tablets, phones, SIMs & MBB devices to 32 charities for the vulnerable. During lockdown, we ensured our network engineers were properly classified as essential workers enabling us to keep the network running, and ensured compliance with competition laws. Any joint discussions with government and other operators or coordinated actions to support vulnerable customers and ensure connectivity to UK consumers could give rise to competition law risks, even in times of a pandemic. Also, we conducted a full review of all material contractual relationships was required to ensure continuity of service. Lastly, we contracted negotiations supporting our network infrastructure investments plans, and conducted employment law advisory work around home working and the furlough of retail staff.

How have you maintained your team’s cohesion when you have been unable to see them face-to-face as regularly as usual?

Wherever possible, we communicate using video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The face-to-face, real time form of communication goes a long way to making up for not being in the same geographic location.

At Three we use Microsoft Teams and concentrate all collaboration activities within the tool, and communicating as much as possible is key. We maintained a steady stream of touch points from large team meetings and speaker’s corners to smaller group sessions to one-to-ones. We have virtual team drinks and coffee breaks. For me, I like having spontaneous one-to-ones, where I call someone on MS Teams at an unscheduled time and without any specific agenda – just to chat about how things are going. I find that it is the best way to recreate the ad hoc nature of some of the office environment social interactions. We sought to ensure everyone understands the strategic direction for the business and how we as a legal function can support the business. Also, having multiple touch points allows for team members to share how they are being impacted by home working and enables team members to collaborate and to support each other.

Did the Brexit deal reached at the end of 2020 give you and your business greater clarity for the future?

Up until the deal was announced we tracked the business impact from a “no deal” scenario. This mostly centred on our supply chain, right to work checks for existing and new employees, the free flow of data between the EU and the UK and roaming. Even in a “no deal” scenario we found that the risks were limited. The deal reached did provide some greater assurances around the supply chain and some comfort that the parties would find a solution to ensure that cross-border data flows would not be interrupted.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving over the next few years?

Both the in-house legal role and the general counsel role has evolved over the years. The in-house legal role has evolved from being merely an advisor to the business to being a decision-maker, especially in respect of matters that have significant legal, commercial and operational consequences for the business. The general counsel role is also evolving with a much broader skillset required, I see that trend continuing. General counsel no longer exclusively manage the legal function but many often manage other areas as well including regulation, enterprise risk management, corporate communications and government relations. The role is not being limited to compliance with laws and regulations but influencing what those laws and regulations look like and supporting the broader business agenda. This not only requires strong communications skills but also an in-depth knowledge of the sectors they are operating within. The ever-increasing burden of regulation means that a company’s course of action needs to be understood and planned with regulation in mind. This requires a far more strategic approach for the role of the general counsel, rather than being limited to the provision of legal support to the business it serves.