Bristol law firms TLT and Osborne Clarke have been re-appointed to BT Group’s legal panel for the next three years, with TLT expanding its previous role to provide full-service support to the telecoms giant.
TLT, which has been supporting BT since 2017, had been a preferred supplier for litigation and employment. 
Following its re-appointment, this has now been extended to a full-service offering with six additional practice areas, including competition, data protection and property.
For its latest panel, BT has reduced the number of firms from 15 to 11 as part of a drive to focus its legal work with a smaller set of key strategic partners.
It also said the move would enable the panel’s firms to gain a deeper understanding of the group and ensure greater alignment across different projects.
As part of the selection process, BT reviewed law firms from across the UK, benchmarking them on a range of criteria including experience, cost and their ability to support the development of its in-house legal talent.
Clear evidence of inclusion, equity and diversity in their practices was also key – an area for which Osborne Clarke was highly commended by BT last year. 
TLT, which employs around 1,400 people across its six offices, including its Bristol HQ, was selected based on its comprehensive expertise in the telecoms sector, its market-leading approach to innovation and its outstanding approach to client service.
Leading the firm in this process was partner and head of telecoms Daniel Lloyd, with support from a multi-disciplinary team including Stuart McBride, Chris Owen, Andrew Glynn and Stuart Murray
Daniel, who is TLT’s BT Group client relationship partner, said: “We’re delighted to have been re-appointed to BT Group’s legal panel and to have grown our remit from offering employment and litigation support to a full-service offering.
“We look forward to working with BT Group and other panel firms to develop the right kinds of solutions to meet BT’s needs in the next three years.”
BT Group’s key client partner at Osborne Clarke, Jon Fell, added: “It’s fantastic to be re-appointed to BT Group’s new legal panel, and we look forward to working together and strengthening our collaboration around technology and DEI over the next three years.”
Osborne Clarke, which employs around 800 people in Bristol and also has UK offices in London and Reading, works with many of the leading players in the UK telecoms market including telecoms operators, mobile service providers, unified communications providers, infrastructure companies and technology suppliers.
For its new panel, BT has included usage and incorporation of AI in its operations as a key selection metric, as the group seeks to capitalise on advances driven by the adoption of the technology.
BT Group has also confirmed that it will include an automatic place on the next panel (2027-2030) for the firm that evidences the most efficiencies through the use of AI and other technologies over the next three years, alongside the continued place for best inclusion, equity and diversity performance.
BT Group General Counsel, director of regulatory affairs and company secretary, Sabine Chalmers, said the firms selected for the panel underwent a rigorous selection process, during which they provided clear evidence of best-in-class capabilities across a wide range of fields.
Along with Osborne Clarke and TLT, the panel also includes Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, BCLP, Bird & Bird, Clifford Chance, CMS , DWF Freshfields and Simmons & Simmons.
BT Group has also confirmed a further six firms that will be able to bid for specific categories of legal work – Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Covington and Burling, DACB, Shepherd and Wedderburn, Trowers & Hamlins and Winckworth Sherwood
