Fujitsu Services bolsters legal capability by two
Outsourcing contractor Fujitsu Services has boosted its growing legal team with two new lawyers, in the process appointing a dispute management head for the first time.
The company has hired Roger Williams from Linde to take a central role looking after contract disputes, as well any employment issues that arise internally or on outsourcing deals.
Fujitsu has also brought in Mahbuba Chowdury from Mathew Arnold & Baldwin to replace Andrew Howe in the public sector legal team, reporting to Tim Marr. Howe defected to rival Hewlett-Packard Services last month for a senior role in its IT outsourcing legal team.
Jonathan Smith, legal director at Fujitsu Services, said: "Roger used to work for us, but left for Linde in the early part of the millennium. We stayed close and are really delighted he's coming back.
"It might seem unusual to combine employment and disputes, but that's the role he was doing at Linde."
Williams will report to Smith in his central role and will split his time between overseeing IT outsourcing disputes and employment matters.
He will handle both employment issues for Fujitsu Services itself as well as those that arise from the company's outsourcing deals.
The hires come at a time of expansion for Fujitsu Services' legal team. This summer the company swooped on relationship firm Pinsent Masons to boost its private sector in-house team with associate Michael Harvey.
Olswang technology partner Clive Davies joined the company in May, a move that came two months after former CMS Cameron McKenna technology head David Roberts took up the position of head of the Fujitsu Services private sector legal team.
