Vodafone UK has appointed former Telefonica Europe general counsel Justine Campbell as its legal and government affairs director.

This follows the move by existing legal and regulatory director, Jonathan McCoy, to the role of Vodafone Group deputy general counsel.

Campbell’s new role is focused on the UK but has a much wider operational remit than her position at Telefonica. She will be covering legal and government affairs, regulatory, security and fraud issues. It is understood that she will also be overseeing a team of some 90 employees at the company’s head office in Newbury.

Campbell’s role at Telefonica was phased out after she oversaw a radical overhaul of Telefonica subsidiary O2’s legal function, which led to Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith being appointed as sole advisers in Europe.

Many former panel firms – including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Olswang and SJ Berwin – missed out in the wide-ranging panel review (TheLawyer.com, 3 December 2008).

Campbell takes up the Vodafone UK position from 1 July 2009. She declined to comment.