Sema seeks in-house legal chief

Global IT & business services group Sema is seeking a UK legal director to head its in-house team.

The company, which has more than 17,000 employees, is reviewing which law firm to keep as its sole external adviser (The Lawyer, 15 November).

But it is also addressing its internal legal department. Chief legal counsel and company secretary Nick Deeming says: "My brief is to reorganise and hone the way legal services are delivered internally and purchased externally to achieve much greater savings in our legal costs.

"We also want to introduce into the department a clear management structure. When I joined six months ago there was no real clear structure."

Three senior legal advisers will work under the director, who will report directly to Deeming. Following the restructure, Sema will have 10 lawyers in the UK with an additional 25 worldwide.