Telecommunications giant BT today announced its long-expected move into legal services with the launch of BT Law Limited.

The subsidiary, which has received an alternative business structure (ABS) licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, will offer services to corporate customers, initially in the motor claims market.

The business will be headed by solicitor Miles Jobling, currently head of litigation and employment law for the BT Group – a position he will retain.

The announcement comes more than a year since BT Claims, a wholly owned subsidiary of BT, applied to become an ABS. At the time, the business had a legal team of 20, mostly solicitors. It provides an in-house motor claims management service for a fleet of over 35,000 vehicles.

According to a statement today, BT Law will build on the in-house base ‘to offer an in-house end-to-end motor claims solution for businesses from incident notification, through investigation and resolution and now including full litigation management’.

It said BT Law Limited plans to grow over the coming years and, based on market demand for further services, will look to expand selectively into additional areas, such as public liability and employment law for corporate customers.

The new business unit will have offices in London, Bletchley and Sheffield.