BT is investing over £2.7m into a new Belfast-based legal hub that will create up to 30 commercial lawyer jobs in the city over the next four years.
The new standalone centre is the first of its kind for BT in Northern Ireland and the telecoms provider said it “will offer its corporate customers efficient, high quality legal support”.
Leeanne Whaley, Transformation Director for Legal and Company Secretary at BT said: “As one of Northern Ireland’s largest investors and employers, BT is delighted to be establishing its first legal hub in Belfast, which will continue to offer high quality legal expertise to colleagues across BT Group.
“Northern Ireland offers highly educated and experienced legal talent, so it was an ideal choice to set up our new hub here and we at BT are excited to recruit this talent into our legal team. I would like to thank Invest Northern Ireland for the support that BT has received in order to grow our legal presence here. Its recent advice and support have been invaluable.”
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Invest NI has provided BT with strategic business advice to secure this investment and it has offered £240,000 towards the creation of 30 jobs, which are expected to contribute almost £1.4m of additional annual salaries to the local economy.
Seven of the new commercial lawyer positions are already in place.
George McKinney, Director of Technology & Services at Invest NI added: “BT is a renowned presence in the telecommunications industry across the UK.
“The company’s dedication to digital communications is particularly important right now as companies navigate new ways of working and adapt its business plans to ensure a digital focus.
“Northern Ireland is increasingly being recognised as a leading location for innovation in the legal sector.”
BT directly employs over 100,000 employees in 62 countries. It sells products and networked IT services to customers in more than 180 countries worldwide, including consumers, SMEs and large-scale corporate enterprises, as well as the public sector and communications providers.
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