EMI is set to revamp its in-house legal team following the news that Chris Ancliff is taking on the top legal job at the music giant, replacing veteran general counsel Charles Ashcroft in the role.

Ashcroft announced this week that he was to step down from the job after more than 10 years as group general counsel for health reasons, enabling him to concentrate solely on his duties as company secretary.

Ancliff – who joined the music group in 1998 from PolyGram and is currently associate general counsel – will have overall responsibility for all of EMI's legal affairs, as well as taking on a communications role as government relations officer.

He is also currently in the process of reviewing the structure of the legal team and will report directly to chief executive Eric Nicoli.

Nicoli said: "I completely understand and respect Charles' decision to reduce his workload and am very pleased that we will continue to benefit from his considerable knowledge and expertise. Chris' well-earned promotion to general counsel will ensure a smooth transition."

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised EMI last year as the music company fought off a hostile takeover bid from larger rival Warner Music. The company is also known to have instructed Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw in the past.

EMI is one of the world's largest music companies with over 6,000 employees, operations in 50 countries and revenues of over £2bn.