Baker & McKenzie has scooped a prize place on the BBC's roster of advisers, being named as legal adviser to the BBC's new governing body, the BBC Trust.

The appointment, which carries no fixed term, will see Bakers' City head of competition, Samantha Mobley, and public law partner Tom Cassells provide competition, public law and regulatory advice to the client. The firm will advise the Trust on fair trading policies and will also be consulted initiatives such as the BBC's proposed free-to-air digital TV satellite platform.

Bakers won the role following a tender process at the end of last year, which was led by BBC general counsel Nicholas Eldred. A number of City firms, including Norton Rose, are understood to have bid for the work.

The Trust, which does not have its own legal team or general counsel, replaced the old board of governors at the beginning of 2007 with a mandate to bring greater transparency to the running of the BBC.

Mobley said: "It is a significant appointment for [Bakers]. The BBC is part of our cultural heritage and we see it as a real feather in our hat."

Trust director Nicholas Kroll said in a statement: "The BBC Trust sets the strategic direction of the BBC and ensures it meets public purposes. It must take decisions in the best interests of license fee payers, after independent and careful analysis of all evidence available."

Last February the BBC slashed its legal spend, dropping its property team and axing advisers Denton Wilde Sapte, Richards Butler and Lovells in a bid to cut costs.