Confectionary giant Cadbury Schweppes has finalised the make-up of its legal team after confirming that it will be splitting with its drinks arm.

Cadbury legal chief Hank Udow said that in the wake of the demerger, which was confirmed on 10 October, the company's 70-lawyer legal team will be split in two. Around 50 lawyers will stay at Cadbury and around 20 will join the drinks business, Americas Beverages.

The 20 lawyers working at Americas, which owns brands including Dr Pepper and Seven-Up, will now work under the operation's general counsel, Jim Baldwin.

About half of Cadbury's lawyers are based in the UK and will relocate from the business' historic office in Bourneville near Birmingham to Cadbury's headquarters in Uxbridge in April next year. Udow will continue to head the team.

The news of the split comes just six months after Udow announced plans to overhaul Cadbury Schweppes' legal function, creating five new practice groups within the department. These will now need to be modified to allow for the latest changes.

"We have had to adjust and we will lose a bit of expertise," said Udow. "The confectionary side of the business is more geographically diverse but numbers will stabilise. It is a bittersweet experience."

Cadbury Schweppes does not have a formal panel but regularly instructs Wragge & Co for litigation work and Slaughter and May, which is currently advising the company on the demerger, for corporate work.