Mobile phone giant Nokia has embarked upon a far-reaching search for its new head of legal, following the death of legal chief Carl Belding in September.

The company is aiming to find a replacement for Belding as soon as possible and is considering recruiting from outside its Scandinavian homeland. It is understood the company has been looking in Japan, the US and in Europe.

Belding died after falling from a hotel balcony during a business trip to Switzerland in late September. He joined Nokia at the beginning of last year from IBM, where he was general counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Nokia's enterprise solution business legal head Louise Bentland is acting as legal director in the interim period.

Nokia has recently been embroiled in a number of lawsuits with Qualcomm, the world's biggest chipmaker, over royalty rates for licence patents.

The new legal head will lead Nokia's international legal team of over 150 lawyers throughout 130 countries. The company does not operate a formal panel but instructs a large number of firms including Shearman & Sterling and Clyde & Co.