Winner: ASDA

"Not only do the ASDA legal team do their job and do it well, but they enjoy it, and their enjoyment and spirit is catching." So says one legal adviser of the winner of this category. It may have a £13bn turnover and employ 146,000 staff, but ASDA's eight-strong legal team is tiny compared to those employed by financial institutions such as Barclays and Goldman Sachs. The judges were impressed by the legal team's imaginative efforts to adapt their employer's values to their own requirements. One of ASDA's three values is 'respect for the individual'. The team runs a series of programmes designed to provide coaching and mentoring for its staff, including 'Stepping Stones', which provides employees with a structured plan for career progression and promotion. Under the team's 'Clear as a Bell' initiative, each guidance note, protocol and contract must be easily understood by at least 10 staff members, including five from the shop floor.

To win this award, ASDA had to beat off stiff competition, notably from Barclays' 750-strong legal team, which has continued to establish itself as a model employer. One initiative has seen it team up with the Black Lawyers Network in an effort to boost the legal profession's diversity. Goldman Sachs must have one of the most experienced legal management teams in the profession. The care it takes to develop and nurture more junior lawyers begins before they have even walked through the door. A rigorous interview process that means potential recruits may meet as many as 15 employees helps explain why the department has an attrition rate of just 6%. The bank is also harnessing technology in order to equip its staff with cutting-edge business tools. In the three years following its launch, the online fee processing and payment system ELIOT processed 80,000 transactions. Accenture has also made a significant investment in technology with the launch of Legal Front Door, an online repository of know-how, which it believes is unparalleled in the legal market.

2007BritishLegalAwards