Sky has appointed UK and Ireland general counsel Vicky Sandry as its next group GC, as current postholder James Conyers prepares to leave the company later this year.

After 25 years at the media and telecoms giant, Conyers has announced he will be stepping down from his role and leaving the legal team later this year.

Conyers joined Sky's legal department in April 1993, becoming deputy head of legal and business affairs in 1998, then head of legal business affairs in 2005. He stepped up to the role of group GC in September 2005.

Ahead of his departure, Sandry has been appointed as deputy group GC in the interim.

She has been at the company since August 2005, going from head of legal for regulatory and competition, to director of legal competition, corporate and regulation, to general counsel for the UK and Ireland in 2016.

She is a former EC and competition associate at CMS, and also spent seven months as a non-executive director at flexible working provider Obelisk Support in 2017.

Sky was the subject of a high-profile bidding war last year, with Comcast eventually securing control of the company in a £30bn deal, trumping a rival offer from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox.

Herbert Smith Freehills took the lead legal role for Sky, with former global M&A head Wilkinson – now managing partner of clients and sectors – taking a lead role on the firm's efforts.

Comcast was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Davis Polk & Wardwell, while Allen & Overy, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett all acted for 21st Century Fox on its rival bid.