The Asda supermarket chain is that rarest of beasts: a multi-billion pound company with a sense of fun.The company's headquarters in Leeds brims with surreal touches.

It's a place where visitors' badges are neon yellow smiley faces; where regular fashion shows compete with food-tasting sessions in the main foyer; and where Denise Jagger, head of Asda's five-strong legal team, a well-respected, award-winning corporate high-flyer, wears a badge with the immortal slogan 'I'm Denise! Happy to help!'She smiles: 'This is all part of Asda's attitude - we have a culture of accessibility and openness for all our colleagues [another Asda-ism is that all employees are 'colleagues'], a culture that we've had ever since the new management took over in the early 90s.'She has particular cause to be happy in the wake of last month's report into supermarket retailing by the Competition Commission, which cleared the top five supermarkets of 'anti competitive practices', such as charging overall excessive prices and making excessive profits.

'A team here at Asda has been working on the case for over two years,' says Ms Jagger.Asda was the business success story of the 1990s.

A downmarket supermarket chain perilously close to bankruptcy at the start of the decade, it was rescued by the formidable team of Archie Norman and Allan Leighton, who took over the business as chief executive and marketing director respectively in 1992, the same year that Ms Jagger joined from Booth & Co (now Addleshaw Booth & Co) in Leeds.The new team, through a relentless tactic of constantly offering the customer the lowest possible prices, eventually clawed back Asda's position as the third largest name - behind Tesco and Sainsburys - in the supermarket battlefield.

This position was further consolidated last year with Asda's high-profile takeover by the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart (in Asda-speak, the firm 'became part of the Wal-Mart family'), which has just produced its first offspring in the form of a 140,000 sq ft monster of a store outside Bristol this summer.However, Ms Jagger denies that Asda has sold its soul to the US giant.

'Asda and Wal-Mart have always had very similar philosophies, and to some extent we modelled ourselves on them.

However, since the merger, although there is some corporate uniformity, we've kept our own autonomy and identity.' She stresses Asda's 'campaigning spirit' - a concept alien to US retailers - which was highlighted last month when Asda gave evidence at the Restrictive Pr actices Court hearing against resale price maintenance (RPM) on over-the-counter medicines.Ms Jagger says: 'This is just one example of how we do all we can to help the consumer - we're not anarchists, we don't break the law, but if there's an area of outdated or irrelevant legislation that is putting customers at a disadvantage, then we will draw attention to it.'In reality, the team is far from placard-waving protesters.

Ms Jagger qualified with City giant Slaughter and May before moving into industry with a client.

After a brief stint as 'Addleshaw Booth's shortest ever partner', she joined another client - Asda.Employment lawyer Emma Hammond qualified in 1998 with leading Leeds firm Walker Morris, while commercial lawyer Zoe Williams arrived five months ago via Slaughter and May and Eversheds.

With recent Law Society research showing that pay and benefits for in-house lawyers are far inferior to the private sector, what does in-house work have to offer the bright young solicitor?'I wanted one client,' explains Ms Hammond.

'Working for and with your employer gives you a stronger sense of loyalty and continuity than you get when you deal with lots of clients.' Ms Williams agrees, adding: 'Here you use a broader range of skills than you would in private practice.

You work with people on a day-to-day basis, constantly advising rather than just being called in where there's a problem.'Claiming there's 'not a chance' of her returning to private practice', Ms Williams singles out the breadth of her job as one of its most attractive qualities.

'It's nice having to deal with people who aren't lawyers - normal people, with different angles on the problem in hand.'Gary McHale joined Asda as an employment lawyer in 1988, before leaving for Eversheds in 1992.

'The company's finances were in a bad way, and they needed to cut down the head count,' he explains.

Returning to the company in 1995 made him realise where his loyalties lay.

'Having one client - Asda - means that you know where you are all the time.

In private practice with a number of clients, you would dip in and out of their lives, being dealt information when you were deemed necessary, but never getting the full picture about their business.'The team consists of two commercial lawyers: Ms Williams and Eleanor Doohan - who was recently runner-up in the industry category of the Yorkshire lawyer of the year awards.

They deal with all Asda company contracts, as well as intellectual property and e-commerce.

One paralegal (who deals with all licensing matters) works alongside the two employment lawyers and Ms Jagger, who appears to be something of a jack-of-all-trades: as well as being head of legal, she is company secretary, chairs the Asda Foundation charitable trust and the Asda Pension Fund Trustees, and has charge of share schemes and pensions administration.She does, however, outsource about 25% of the company's legal work - major transactions such as the Wal-Mart merger, for example, which went to Slaughters because 'we obviously couldn't cope with such a huge deal in-house'.Other firms used regularly include Eversheds for company commercial work, Addleshaw Booth & Co for intellectual property, and Park Nelson for commercial property.

Firms are chosen on a mostly informal basis, with personal relationships and confidentiality valued attributes in the ever-competitive world of supermarket battles.

'It's difficult to get work with us,' says Ms Jagger, 'but when firms do, we tend to be loyal.' When deciding what to outsource, Ms Jagger had a definite plan in mind.' I decided only to bring areas in-house that would actually gain something from being in-house,' explains Ms Jagger.

'Employment, for example, is better done here, because you can get involved with personnel training.'Asda employs more than 100,000 people.

So 'although we have very good employment practices', Ms Jagger says, 'there are bound to be disputes'.

When the disputes come to tribunal, the two employment lawyers come into play.

Non-contentious work includes interpreting how employment legislation will affect the stores' training and employment procedures - a job which by its very definition means close work with the human resources team.As befits Asda's culture of openness and accessibility, the legal team is encouraged - as are all Asda colleagues - to get involved with areas outside the legal arena.

'I will sometimes go to the PR team and make suggestions based on my legal knowledge,' says Ms Jagger.

Likewise, Ms Hammond frequently finds herself carrying out work usually falling into the human resources area.

'I go to stores and carry out workshops and training sessions with store managers, trying to make the law understandable, practical and fun,' she explains.As a result of this attitude, Ms Jagger says one of the most important characteristics that she looks for in her team members is approachability.

'We don't see ourselves as "the legal team", who people feel they have to go to - we try to win people's respect by being approachable, articulate and confident, so they feel that they want to come to us, for us to help them.' As a result, she says: 'We need people who obviously have great technical abilities, but also the desire to get involved with all aspects of the business, and really get under the skin of the Asda philosophy.'The Asda philosophy can be seen throughout the legal team's airy open-plan office, with background music playing constantly, a poster of Spice Girl Mel B on the wall above Ms Jagger's desk and a relaxed - yet driven - atmosphere.As Ms Jagger says: 'If you want all the trappings of a big legal firm, with a huge office, a hierarchy, and your own secretary who brings you coffee on a tray, you certainly won't get it here.' Maybe not, but you do get to wear a great name badge.