Head of legal and company secretariat | Access Bank (Kenya)
Elisha Nyikuli
Head of legal and company secretariat | Access Bank (Kenya)
Legal team size: Four
Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape over the next 5–10 years that companies should prepare for?
The integration of Artificial Intelligence into a corporate counsel’s daily tasks to improve efficiency, while ensuring the safeguarding of data confidentiality.
Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?
It has been an exciting journey coordinating DLA Piper’s due diligence on the bank ahead of its amalgamation with National Bank of Kenya, part of aligning under a single licence held by Access Bank Plc. Alongside this, I have provided structured legal guidance to both the Board of Directors and Senior Management at each stage.
How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company?
The team supports all business levels by ensuring loan and general contracts are thoroughly detailed to prevent Bank exposure. It also defends the Bank in litigation and assists the Credit Risk Team with recovery efforts through external counsel liaison. We provide both general and specific legal advice on a wide range of strategic matters, while the department additionally serves as the Data Protection Office, advising on compliance across all business levels. The team further delivers complete governance support to the Board of Directors and Senior Management committees.
How are you bringing the legal department closer to your business colleagues?
We participate in project teams and collaborate with colleagues from the inception of each initiative to provide bespoke legal guidance at every stage of implementation.
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