Legal team size: Four

Major legal advisers/external counsel: Bowmans in various markets across Sub-Sahara Africa, Dentons HHM, DLA Piper IKM advocates, KTK Advocates, Munyao, Muthama & Kashindi Advocates among others

Country you’re based in: Kenya

Have you had any experiences during your legal career that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

My legal career has been unconventional, taking different paths to find myself in the advertising, marketing, and communication world. I have walked with curiosity, worked on myself – learn, relearn, learn, synthesised my experiences into practical ways that have challenged and guided me. In summary, the 2 experiences below stand out as particularly unique or interesting in the recent past.

Being a strategic partner to WPP Scangroup whilst it undergoes a critical corporate wide transformation, changes in leadership, complex matters/disputes, digital transformation, and operational efficiencies has been unique. It is even more interesting as the marketing and media landscape is fast evolving. The experience in thinking and executing on how the legal department connects to the organisational priorities and bring value during the change has been humbling and an eye-opener. This has strengthened my business acumen, and I am fortunate to understand, be passionate and well versed in areas that are critical to WPP Scangroup’s operations and success.

We have a unique structure within the legal function at WPP Scangroup. Our remit extends to the sustainability team, the company secretary office and governance, Business Integrity function as well as Crisis Management and Business Resilience and Security Assurance. This structure lends itself to our direct involvement in numerous company initiatives regarding compliance, risk management, regulatory, disputes, right to speak and sustainability matters.

In the past year and in an industry where AI is evolving rapidly, the legal team has embraced innovative approaches to ensure caution is applied in a measured and necessary manner, without hindering the wider business objectives. As an example, WPP legal developed the AI traffic light risk map that provides pragmatic, up to date, guidance ensuring we are mindful of use and handling of our data, and that of our clients. It has been intriguing to interact with the business teams as AI tools and products are being scaled within WPP. Another interesting development, for my team and I, has been our adoption of Generative AI tools through WPP’s Open platform in our legal workflow.

How are you bringing the legal department closer to your business colleagues?

We are an embedded function within the business – where our strategic goals and the services we provide are aligned. We work in close collaboration with the business. At WPP legal, we have guiding principles to bringing the legal department closer to our business colleagues. Successful collaboration with business partners lies in several interconnected factors at the core being a deep understanding of the business’s operations, goals, and challenges; proactive, clear communication to build trust and integrate legal considerations early; translating legal concepts into business language for better comprehension; adopting a solution-oriented approach that balances legal compliance with business needs; building strong relationships with key stakeholders across business units; embracing legal tech, including AI tools, to enhance efficiency and accessibility of legal services; continuous learning to provide forward-thinking advice; and flexibility and adaptability in our approach based on business needs.

By focusing on these elements at WPP Scangroup, we position ourselves as valuable strategic partners. This fosters a collaborative environment where legal expertise actively contributes to business success, creating a win-win situation for both the legal team and the broader organisation. We also guide colleagues in associated functions such as Procurement, HR, Finance, Internal Audit, Risk & Controls and IT on daily matters.