One particularly unique and rewarding experience during my legal career was being part of a significant cultural and structural transformation in my current organisation. When I joined the Bank, the legal department was primarily reactive. It operated in silos and had minimal integration with business strategy. I worked closely with executive leadership to shift the perception of Legal from a cost centre to a strategic partner. The department has become more agile, collaborative, and aligned with the Bank’s growth objectives.I have begun building and restructuring the legal department from the ground up. It has been a rare and exciting opportunity to define the department’s structure.

I am enjoying leading change, building trust, and demonstrating how Legal can unlock value when it’s embedded into the fabric of the business early and intentionally.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company?

From a business enablement perspective, we work closely with Credit and Business teams to ensure timely follow-up and closure of legal matters, particularly around the perfection of securities. This directly supports faster booking of facilities, enabling the Bank to earn profit income sooner and meet customer expectations for timely disbursement. We also play a central role in managing legal risk, especially around non-performing facilities (NPFs). By ensuring that all financing documentation is watertight and security is properly perfected, we help minimise exposure to legal loopholes that could delay recovery. In cases where loans become non-performing, we pursue recovery aggressively, helping the Bank to reduce NPFs. Managing legal spend efficiently has been a priority. We actively negotiate with external law firms to ensure competitive rates and reduce unnecessary legal costs.

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

Our Legal team acts as a trusted adviser across all major functions. We ensure early and active legal involvement in structuring security for all facilities. Through collaboration, we ensure all financing meets acceptable standards, which safeguards the Bank’s interests, enhances recovery outcomes, and reduces NPFs. We work to understand the unique needs of our customers. We collaborate with the business teams not just to identify legal risks, but to craft solutions that balance compliance with commercial viability. This approach often results in structuring arrangements that are not only legally sound but also create a win-win outcome for both the Bank and the customer.

Finally, we manage legal spend prudently by negotiating with external legal service providers, benchmarking fees, and utilising in-house resources effectively. This cost discipline allows us to allocate resources strategically.