Team Size: ten legal advisors and attorneys

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently? 

Over the past year, the Legal Department has been actively involved in a broad range of impactful legal and regulatory matters. These included developing and updating the Bank’s standard commercial and banking contract frameworks to reflect recent amendments to commercial law, consumer protection legislation, and directives from the Central Bank of Kuwait. The Department also managed and concluded several complex banking disputes through amicable settlements, resulting in significant cost avoidance and the preservation of key business relationships.

It further reviewed and legally vetted high-value syndicated loan agreements entered into with regional and international financial institutions, particularly those related to infrastructure finance and acquisition transactions. In addition, it supported and reviewed legal and regulatory restructuring measures for the Bank’s overseas branches in the UAE and Egypt, working with local legal teams and external counsel to ensure full compliance with local supervisory frameworks.

The Department represented the Bank in critical litigation matters before the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, including cases involving electronic fraud and third-party liability in credit transactions. The Bank secured favourable judgments that reinforced legal protection for financial institutions and contributed to important judicial precedents in the Kuwaiti legal landscape.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis, and how does your legal strategy align with the wider business strategy? 

The legal department at Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait adopts a proactive and structured approach to legal risk management during periods of instability, guided by four key pillars.

The first is pre-crisis readiness and legal contingency planning, achieved through the development of tailored contractual frameworks and emergency legal models that ensure business continuity. The second is a rapid legal response based on risk analysis, involving the evaluation of legal implications arising from evolving circumstances and the issuance of timely legal advisories to executive leadership.

The third pillar is full integration within executive crisis committees, ensuring that legal considerations are embedded in real-time strategic and operational decision-making processes. The fourth is proactive engagement with regulators, maintaining open lines of communication with supervisory authorities to ensure prompt compliance with new or urgent regulatory developments.

This approach has enabled the Department to navigate multiple operational challenges and fast-evolving legal environments in recent months, including sudden changes in market conduct regulations and cross-border transaction requirements, while preserving the Bank’s legal standing and regulatory integrity.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services, and how is performance measured? 

Engagement of external legal counsel is governed by a clear set of strategic considerations. These include the need for specialised technical or cross-border expertise, particularly in financial markets, structured finance, or international tax regimes; the requirement for an independent legal opinion in cases of potential internal conflict or where governance transparency is paramount; and capacity management during peak periods of legal activity that may temporarily exceed internal resources.

The performance of external legal counsel is regularly evaluated based on the quality, accuracy, and practicality of their advice; timeliness and responsiveness to internal stakeholders; and cost-effectiveness relative to added value, with formal reviews conducted to ensure long-term efficiency and alignment.