About

‘Craig has led and continues to lead a fantastic legal team at ANZ’, opines one private practice source. Heading 32 lawyers supporting New Zealand’s largest financial institution, Craig Mulholland is particularly rated for his role in ANZ Bank’s national rebranding. He is also praised for his development of ‘innovative technical solutions’ in efforts to simplify the function’s processes and heighten its efficiency. ‘On reflection, an overarching highlight is having the opportunity to attract high quality lawyers to the organisations I have worked in’, Mulholland says of his in-house career to date. ‘Building a strong employment brand which attracts good people, developing those people then watching them prosper gives me immense satisfaction’. A former Telecom New Zealand GC, Mulholland gained over a decade’s high level strategic experience across the nation’s telecommunications industry, before joining ANZ Bank in 2011. He has led strategic projects and transactions of national significance across both sectors. In this time, Mulholland has observed a significant shift in perceptions of the corporate counsel’s role, and has a strong belief in its potential. ‘In the 15 years I have been in and out of in-house, the role, and its influence in organisations, has changed significantly’, he says. ‘Boards, CEOs, executive teams and people across the business increasingly place significant reliance on their in-house lawyers as trusted advisers. The move of the head lawyer into the “C suite” – often now labelled chief legal officer – recognises this.  If the in-house legal team adopt a true partnering approach, whilst maintaining their independence and professional duties, the business will see the benefits of this and embrace the legal team and the skills and expertise it brings’.