Team size: Five

Key team members: Marie Louise Bank (head of legal), Morten Wernberg (head of legal – transactions), Bitten Møhring-Andersen (head of re-insurance team), Christoffer Ring (head of legal – SME), Martin Rudbæk (head of legal – investments)

Major legal advisers: Accura, Kromann Reumert, Plesner, Gorrissen Federspiel, Kammeradvokaten (Poul Schmidt)

Can you give an idea of the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

In the summer of 2022, the Danish government decided to merge the Danish Growth Fund (Vækstfonden) and the Danish Export Credit Agency (EKF) into one new entity – Denmark’s Export- & Investment Fund (EIFO). The merger was concluded on 1 April 2023 and is one of this year’s biggest mergers in Denmark encompassing a portfolio of more than kr130bn in investments, guarantees and loans. EIFO is the government supported financial institution providing risk-tolerant co-financing for Danish SME’s, start-ups and export companies.

A merger of that size is complicated and requires structure, dedication and highly skilled employees and advisors. In a coordinated effort, the legal departments across the two companies were at the forefront of spearheading the merger to reach a common goal – to complete the merger without major legal obstacles being in the way.

Each of the responsible in-house counsels had the in-depth knowledge of the organisation they previously worked for, and this was an enormous benefit to the merger process.

Among other things, the process required extensive mapping of counterparties and processes, legal risk and operational risk assessments, communication with stakeholders (internal and external) and hours of discussions in the group to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks.

The work resulting from this cross divisional legal collaboration has been an instrumental driver in the completion of the merger as of 1 April 2023, which has ensured business continuity for the benefit of Danish companies.

Because of this intensive process, not only did we become more aware of the combined business we are part of going forward after the merger, but we also became closer to the various legal disciplines for which we are each responsible, and we got a better understanding of the interconnection between the various business areas of EIFO.

The work done preparing for and completing the merger cannot be attributed to a single legal department, it was an achievement of the combined legal departments of EIFO. And the process has taught us that when we join forces across legal departments, we can reach the goal with a better result for the benefit of EIFO and our customers.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

There is no doubt that ChatGPT is one of several advancements that the legal departments will need to be aware of in the future. In EIFO we conduct numerous due diligence processes – and it is key to obtaining reliable and valid information regarding our counterparties. The possibility of receiving incorrect information due to the use of artificial intelligence or ChatGPT will require in-house legal departments to step up and implement processes to ensure valid and correct data being relied upon in the operation of the business.

How do you suggest in-house departments build strong relationships with business partners?

Often legal departments are known for saying ‘no’. But instead, legal advisors must focus on replying with interest, and asking to learn more. It is vital that legal advisors know the core of their business areas to provide solid and commercially viable advice. This can be done by insisting on attending sales meetings, in-house training of business partners or having a short secondment in another department. Knowledge is key if you want to be the trusted legal advisor your colleagues go to when seeking a solution to their challenge – whether it being legal or commercial.