Team size: 20 

Major legal advisers: Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons, Clyde & Co and Simmons & Simmons  

Can you describe your career path leading up to your current role? In which year did you assume your current position?  

I worked in New Zealand as a real estate and real estate finance lawyer at a top tier New Zealand firm for more than five years before moving to London to work in the project finance team at Allen & Overy. I have been in Qatar now for over fourteen years working at Allen & Overy, on secondment at Qatar Rail and then for the past eight plus years working as the head of the legal department at CBQ. 

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

Our department is constantly working with our technology team to work on solutions to streamline operations across the bank. The key innovation I have been involved in was introducing an automated reporting system for our litigation cases which helps people across the bank be able to review the status of litigation cases at any stage in the process. While this was an important development it took some time for implementation to go live but we have had hugely positive feedback since it has been put in place. 

How do you balance your responsibilities as a general counsel with your involvement in dispute resolution and M&A matters?  

Managing this cross over is tricky but I am ably assisted by a strong head of litigation in the bank who manages the day-to-day disputes activity, so I am only involved in dispute resolution for material cases. Our M&A activity has not been hugely time consuming in recent past but when it was ongoing it requires a very detailed and time-consuming focus so ensuring appropriate delegation is key during this time to achieve business expectations. 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?  

This is a strong focus for the bank and CBQ has set up a sustainability committee to ensure that the work is appropriately managed, and our goals achieved. Sustainability as a concept and practice has been part of Commercial Bank’s approach for many years, whether it be through our longstanding commitment to the Qatar National Vision 2030 or in-built into our corporate strategic plan initiated in 2016. Commercial Bank made good progress in advancing our sustainability performance in the past few years and legal are involved in a number of areas including working towards establishing a sustainability financing framework for the Bank.  

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments? 

AI technology is likely to assist in template documentation and responses. It is amazing to see the advances in the past 12 months alone and it is likely this pace will continue.  We are continuing to look at ways to introduce technological solutions into our work flows particularly where there is no legal input required.