About

Described by a nominator as a team of ‘highly competent cooperation partners, who consistently exercise a high-degree of professionalism’, the Danske Bank legal department, comprised of 160 employees, is led by Flemming Pristed as group general counsel. Among many of the team’s achievements Pristed singles out the work during the ‘digitalisation of the bank’s products and services, which is at the heart of the group’s strategy’. The legal function recently faced the difficulty of interpreting and implementing regulations, which were created during a pre-digital era. As part of this challenge the legal team has been required to liaise closely with various other departments throughout the organisation. As a crucial support function to the business, the team recently outlined a clear and concise five year strategy that incorporates a learning and development program. Designed to match the company’s strategic challenges, the training includes project management, business partnering and global collaboration. Throughout the global financial downturn, the team has been tasked with ensuring costs levels remain flat by introducing constant efficiency improvements, namely via the establishment of a legal competence centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. Another lasting impact created by Pristed’s team is the development of an executive board approved legal risk policy, which ‘sets out the bank’s risk appetite in terms of legal risks’.