About

Considering that BNP Paribas Cardif Türkiye, part of the international insurance company, operates in a highly regulated sector, the legal team plays an active role in all company projects, providing business-minded legal opinions. Describing their way of working Buket Gülyüz Akman, senior lawyer and leader of the team, says: ‘We are not at the centre of a project but rather we are a team member of each project’. With the advantage of their experience in the insurance and pension sector, the legal team has been able to focus on more strategic topics in order to ensure business continuity and establish a harmony with the other departments and group principles. This involved updating and implementing separate legal procedures referring to each practice area, reviewing service levels, considering the difficulties encountered while assessing the performance of legal staff and determining and communicating the internal principles to be observed while requesting a legal service. Another successful achievement of the team has been their special effort on governance mechanisms in light of both the new Turkish Commercial Code and the Under Secretariat of Treasury requires an efficient governance structure where each governing body actively participate to decision-making procedures under their responsibilities. Being a member of the corporate governance committee and keeping in mind the corporate governance principles, Akman and her team restructured the procedures relating to the governing bodies. Recognised internally for the team is highly regarded internally as a support function through its valuable contribution towards the profitability of projects.