Legal Counsel

Job Purpose Statement

• The Legal Counsel is responsible for managing the full spectrum of the Bank’s Banking business from lending, securities, contracting and projects, litigation and recoveries. 
• The role’s principal goal will be to offer practical legal support to the business units through balanced business-oriented legal advice that will guarantee that all our banking transactions and decisions comply with established laws and regulations in line with the legal risk policy and related contractual, litigation, recovery and securities perfection procedures & processes

Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities)

• Contract and Customer Documentation Administration and Advisory & Management (15%)    
• Provide concise and practical legal solutions in handling  contracts and customer documentation in line with the business needs; 
• Ensure that all contracts and customer documentation are in compliance with the legal policy and other internal policies, statutory regulations and generate;  
• Ensure attendance, engagement and participation in contract and customer documentation negotiations on engagements/transactions that the business are getting involved in by self and direct reports; 
• Supervise and ensure that all contractual and customer documentation is practical and contains all key clauses that protect the interests of the business and concise and quality templates of contracts for use by the business and support functions that also enhances excellent relationships with stakeholders; 
• Propose new and innovative ideas that ensure that contract management and the quality of the contracts entered into by the banking units are of the highest standards; 
• Ensure personnel are properly trained and educated on all existing/new regulations, policies and procedures, product information, in order to perform their responsibilities accurately, efficiently and in a timely manner; and
• Ensure an up to date register of all contracts is maintained and regularly updated. Ensure effective and efficient custody and retrieval of contracts.
• Closure on audit issues raised with respect to contracts and customer documentation by ensuring a satisfactory “met” ratings for audit matters raised and providing specific timelines for closure of audit issues (the timelines should not exceed two weeks).Securities (Perfection and Review) & Credit Approvals Support Management (20%)    
• Manage the legal securities docket in line with the security perfection and review procedure from the credit approval requests and advice; 
• Manage the legal advice provided for drafting of securities and allocation for security perfection reports;  
• Manage the preparation of relevant opinions on security perfection and discuss any opinions with the business team; 
• Manage the security review process of previously registered securities, ensure reports are shared on time to the management and board committees, share any gaps for improvement in the securitization process. 
• Closure on audit issues raised with respect to Securities (Perfection and Review) by ensuring a satisfactory “met” ratings for audit matters raised and providing specific timelines for closure of audit issues (the timelines should not exceed two weeks). Litigation, Recoveries and Legal Queries (25%)    
• Ensuring compliance with the policy (ies) relating to to litigation and legal queries management. 
• Handle the litigation and threatened litigation and ensure reduction of legal exposure through adverse judgements;
• Ensuring successful negotiation of matters out of court to ensure that the costs to the Bank are minimized by avoiding expensive litigation.
• Keeping abreast with and proactively acting on market developments that may adversely affect the banks success to recover loans.
• Project relevant trends that affect the collectibles in the recoveries portfolio and isolate potential problem areas.
• Ensuring that all reports are provided in time within allowable time frames for Board and Management committees; and
• Closure on audit issues raised with respect to recoveries, litigation and queries by ensuring a satisfactory “met” ratings for audit matters raised and providing specific timelines for closure of audit issues (the timelines should not exceed two weeks).

Job Specifications

Academic:

• Bachelor’s Degree Law (LLB)
• Master of Laws (LLM) (Desired but not mandatory)

Professional:

• Admission as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya (minimum 5 - 7 years post admission)
• A Masters degree in combination with an aggregate of five to seven (7) years of qualifying work experience will be an added advantage)

Desired work experience:

A minimum of 5 - 7 years’ experience in the legal department of a busy organization, financial institution or law firm, with sound exposure to:

• Contract and customer documentation drafting
• Development of sound legal advisory and sound general advise
• Credit or lending
• Recoveries litigation
• Perfection of securities