Client benefits
Willibrord van
Nierop (19S7)
what they are aiming at. The better you know your internal
dient, the easier it is for you to reach a joint decision. We
want to find the balance between the commercial interest
and the legal interest. Sometimes as lawyers we occasionally
have to step on the brake but when we do that, we provide
alternative soiutions rather than just saying no. In my
experience, you always find a solution."
The success of this approach relies on three factors:
experience; knowing the people you're working with; and
understanding the industry. That's why it's vital to be close
to the business, understand what the corporate aims are,
and have a high-speed linked network of knowledge among
professionals who trust each other. The new structure is
allowing the global legal team to deliver precisely that to
Rl and its clients.
Working closely as a global entity, the legal team is able to
add value. It has, for instance, initiated a global trade and
commodity finance (TCF) legal work group to assist the
activities of this global business line. Carlier: 'The group shares
information about TCF products, the documentation that we
use and legal points and jurisprudence that are relevant to the
cliënt." Similarly, in-house lawyers from different jurisdictions
have worked on common standardised documentation for
the global Loan Product Group. Carlier: 'These groups mean
that the business doesn't have to go out and ask each branch
or each legal team individually. Instead, it can come directly
to us and we can organise its legal support."
External clients also enjoy benefits. Van Nierop cites the
example of a cliënt who has a line of finance at its head
office in the Netherlands, but wants to use it for subsidiaries
spread across five or six countries. He says: "We can help Rl
and ultimately the cliënt by coordinating all the legal issues
so the cliënt can benefit in those five or six jurisdictions from
the finance it has in its home country. This happens often. By
coordinating with our branches, ultimately we can cover all
the legal risk for this one transaction, so that the cliënt can
benefit in its different jurisdictions from the credit line."
Although the new structure has only been in place officially
since April, it is already having a positive effect on the
operations of the legal team, Rl and its clients. Carlier sums it
up: "Making the change wasn't as drastic as it may sound. We
were already involved in what was happening at the branches
and subsidiaries. But now it is more structured and focussed
at head office level. And we're now working together as more
integrated teams. The initial feedback within Rl and the global
business heads is very positive. It's early days but it's very
promising. We also want to have a continuous dialogue with
both the business and management stakeholders within
Rl on how to further improve our service."
ISSUE 29 f( 'bl r Rl WORLD
