Beyond Legal: The Evolving Role of General Counsel in Africa

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On July 24, 2025, Law.com International hosted the webinar Beyond Legal: The Evolving Role of General Counsel in Africa, highlighting the evolution of in-house legal leadership across the continent. As the role of the General Counsel continues to evolve, legal professionals across Africa are stepping into broader, more dynamic positions — far beyond traditional legal advisory duties. Increasingly, GCs are emerging as cross-functional leaders, equipped with commercial insight and actively shaping the strategic direction of their organizations.

Moderated by Krishnan Nair, Managing Editor at Law.com, the session featured insights from leading legal executives including Ardilah Mohamed, Head of Legal (SA) and Head of Compliance (Sub-Saharan Africa) at Danone Southern Africa; Ayokunle Ayoko, Group Company Secretary, Head of Legal and Chief Compliance Officer at CFAO Nigeria; Brenda Aluoch, Head Legal, Transaction Banking, Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank; and Wellington Chimwaradze, Vice President Legal, Africa, Middle East and LATAM at Unilever.

The conversation began with a key question: “How do General Counsel remain relevant beyond legal?” Brenda emphasized that today’s GC must operate as a strategic advisor, business partner, and risk manager. The modern legal department must blend legal acumen with technological fluency and financial literacy — handling legal matters, developing policies, managing compliance, and bridging legal and business strategy.

Networking was also highlighted as a key pillar of leadership. Beyond peer collaboration and knowledge sharing, general counsel now play a role in engaging government officials and regulatory bodies, contributing to public advocacy and policy development.

The panel agreed that GCs are no longer passive observers of corporate decisions; they are embedded within the strategic core of their organizations. As part of the executive team, they must ensure alignment with legal and ethical standards, while actively shaping business strategy. Anticipating legal risk and proactively offering strategic solutions is now a core requirement.

“It’s not just about being relevant—it’s about being seen to be relevant,” Brenda remarked.

Ardilah built on this, noting that GCs must now function as foresight-driven risk managers. She cited a 2023 McKinsey study showing that few GCs held strategic roles at the time — but a subsequent EY study from late 2024 found a major increase in influence. This shift reflects a broader geopolitical and regulatory reordering, where legal departments are no longer peripheral — they are present from the inception of strategy.

Wellington identified three key forces driving this transformation: technological acceleration, increasing regulatory complexity, and stakeholder-centric leadership. He argued that every GC will need to champion digital transformation, embracing emerging tools such as artificial intelligence — even though such technologies are not traditionally part of legal education. With AI regulations evolving rapidly, legal leaders must lead these conversations, not merely react to them. Adaptability and strategic foresight are crucial in an environment where change is constant.

Understanding the business — from customer needs to products and services — is now central to delivering legal value. As Wellington put it: “When we are in business, we are not legal experts—we are business people with legal skills. And that’s exactly how we need to look at ourselves to succeed and deliver on this.”

Responding to the question, “Do you think the perception of senior in-house counsel is shifting away from the stereotype of being inhibitors to innovation rather than enablers?”

Ayokunle shared his perspective on how the role has changed over time. Historically, General Counsel and Company Secretaries were often seen as conservative figures — tasked with administrative duties such as minute-taking. Today, technology platforms like Zoom and AI-powered transcription tools have rendered many of those manual skills obsolete. While the role is undoubtedly evolving, Ayokunle questioned whether the pace of change is truly fast enough. For instance, when an organization must replace a Managing Director, the choice almost inevitably leans toward a Chief Financial Officer rather than a GC. He attributes this to the GC’s traditional comfort zone — focused on legal and governance matters — rather than broader business strategy.

To remain relevant, Ayokunle argued, the next generation of legal leaders must expand their scope. Strategy must become a core competency, alongside the ability to unlock new sources of value within the business. Boards increasingly expect GCs to contribute to capacity building, informed decision-making, and enterprise-wide outcomes: “We’re no longer confined to interpreting rules — we’re thinking about strategy, numbers, and revenue. There’s a paradigm shift, and the role must evolve to directly support the bottom line.”

Brenda reinforced this sentiment by observing how GCs are now stepping into client-facing roles. In the past, legal leaders primarily served as back-office documenters of executive decisions. Today, they are being invited to the frontlines — participating directly in client meetings and commercial discussions. CEOs now see the GC as an essential part of the leadership team and expect them to engage from the outset — to understand client concerns at the point of conception and help craft solutions collaboratively. It’s a striking shift from passive support to proactive leadership.

“How do you feel the General Counsel’s role is evolving across Africa, and how do legal teams stay ahead of change?”

Ardilah Mohamed, who also leads compliance in her organization, noted that regulatory change is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. In fact, more than half of compliance failures today stem from missed or misinterpreted changes in the law — not intentional misconduct. Compliance is no longer a binary question of whether something is permitted or prohibited; it now demands a sophisticated understanding of nuance and consequence. Risk analysis today goes far deeper, tracing a single decision through the entire sequence of events it triggered — whether by action or inaction — across the full business value chain.

The panel also observed that while the roles of GC and Chief Compliance Officer were traditionally distinct, that boundary has blurred. Increasingly, these roles inform and reinforce one another, enabling organizations to not only track change but to anticipate it. The transformation of compliance itself has been swift. Once labelled the “department of no,” compliance is now a critical second line of defense — evaluating emerging risks, anticipating challenges, and embedding legal considerations into strategic decision-making.

Wellington Chimwaradze, whose legal remit spans Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, stressed that this shift in the GC’s role isn’t limited to the African market — it reflects a global trend. The increasingly international nature of business necessitates transformation everywhere, pushing legal teams to keep pace with complexity and change.

When asked how the GC’s responsibility for compliance aligns with their role as a strategic business partner, the panelists agreed – being strategic and managing compliance go hand in hand. The Chief Compliance Officer isn’t just a gatekeeper — they’re a guardian of strategy and a monitor of organisational efficiency. Compliance ensures that companies stay aligned with both short- and long-term strategic objectives.

“How are GCs adopting technology into legal leadership?”

Wellington took the floor to highlight that the expanding scope of the General Counsel role has brought with it a significantly heavier workload. Legal teams, however, operate within finite resources, and their effectiveness is closely tied to cost management. This reality has made technology a lever for change. Embracing innovation requires capacity — and capacity begins with smart time allocation. Tools like contract lifecycle management systems are already helping legal departments free up resources, while technologies such as predictive data analytics and risk assessment tools allow teams to proactively handle complexity and anticipate legal exposure.

Yet Wellington was quick to note that alongside the opportunities, technology introduces a range of risks, particularly with AI. Issues such as intellectual property ownership, cybersecurity, regulatory uncertainty, contractual liability, and the need for responsible AI governance are top of mind. Navigating this landscape demands not just awareness but capability. Deploying tools without ensuring proper training and adoption across teams is inefficient and counterproductive. Building the right skillset internally is essential — not only to leverage technology effectively, but to ensure that it enhances both legal and organizational performance.

Ayokunle added that GCs today must position themselves as strategic business partners, fully equipped to advise their boards on enterprise-wide adoption of AI. While European companies are already appointing Chief AI Officers to lead such transformation, others are still catching up. The future of AI in business isn't limited to chatbots and point solutions. The real opportunity lies in rethinking operational frameworks across departments — using AI to unlock efficiencies at scale. Legal teams, in particular, should play a central role in guiding this evolution, ensuring that technology strategies are not confined to the legal function, but integrated into broader organizational thinking.

Tying into the broader conversation on technology and AI, the panel addressed a question from the audience: “Is AI a threat to the in-house legal function, just as it has been for private practice lawyers?”

The response was a unanimous no. Ardilah Mohamed underscored the fundamental distinction between private practice and in-house counsel. While the former operate within a billable-hours model, in-house legal teams are embedded in strategic decision-making. For General Counsel, AI is not a competitor — it’s a catalyst for optimisation. It can streamline operations, augment efficiency, and elevate strategic insight, but it cannot replicate the nuanced judgment and contextual awareness that GCs bring to the table.

Brenda Aluoch put it plainly: “AI is here to stay. The options are very few — either you embrace it and move along with it, or you sit back and let it take over.”

Ayokunle Ayoko and Wellington Chimwaradze both reinforced the point that the real power of AI lies in combining it with human expertise. Far from being a threat, AI is a force multiplier — but only for those willing to adapt. Those who resist technological evolution risk being left behind, not because AI is inherently disruptive, but because stagnation in a changing landscape is what undermines relevance.

One question from the audience sparked further debate: “If compliance and legal functions are held by the same individual, how do you guard against conflicts of interest?”

The panel agreed that while such conflicts are rare, they are not inconceivable. In instances where a conflict might arise, the guiding principle should be one of integrity and accountability — applying compliance protocols by removing oneself from the situation and allowing it to be handled independently. Upholding transparency and sound governance remains paramount.

For those interested in continuing the conversation around the evolving role of the General Counsel across the region, we invite you to join us on September 5th in Johannesburg for the GCC Africa Conference. This event will empower legal professionals to tackle future challenges, embrace legal technology and AI, stay ahead of regulatory developments, and speak the language of business with confidence.

We extend our thanks to our panelists for their insights and to everyone who participated. We look forward to keeping you engaged as this dialogue continues to shape the future of legal leadership.