About

Richard O’Sullivan is praised by industry and private practice sources, for his innovative approach in the face of austerity. ‘When I started in my role as Head of Legal Services in 2010, I stepped into a very busy and vibrant regulator’, Richard O’Sullivan says. ‘Since then, the breadth and diversity of functions we are responsible for, and our employee numbers, have grown exponentially’. In response to this stretch on resources, O’Sullivan championed the use of an innovative cloud-based case management system, which had been developed in the US and never before implemented in Ireland. As well as adapting the system to the needs of the Irish regulator, creating ‘a largely bespoke solution’, O’Sullivan also spearheaded related strategy to accommodate the specific data protection and privacy issues related to the system. ‘This is a big win for the Legal Department, the organisation and the taxpayer’, O’Sullivan says. ‘For me, this is an excellent example of how, even in these difficult economic times, it is possible for legal to add huge value’. O’Sullivan established Health Information and Quality Authority’s legal function from scratch, developing comprehensive processes and procedures. As regulator to all Ireland’s health and social care sectors, the body’s remit is huge and growing, throwing up complex legal and compliance issues. In addition to the cloud database, O’Sullivan also implemented an extensive upskilling program within the team, to improve cost-efficiency in handling litigation. O’Sullivan’s view of Ireland’s law firms is highly positive, though he would like to see more efforts to share knowledge and resources with their clients. ‘It would be great to see them partner with clients to share these resources, which would in turn assist the in-house Legal Department to demonstrate additional value to the organisation’.