Ireland 2019 – GC Powerlist
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Ireland 2019

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Alan Daly

Group head of legal  | Electricity Supply Board (ESB)

Alan Daly, group head of legal at ESB, Ireland’s state-owned energy company, joined in May 2011 and has since led the team to an exceptional level. He has overall responsibility...

Alan Johnston

Global counsel | Liberty Mutual Insurance

Alan Johnston, global counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance, joined the company in 2015 as general counsel after 15 years in private practise with A&L Goodbody from training through to partner...

Alan Stewart

Chief legal officer | National Asset Management Agency

Alan Stewart trained with Matheson, then called Matheson Ormsby Prentice, and qualified as an Irish solicitor in 2004. Following a brief spell working in the insurance team, he worked as...

Alison Mitchell

General counsel, company secretary and member of the executive team | GOAL

Alison Mitchell joined GOAL in November 2015 with over seven years PQE. Before this, she acted as general counsel with Calor Gas Ireland (2014) and prior to that as a...

Andrea Boyd

Senior legal counsel - investment management | Mercer

‘Andrea Boyd is senior legal counsel at Mercer. Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies with over 20,000 employees in 40 different countries. [Boyd] joined Mercer...

Andrew O’Flanagan

Chief legal officer | National Treasury Management Agency

‘The NTMA is one of the most important public bodies in Ireland. While it continues to perform its historical function of borrowing on behalf of the government and managing the...

Anne-Marie Dempsey

Senior legal counsel and company secretary | Horizon

Anne-Marie Dempsey, senior legal counsel and company secretary at Horizon, began her career with Mathesons in private practice. After a two-and-a-half-year stint on secondment at the Houses of the Oireachtas...

Anthony Philip

General counsel | Monument Re Group

‘Anthony Philip is the general counsel of the Monument Re Group. The Monument Re Group is an “insurance aggregator” which seeks to assume asset based risk within its risk appetite...

Aoife Gibson

Senior legal advisor | National Treasury Management Agency

‘The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is a sovereign development fund with a focus on investing on a commercial basis...

Audrey Marie O’Sullivan

General counsel, legal, compliance and risk | SIRO

Audrey Marie O’Sullivan, general counsel of legal, compliance and risk at SIRO, began her career in private practice at McCann FitzGerald in Dublin. Dual qualified in Ireland and England and...

Brian Mallon

Vice president – legal and procurement | ICON

Brian Mallon is the vice president of legal and procurement departments at ICON, the global healthcare company, and manages a department of 25 members. This team handles the management of...

Brian Marshall

Group general counsel | Smurfit Kappa

As general counsel of Smurfit Kappa since 1999, Brian Marshall has made a name for himself as a legal and business advisor who combines a deep knowledge of the paper...

Brian McGovern

Senior managing counsel | BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon has had a presence in Ireland for over 20 years and provides expert in-house legal coverage to internal clients from offices in Cork, Dublin and Wexford, delivering a...

Bronagh Hardiman

Director | Vistra

‘Bronagh Hardiman recently joined Vistra Alternative Investments (Ireland) as the Vistra Group began to establish their operations in Ireland. Hardiman has been responsible for ensuring that the business acquired by...

Bryan O’Boyle

Associate general counsel and senior director, legal | ICON

After training with A&L Goodbody and qualifying with them in 2010, Bryan O’Boyle took up seats in the corporate department working on domestic and international clients. He initially joined ICON...

Carol Leland

Assistant general counsel and company director | Janssen Sciences Ireland

Carol Leland took up her in-house position with Johnson & Johnson as assistant general counsel in the pharmaceutical group in 2004, specifically Janssen Sciences Ireland. She was assigned to support...

Caroline Dee-Brown

General counsel | Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg)

Caroline Dee-Brown, general counsel of ComReg is a highly experienced and respected lawyer qualified to practice in three jurisdictions – Ireland, California as well as England and Wales – with...

Catherine Fitzsimons

Head of global product legal | Fidelity International

A solicitor specialising in investment funds and asset management by background and training, Catherine Fitzsimons joined Fidelity International in 2015 as senior legal counsel for Irish operations, insurance company and...

Catherine Power

General counsel  | Seraph Aviation Management

Catherine Power, general counsel at Seraph Aviation Management, was admitted to the roll of solicitors in Ireland in December 2011, and at the beginning of February 2012 joined Volito Aviation...

Cian Farrell

Head of legal | Huawei Ireland

‘Huawei Technologies, a leading multinational technology company, has a significant base in Ireland, with three separate offices across various operations including software development, sales and marketing, and human resources. Having...

Cian Martin

Senior legal counsel Europe | Segment

‘Cian Martin is an experienced, senior, in-house legal counsel. Prior to his recent move to Segment, Martin was senior legal counsel for Europe for the global technology company, IAC. He...

Claire Lyons

General counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa | Otter Products

Claire Lyons joined Otter Products, the mobile technology protective case specialist company, in early 2013. Initially as a corporate counsel, she took on the general counsel position for Europe, Middle...

Claire McAndrew

Head of legal and compliance, Ireland | Intertrust Group

‘Claire McAndrew was responsible for establishing the Intertrust AIFM team which now has approximately €8bn assets under management. She has over 12 years’ experience in the asset management and funds...

Claire Murphy

Group general counsel and company secretary, and head of shared services | Enet

Claire Murphy assumed the role of group general counsel, company secretary and head of shared services of enet in the summer of 2018. Since then she has been central to...

Colin Fuller

Head of legal | Rabobank Dublin

Colin Fuller joined Rabobank in 2008 as head of legal and compliance. He highlights that, ‘the organisation [has] changed a lot in the years since, but is back to [being]...

Colm MacCarvill

Senior counsel and director | Squarespace

Over a 13 year legal professional career, Colm MacCarvill, senior counsel and director at Squarespace, was a litigating barrister for over eight years before moving in-house in the technology industry....

Colm O’Connor

Director of legal affairs | SCOR Ireland

‘Colm O’Connor has driven and upskilled the in-house legal capability of SCOR Ireland since his appointment to the company. In particular, he has been a key figure in SCOR Ireland’s...

Colman McCabe

Chief counsel - EMEA | Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Financial Services

‘With particular strength in international leasing, Colman McCabe heads all legal support across Hewlett-Packard International Bank’s EMEA business, taking a central role in executive decision-making. A former Lincolns Solicitors partner,...

Damien Moynagh

General counsel and company secretary | UDG Healthcare

After training with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, Damien Moynagh qualified into the firm’s corporate team, working on public and private M&A transactions before secondments to the Tokyo and New...

Dan Kiely

Senior vice president – legal | BoComm Aviation Leasing Ireland

Prior to his current role as senior vice president legal at BoComm Aviation Leasing Ireland, Dan Kiely worked in the financial services department of Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) joining...

Darragh Byrne

Head of group legal and compliance | DCC

‘Head of legal and compliance at DCC, Darragh Byrne stands out for his dedication to the DCC group and pioneering work in the compliance field. Byrne joined DCC in April...

Darren Isaacson

Group head of Legal | Mercury Engineering

Group head of legal at Mercury Engineering Darren Isaacson, began his career at Arthur Cox, where he trained and focused on construction and corporate practices. After a secondment at ESB...

David Boyle

General counsel | Irish Life

David Boyle, general counsel of Irish Life Group is a highly experienced and respected general counsel within the insurance industry in Ireland. Irish Life is the largest life insurer in...

David Dobbyn

Head of legal – EMEA | Lime

David Dobbyn, head of legal – EMEA, joined Lime in July this year and is based at its new EMEA headquarters in Dublin. Lime is a smart-mobility provider that offers...

David O’Brien

Legal counsel Europe | Ardagh Group

Having trained at Matheson, David O’Brien spent time in private practice with A&L Goodbody and William Fry to further his education and experience in corporate M&A. Then the opportunity to...

Davinia Conlan

Senior legal counsel | Citi

‘It is always a pleasure to work with Davinia Conlan as she is a fantastic in-house lawyer, incredibly experienced, very efficient and always very approachable. She has a great understanding...

Declan McPhillips

Head of legal and compliance | Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU)

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the governing body that manages rugby across the island of Ireland. Declan McPhillips expertly serves as the organisation’s head of legal and compliance...

Declan Moloney

Vice president legal | Nordic Aviation Capital

Declan Moloney joined NAC, the world’s largest regional aircraft leasing company, as vice president legal in 2017 and works within the transaction legal team. He is responsible for advising, negotiating...

Deirdre Pepper

Head of regulatory compliance, UKI and EMEA | Deutsche Bank

‘Deirdre Pepper is a highly experienced financial regulatory lawyer who has taken charge of the compliance landscape for Deutsche Bank’s Irish operations. She has led the charge on internal regulatory...

Diane Fahy

Head of legal | Investec (Ireland)

Diane Fahy, head of legal at Investec in Ireland began her career in private practice with Matheson, where she trained and worked post-qualification for a number of years. Having joined...

Diarmaid Cunningham

Chief administrative officer, general counsel and executive vice president | ICON

After 10 years in private practice with A&L Goodbody, Diarmaid Cunningham left the firm in 2009 to join ICON as general counsel. In 2009 the ICON legal function was not...

Eadaoin Rock

General counsel | Central Bank of Ireland

Prior to joining the Central Bank of Ireland, Eadaoin Rock trained and qualified in Arthur Cox where she was a senior associate in the financial services group specialising primarily in...

Ed Riley

General counsel | Avolon

Ed Riley’s career started at Clifford Chance in London in 1997 and as a trainee he enjoyed a six-month client secondment to Airbus in Toulouse, which sparked his interest in...

Elaine Breen

General counsel | BlackBee

Elaine Breen has deep experience within large financial companies, having held several positions such as a senior in-house counsel, head of compliance, chief risk officer and company secretary. In May...

Elaine Nerney

International counsel | Slack

‘Elaine Nerney is international counsel with Slack. Slack works with partners and developers globally to build apps and integrations that streamline work and automate mundane task. Prior to joining Slack...

Eleanor Daly

General counsel | Fexco

‘Fexco employs more than 2,300 people across five continents and provides a range of specialised financial services to companies and individuals across these regions. Eleanor Daly heads up a large...

Emer Carey

Legal counsel Ireland | Aramark

As legal director Ireland for Aramark Northern Europe, Emer Carey is the senior Irish based lawyer for one of the largest US employers in Ireland. A nominator highlights that, ‘this...

Emily Ennis

Head of legal affairs | ARI

Emily Ennis is the head of legal affairs for ARI, which is an international duty free retailer operating in 16 locations worldwide and is owned by daa. She manages the...

Emma Redmond

Senior director, privacy | Ancestry.com

Emma Redmond is senior director and head of international data protection for Ancestry.com, a technology company that harnesses family history and consumer genomics, and previously head of EU data protection...

Emmet O’Grady

General counsel and head of compliance | Storyful

Emmet O’Grady, general counsel and head of compliance at Storyful returns to the Powerlist and continues to demonstrate managerial and in-house legal excellence. He has extensive experience having trained with...

Evelyn O’Donnell

Director of legal, Davy Private Clients | Davy

Evelyn O’Donnell, director of legal at Davy Private Clients continues to impress in her leadership of the legal team at Davy which was included in the GC Powerlist: Ireland Teams...

Feidhlimidh Wrafter

Head of legal and assistant general counsel, enterprise risk and governance | Western Union Payment Services Ireland (WUPSIL)

Feidhlimidh Wrafter is the key adviser to WUPSIL’s board and senior management regarding all governance, legal and regulatory affairs matters. His role involves mitigating and managing risk across all 30...

Felicity Smith

Associate general counsel | Airbnb

Felicity Smith started her career as a litigation lawyer in private practice, gaining experience across a wide range of types of litigation in both smaller firms and the Big 5...

Fintan Jackson

Senior legal counsel | Standard Chartered Aviation Finance

Fintan Jackson, senior legal counsel Standard Chartered Aviation Finance (SCAF), is a highly experienced in-house counsel in the aviation finance industry. He highlights that when he joined SCAF, ‘not only...

Gareth Byrne

Associate general counsel (EMEA) | WhatsApp

After training at Mathesons and starting his legal career in private practice, Gareth Byrne moved in-house with a position at Bord Gais Energy, where he managed the sale of the...

Gemma Neylon

General counsel | OpenJaw Technologies

Upon qualifying as a solicitor in January 2009, Gemma Neylon joined the Irish and UK roll of solicitors, specialising in technology, IP and commercial law. She also qualified as an...

Giuseppe Squicciarino

Senior counsel | Airbnb

Giuseppe Squicciarno joined Airbnb in May 2014 as its first lawyer in Ireland and third lawyer in Europe to support the Irish and EMEA operations. As a generalist, he has...

Grainne McLaughlin

Company secretary and general counsel | Coillte

Grainne McLaughlin has a formidable track record in private practice, as an in-house counsel and in the public and private sectors. McLaughlin trained with William Fry and worked in their...

Helen Dooley

Group general counsel | Allied Irish Banks (AIB)

Helen Dooley, group general counsel at AIB leads one of the largest in-house legal teams in the country at around 134 lawyers. AIB is a major Irish consumer and commercial...

James Murray

Head of legal and company secretary | RSA Insurance Ireland

James Murray qualified as a solicitor in 1994 with A&L Goodbody Solicitors and enjoyed a lengthy career in private practice focused on commercial litigation, including six years with Arthur Cox....

Jean O’Driscoll

General counsel | FPG Amentum

Jean O’Driscoll, general counsel of FPG Amentum, trained with Matheson in Dublin and qualified as a solicitor in its banking department. In 2000 she moved to Paris to work with...

Jennifer (Higgins) Adams

Head of legal | Veolia Ireland

Jennifer Adams began her career in private practise at LK Shields Solicitors soon after qualifying in 2003, having trained at another commercial firm in Dublin, Eugene F. Collins. After a...

Jennifer Coyne

International counsel | Square

‘Given Square’s business model, and in light of recent changes to its regulatory and legal landscape, this has been a particularly active time for the company. Jennifer Coyne has been...

Jennifer O’Riordan

Funds director, head of legal | IQ-EQ

Funds director, head of legal at IQ-EQ, spent 15 years in private practice in a variety of commercial law roles including a spell in William Fry and as managing partner...

Jim Harper

Legal counsel and company secretary | Zurich Insurance

Before joining Zurich, Jim Harper worked in private practice in London spending over eight years with Lovells working on corporate, private equity, M&A, commercial and corporate finance transactions. During this...

Joanne Ross

Head of legal and regulation | Bord Gáis Energy

Joanne Ross began her career at McCann FitzGerald in 1999 completing a training contract and then worked for three years PQE in M&A and private equity before relocating to Belfast....

John Abramson

General counsel - Europe | Travelers

‘John Abramson is a highly experienced general counsel and legal services leader in the international insurance [and] reinsurance industry. Travelers is one of the world’s largest insurance groups and has...

John O’Halloran

Senior vice president and head of legal, EMEA | MetLife

John O’Halloran, senior vice president and head of legal, EMEA assumed his current position in April 2018, having previously held various European regional roles for MetLife since October 2012. Prior...

Jonathan O’Brien

General counsel | AmTrust International Underwriters

Johnathan O’Brien, general counsel of AmTrust International Underwriters, made the move in-house in 2015, where he assumed the role of general counsel for a rapidly growing and innovative London based...

Julie-Ann McCaffrey

Head of legal | MHI Modern Homes Ireland

Julie-Ann McCaffrey began her role as head of legal at MHI Modern Homes Ireland (MHI) in 2018 in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland. Prior to MHI, she worked at one of...

Kate Cremins

Legal counsel and company secretary | Brown Thomas & Arnotts

‘Kate Cremins is legal counsel and company secretary at the Brown Thomas group, Ireland’s largest luxury retail group, and which since 2015 has included the Arnotts group. The Brown Thomas...

Katie Feeney

Deputy general counsel | Vodafone Ireland

‘As head of legal in Vodafone, Ireland’s leading mobile communications operator and a company subject to stringent regulation, Katie Feeney is instrumental in driving the success of the business’ deals....

Kevin McCarthy

Chief legal officer and company secretary | Brookfield Renewable Ireland

Kevin McCarthy is the chief legal officer for Ireland of Brookfield Renewable Energy Group. Brookfield Renewable is a large multinational renewable energy developer which owns and operates one of the...

Killian Kehoe

Senior group counsel | Indeed.com

Driving an effective privacy compliance programme and culture at Indeed, as well as helping to facilitate Indeed’s rapid Irish and global expansion in terms of product development, revenue and headcount...

Linda NiChualladh

Head of privacy (legal) EMEA | Citi

Linda NiChualladh, head of privacy (legal) EMEA at Citi continues to demonstrate best-in-class talent in the areas of competition, anti-trust and privacy law. A specialist in these areas after extensive...

Margaret Ahearn

Senior legal counsel | Hewlett-Packard International Bank

Margaret Ahearn continues to demonstrate excellent legal leadership at Hewlett-Packard International Bank. Initially when she qualified in 1999, Ahearn worked in private practice for 10 years approximately. There she says...

Mark Cockerill

Vice president, legal (EMEA/APJ) and head of global privacy | ServiceNow

In October 2018, Mark Cockerill took on the role of vice president, legal with ServiceNow, the world’s fastest growing enterprise software company and which was designated by Forbes as the...

Mark Maurice-Jones

General counsel and compliance officer, UK and Ireland | Nestlé

Mark Maurice-Jones, general counsel and compliance officer UK and Ireland at Nestlé, began his position in May 2015 after serving in a number of roles since 1999 at Kimberly-Clark including...

Martin O’Donoghue

Global head of group legal affairs | Kerry Group

‘Martin O’Donoghue heads the legal function at Kerry Group, a €16bn organisation. He oversees a large legal team spanning multiple continents and covering a wide variety of transactional and operational...

Mellissa English

Chief parliamentary legal adviser | Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers – House of Oireachtas

The Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers (OPLA) provides a full range of independent legal services to the Ceann Comhairle and Cathoirleach, members and Committees of the Houses, and parliamentary...

Michael Cooney

General counsel | Aviva Insurance Ireland

Michael Cooney is the general counsel of Aviva Ireland with overall responsibility for the Aviva’s life and non-life operations in the country. With over 10 years’ experience in the in-house...

Michelle Geraghty

Senior corporate counsel | Hubspot

Michelle Geraghty, senior corporate counsel at HubSpot, began her career training with BCM Hanby Wallace, now Byrne Wallace. Following this she spent nine months working in Australia, and as she...

Miriam Caley

Head of legal – Ireland | Optum Ireland

A multiple award winning candidate, Miriam Caley returns to the GC Powerlist, having previously featured in 2017 and 2018. Caley, a former associate at Matheson and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer heads...

Neil Culkin

Senior corporate counsel | Google

Neil Culkin joined Google as a real estate corporate counsel in January 2013. Initially he was based out of both their New York and Dublin offices, working with Google’s real...

Nicola O’Connell

General counsel Ireland | Zurich Insurance

After training and launching her career in the corporate department of A&L Goodbody, Nicola O’Connell spent five years at eircom, now called eir, as in-house counsel and a member of...

Nigel Crawford

Vice president and corporate secretary | Eaton Industries (Ireland)

Highly spoken of and noted for his quality, Nigel Crawford is a vice president and corporate secretary at the multinational power management company Eaton Corporation. Eaton entered the Irish market...

Nigel Kemp

General counsel | Citibank Europe

‘Nigel Kemp is one of the most senior in-house lawyers in the Irish banking market. Since his appointment as general counsel of Citibank Europe, he has overseen the development of...

Olga Molloy

Head of legal and compliance | Carne Group

Olga Molloy is head of legal and compliance at Carne Group, a global provider of fund management solutions to the asset management industry with more than 500 clients with assets...

Orla Dunlea

Head of legal and compliance | Novartis Ireland

Orla Dunlea began her role as head of legal and compliance at Novartis Ireland in November 2018. Prior to that, she was international legal counsel and company secretary at Endo...

Orla Murphy

Regional general counsel - EMEA | Synopsys

For the last five years Orla Murphy has served as the regional general counsel for Synopsys, a provider of electronic design automation with a number of uses including smart technology...

Patricia Roufca

Group chief operating officer and group general counsel | Fidelis Insurance

‘Patricia Roufca has been instrumental in leading the Fidelis group’s Brexit contingency plan, in a streamlined manner, navigating, with ease, the transition of the group’s operations from the UK and...

Patrick Foyle

General counsel | Three Ireland

Patrick Foyle is the general counsel at mobile operator Three Ireland, which is Ireland’s second largest mobile operator with a 35% market share and two million customers. Foyle expertly leads...

Patrick McEvoy

Director of legal, Europe | ConsenSys

‘Patrick McEvoy is the director of legal in one of the most innovative companies in the world. ConsenSys is a global technology company which develops infrastructure and applications for the...

Patrick Wilkinson

Regional assistant general counsel | Northern Trust

‘Patrick Wilkinson has been head of Northern Trust’s legal department since 2004, and has been a member of its Irish executive management team since 2008. Northern Trust are one of...

Paul Brady

General counsel | CityJet

Paul Brady was called to the Irish Bar in 1999 and began his legal career as a barrister. Since then, he has worked in practice and in-house in commercial, employment,...

Pauline Gallagher

Head of legal and company secretary | Barclays Bank Ireland

As head of legal for Barclays Bank Ireland, Pauline Gallagher is a highly talented in-house lawyer with 10 years of experience and heads up what a nominator describes as a...

Peter Caley

Chief legal officer | Goshawk

Peter Caley, the highly experienced and capable chief legal officer at Goshawk, qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2001 and spent 10 years in private practice based...

Peter McCarthy

Vice president legal | Virgin Media

Peter McCarthy started in the business just over 10 years ago when it was called Chorus NTL, practising as a commercial litigation and M&A lawyer. Over time his role expanded...

Philippa Cottle

Head of legal | Blueberry Aviation

Philippa Cottle’s career began in London where she trained at Slaughter and May specialising in international banking and M&A, then moving to CMS Cameron McKenna specialising in corporate finance. She...

Rachael Keane

Head of non-core legal | Danske Bank

‘As head of non-core legal for Danske Bank, Rachael Keane has played a pivotal role in the functioning of the Bank’s non-core legal programme. This often involves considering innovative approaches...

Rachel Curran

General counsel | Ulster Bank

Rachel Curran, as general counsel for Ulster Bank, has displayed an extremely strong skill-set in her senior position at the organisation. In the words of a nominator, ‘this has been...

Richard Henry

Head of legal and corporate affairs | Beauparc Group

Richard Henry is head of legal and corporate affairs at Beauparc Group, and began his legal career working in a small private practice boutique between 2005 and 2012, specialising in...

Richard Kindred

Senior legal counsel – ISC, global supply, Japan and consumer experiences UK and Ireland | Diageo

After completing his law degree, Richard Kindred trained with law firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin in Belfast and qualified into the corporate and commercial department before moving to the corporate team...

Richard O’Sullivan

General counsel | Global Shares

Richard O’Sullivan started as general counsel of Global Shares in January 2017 with a brief to re-build and modernise the legal and compliance team in this rapidly growing business. He...

Robert  Heron

General counsel | Dunnes Stores

Robert Heron, general counsel of Dunnes Stores, is a perennial inclusion in the GC Powerlist: Ireland and one of Ireland’s most highly respected general counsel. His prodigious experience started with...

Robert Johnson

Associate general counsel, data protection | Facebook

‘Robert Johnson leads Facebook’s privacy compliance team, one of the two arms of Facebook’s data protection legal team, in Europe. Johnson advises the business on all aspects of data protection...

Roman Abramenko

Chief legal counsel | KamaGames

Roman Abramenko, chief legal officer of KamaGames has expertly served in the role since 2012, creating the breakthrough online gaming group’s legal department, hiring and training all its lawyers. He...

Ronan Davy

Assistant general counsel | Etsy

Etsy is a global online marketplace bringing together sellers and buyers searching for unique and creative goods. Ronan Davy joined the Dublin office of Etsy in 2015 as the first...

Ronan Lennon

General counsel | Clanwilliam Group

Continuing to set an impeccable standard of in-house legal practise, Ronan Lennon returns to the GC Powerlist: Ireland after his inclusion in 2017 and his team’s inclusion in the GC...

Rory Sullivan

Legal director | Pfizer Ireland

Legal director of Pfizer Ireland Rory Sullivan assumed his current role in 2006, and is a recognised expert in IP law as well as other related laws in the healthcare...

Rory Williams

Chief legal officer | Ervia

After a career in private practice culminating in partnership in the corporate and commercial department of Arthur Cox, a leading Irish firm, Rory Williams took up his first in-house role...

Ruth Murphy

Legal director | BT Ireland

Ruth Murphy, legal director of BT’s In-Life and Product business, supports businesses and public sector organisations across Ireland and the UK to deliver on their digital transformation agendas. She leads...

Sally Anne Sherry

General counsel | Bartra Capital Property

As general counsel for Bartra Capital Property, Sally Anne Sherry plays a key role in some of the most significant real estate transactions in Ireland. In 2018, among other substantial...

Sam Lyons

Vice president, counsel | Hudson Advisors

‘Hudson is a globally integrated asset management company that performs due diligence and analysis, asset management, and ancillary and other support services for the funds associated with Lone Star and...

Sanaea Daruwalla

Head of legal | Scrapinghub

Sanaea Daruwalla started her career working at law firms in California, focused on business and employment litigation, corporate, and IP law. She then started her own practice before moving in-house....

Sarah Lennon

General counsel Ireland and Northern Ireland | Google

As a highly experienced general counsel for Ireland and Northern Ireland at Google, Sarah Lennon is at the very cutting edge of in-house practice not only in a hugely dynamic...

Simon Hollywood

Associate general counsel and vice-president legal | ICON

Simon Hollywood joined ICON in 2010 and was promoted to his current position in 2014, leading a multi-disciplinary global team of 24 legal professionals that provides legal support and advice...

Siun Rogers

Associate general counsel | Optum

‘Siun Rogers has worked with Optum since May 2017, having previously worked in-house with Zurich Insurance. Optum is a leading health services and technology company and part of UnitedHealth Group....

Sohaïl Mered

Senior counsel | State Street Global Advisors

Sohaïl Mered stepped into her current role as legal advisor to State Street Global Advisors (SSGA)’s Irish business in the autumn 2017, after more than three years advising SSGA’s Paris-based...

Stephen MacKenzie

Director, EMEA and head of securities services legal | Citi

‘Since his appointment as EMEA head for securities services legal, Stephen MacKenzie has been instrumental in the development of the legal capability of the security services team. In particular, he...

Sylvia Fagan

Head of legal | Ding

Sylvia Fagan excels in the head of legal role at international telecommunication company Ding, a specialist in remote mobile phone top-up services. The company is an innovative leader within the...

Terence G. O’Keeffe

Law agent | Dublin City Council

Continuing to impress, Terence G. O’Keeffe, law agent of Dublin City Council provides an impressive array of technical and managerial skill to the governing of the legal department in Ireland’s...

Thomas Schmid

Executive vice president, general counsel and managing director | Horizon Aerospace

Thomas Schmid, director and general counsel at Horizon Aerospace has been involved in aviation legal work for over 20 years. This covers private practice as well as in-house roles in...

Tom Maher

Chief of operations, corporate counsel and company secretary | Amarin Pharmaceuticals Ireland

Tom Maher recently took up a new position as chief of operations, corporate counsel and company secretary at Amarin Pharmaceuticals Ireland, having started in this role in April 2019. He...

Tom O’Malley

Senior counsel - real estate | Google

Tom O’Malley, senior corporate counsel – real estate EMEA with Google Ireland, began his career pursuing his training and early years of practice at Macfarlanes in London in its real...

Tommy Reilly

In-house counsel | Kingspan Group

Tommy Reilly joined Kingspan in 2011 following a short stint in private practice and in his own words, is ‘loving every day since’. Reilly leads the in-house legal team at...

Valerie Barlow

Head of legal | New Ireland Assurance Company

Having worked as a senior solicitor in New Ireland Assurance since 2010, Valerie Barlow assumed the role of head of legal of in March 2015 and was appointed in September...

Yvonne Cunnane

Head of data protection and associate general counsel | Facebook

Yvonne Cunnane acts as the main privacy advisor to the Facebook business in Europe and leads a growing team of data protection and privacy lawyers. Under her guidance, the data...

Yvonne Czajkowski

Senior legal counsel | Trinity College Dublin

Yvonne Czajkowski acts as senior legal counsel within the contracts and legal office at Trinity College Dublin. She was the first solicitor hired in this office four years ago and...

Yvonne Glynn

Head of legal retail and commercial banking | Ulster Bank

‘As head of legal for retail and commercial banking at Ulster Bank, Yvonne Glynn has an extremely broad remit and works closely with the business in launching new retail products...

As the fourth edition of the GC Powerlist series to feature the top talent in the in-house legal industry in Ireland, this publication further highlights this jurisdiction’s unique place within the global legal market. It also demonstrates that Ireland continues to shine, and that there is no shortage of high level legal skill on display, which coupled with the growth of the Irish economy in the last decade, has attracted some of the best and brightest lawyers from all over the world to the country. The market has also been greatly affected by the uncertainty that has encompassed the ongoing EU and UK Brexit negotiations, which has had the effect of both enabling the growth of the Irish in-house legal industry through the build-up of staff and business, while at the same time threatening to hurt the wider economy in the event of the UK’s withdrawal without agreement.

Despite a somewhat cautious atmosphere surrounding this issue, in-house legal departments and general counsel continue to push for innovations including legal tech and legal management tools and strategies. The research also identified that counsel in Ireland have been building on the new business attracted to the country as a result of the uncertainty in the UK. As a result of this boost, the GC Powerlist has expanded its coverage of the market in reflection of this trend.

Matheson

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Matheson is proud to sponsor the GC Powerlist Ireland: 2019, which recognises Ireland’s leading corporate counsel. This comprehensive analysis of in-house legal functions and individual industry leaders acknowledges the technical legal excellence of GC in an increasingly complex legal and business environment. It also acknowledges the vital contribution of GCs to the strategic direction and growth of their organisations and the industry sectors in which they operate.

Drawing on extensive opinions and insights from across the legal sector, the GC Powerlist highlights the significant impact of today’s GC through their innovation, creativity and excellence in technical advice and their role in advancing innovative work practices and models.

At Matheson, our primary focus is on serving the legal needs of internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland. Our clients include the majority of the Fortune 100 companies, and we advise seven of the top ten global technology brands, six of the world’s ten largest asset managers, and over half of the world’s 50 largest banks. With more than 700 people spread over six global offices, and over 30 practice groups, we have the pleasure of working with and gaining a deep insight into the issues and challenges faced by today’s general counsel. We actively encourage our professionals to avail of in-house secondment opportunities to ensure that they develop a more complete understanding of the business, strategic, sectoral, regulatory and risk issues which inform the advice which GCs provide to their business colleagues and partners. As strategists within their organisation, GCs must respond to rapidly changing internal and external environments and give, and receive, advice which is technically excellent and which reflects the many different business challenges and requirements of their clients.
While some challenges and opportunities are sector specific, it is possible to identify several interlinked and over-arching trends which can be said to impact the role of every GC. Disruptive technologies and digital transformation continue to have a profound impact on functionality across all sectors, with the potential to improve speed of execution, the level and quality of data available for analysis, efficiency, quality and consistency of work. Technology and data also bring with them challenges around cyber-security, data breaches, and how an organisation responds quickly and appropriately to incidents. Today’s GC has an increasingly important role in ensuring that business can avail of the benefits of technology secure in the knowledge that it is protected by robust company policy, practices,
data security, incident response plans and training.

Innovation is one of Matheson’s core values and
we are proud to have been nominated as one of Europe’s most innovative firms again this year. We have worked in partnership with clients to identify areas where we can help service their legal technology needs and continue to make significant and strategic investments in systems, infrastructure and digital services. The efficiencies and innovative solutions we offer to clients through the collaborative use of our people, technology and AI have enabled us to achieve some significant firsts in these areas. We represented a large financial institution in the conduct of the first electronic paperless trial in the Irish Commercial Court, a trial which involved complex multi-jurisdictional legal and financial issues.

Today’s GC must also be aware of societal factors and an array of stakeholder considerations. This includes ensuring that the policies and practices of an organisation in responding to changes in law and regulation also align with its broader values. The role of GCs not only envisages legal compliance management, and mitigation of risk, it is also central to the maintenance of a positive organisational culture of ethics and compliance. At Matheson we have been pleased to have the opportunity to partner with a number of our GC clients to initiate collaborative events between our respective organisations to celebrate and enhance our commitment to shared values.

The rapidly changing political and regulatory landscape globally requires GCs to be cognisant of developments in domestic and international policy and sentiment towards business. Brexit, and the complexity and uncertainty it creates is just one example of the many international developments which have far reaching consequences for business. Through our work on the many Brexit advisory projects with which we have been involved and the domestic and international policy working groups on which we participate, we have witnessed the vital role that GCs and their teams have, and the informed contribution that they can make, in guiding important strategic business decisions in an uncertain environment.

This year marks the first of our three year sponsorship of Ireland’s GC Powerlist, and it is my pleasure on behalf of the partners at Matheson, to congratulate all of the individuals who have been included on this year’s list. This recognition collectively highlights advances in technical innovation and work practices across the broader Irish legal sector. This accolade also recognises the success of GCs in shaping and delivering key strategic business priorities and meeting the ever changing and demanding needs of clients. We look forward to celebrating this year’s winners, and supporting future participants.

Jones Day Hong Kong Roundtable 2024

The Legal 500 was thrilled to join a selection of top Jones Day partners and a hand-picked group of 15 the most prominent GCs in Hong Kong for a freewheeling and no-holds-barred discussion on geopolitical risk management at a time of global transition. Steve Brogan, managing partner of Jones Day from 2002-2022 flew over to lend his considerable expertise to the discussion, as did Partner-in-Charge Hong Kong Joelle Lau. Joining them to give expert briefings on the topics of the day were partners Peter Wang, Dr Qiang Xue, James Fidler, Samuel Ngo and Charles Chau. The conversation moved from sanctions and counter sanctions, to the increasing pre-eminence of the Asian economy, to the philosophy of the rule of law in times of crisis.