GC Powerlist Ireland: A team effort

The launch party for our second GC Powerlist Ireland, this time focusing on teams, brought together the country’s strongest in-house legal departments

The recent launch of our GC Powerlist: Ireland Teams, hosted in Dublin by McCann FitzGerald, was attended by a host of companies operating in the country including Ulster Bank, Facebook, EY, An Post and Ryanair. The following pages list the in-house legal teams that made the list.

Those who attended the launch party were keen to celebrate the key role that legal teams play in the continuing growth and success of businesses in Ireland and the growth of the Irish economy. While our inaugural GC Powerlist Ireland in 2015 recognised the individual general counsel (GCs) that have emerged as shining examples in Ireland, this time we recognised the impact that the wider departments have on their businesses.

The evening was introduced by Barry Devereux, managing partner of McCann FitzGerald, who emphasised the need for both GCs and their external legal advisers to be innovative and creative.

This was followed by GC magazine editor-in-chief Catherine McGregor, who talked about what makes a great legal team, including the importance of having a distinct culture in building a team; the intangibles that legal teams look for aside from technical expertise in hires; and how to motivate and keep staff.

Significant themes that came up during the evening included, inevitably, the implications of Brexit for Irish business, GCs and law firms. Technology was also a topic that came up again and again, specifically the importance of using metrics in managing teams and how it can be used as a differentiating factor in running an effective legal department.

The event concluded with some lively networking and discussion, demonstrating that as far as leading in-house talent is concerned, the Celtic tiger remains a significant force. LB