Global Regulatory

Senior Associate

Dervla Simm typically acts for companies operating in heavily-regulated industries where the private and public law worlds interact. 

Dervla recognizes that her clients have to find a way to operate profitably in the face of increasingly burdensome regulation and works with them in their engagement with government and regulators to shape policy and regulation to assist their businesses. 

As a starting point, Dervla provides her clients with pragmatic legal advice on issues such as UK and EU legislation, commercial human rights, and information rights. But this is just one part of her role. She knows that getting the best for her clients often means combining quality legal advice with smart, timely discussions with governmental and regulatory bodies. By engaging early in this way, her clients are often able to head off issues before they become problems, avoiding the time and costs associated with litigation.

Dervla also guides her clients on how to use their interactions with public bodies to tee-up legal arguments when it looks like litigation is likely to be the best or only option. Where litigation is part of a client's strategy, Dervla has experience in acting on a range of contentious matters, including in commercial judicial reviews and information rights appeals. In addition, she is passionate about pro bono and has been heavily involved in pro bono work throughout her time at the firm. Her biggest achievements include successfully obtaining hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme for the victim of a violent assault and winning a strategically important judicial review claim for a victim of human trafficking. 

Dervla recognizes the importance of human rights as a way to protect the interests of both her commercial and pro bono clients and is an active member of the executive committee of the Human Rights Lawyers Association.

English

Executive Committee Member, Human Rights Lawyers Association

Member, Administrative Law Bar Association

B.A. (Jurisprudence), University of Oxford

Legal Practice Course, BPP University Law School