About

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 over 25 years at Mathesons, with 18 years as a corporate partner, covering a huge range of issues acting for corporate, retail, telecoms, banking and other industries with public and private sector clients. He left private practice because of the company’s retirement policy at 55, and went in-house joining Dunnes after working with them as an external counsel for approximately 25 years. Heron highlights that he enjoys the wide variety and different nature of the in-house job, a change from his corporate partner role and the increased work life balance, matching a trend across the industry. While in private practice he orchestrated major growth in his practise and came in contact with a wide range of professionals and professions which helped with his in-house transition. Heron’s advice to aspiring general counsel in Ireland is to do a secondment while in private practice with a large client the difference can otherwise be a big surprise and to be aware that the promotion processes are very different. He says that it is hard but not as hard to progress in an in-house role as it is in private practice due to the legal market’s size in Ireland. As a leader in the industry he is well placed to provide advice to incoming in-house counsel and to provide a forecast for the market in general. To this effect, he highlights that Brexit will bring opportunities for the in-house sector despite the clear negative effect that it will have on the economy. In the words of a nominator, Heron is a ‘highly regarded general counsel for the flagship Irish retail group Dunnes Stores, who leads a versatile legal function that is well respected by peers’.