About

Involved in several sectors under the umbrella of the healthcare industry, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices contract research organisation ICON are supported by a legal team described as ‘full of dedicated and hard-working people’. Comprising 31 staff led by Diarmaid Cunningham, chief administrative officer and general counsel, the team is dedicated to ‘absolute alignment with helping and implementing the company’s strategy, vision and mission’. Central to many of ICON’s milestones and achievements in the last few years, the team has been a significant value-add to the business. The in-house team played a crucial role in the 10 acquisitions made by the company in the last six years, orchestrated ICON’s first private debt placement (with a figure of $350m) and assisted with ICON’s full NASDAQ listing in 2012. With internal systems in place to gain constant feedback about work completed, the team is able to judge its work via metrics surrounding turnaround times and the satisfaction levels of internal clients, ensuring it is maintaining high standards at all times. The value of the legal team’s work is consistently communicated at the highest levels of the company as it is represented on the Executive Leadership Team, also helping legal be totally in line with company strategy. Operating in a highly competitive and fast-paced industry, the team is on a constant drive to improve and grow, seeking the best service for the business. The launch of new operating procedures and an internal web-based portal have ‘increased efficiency, client interaction and certainty, and has reduced levels of legal intervention’, by making non-lawyers aware of local legal requirements in various jurisdictions. Associated contract generation and tracking appointments greatly reduce the administrative burden of handling the regulatory strain in the healthcare sector.