General counsel | Airsynergy
One of the co-founders of Airsynergy, a privately owned renewable energy product development and licensing company founded in 2008, Adrian Kelly is a distinguished lawyer who also acts as the...
General counsel and company secretary | AXA Life Invest
As the current general counsel and company secretary of life insurance business AXA Life Invest, Alan Boland is part of the senior leadership team reporting to the CEO of the...
Group head of legal | Electricity Supply Board (ESB)
Heading a 52-strong team, Alan Daly is credited for integrating the legal department into the business more comprehensively than ever before. Since his arrival in 2011, Daly has built up...
Chief counsel and company secretary | Liberty Insurance Ireland
The Irish arm of US multinational insurance firm Liberty are assisted in a legal and commercial sense by chief counsel and company secretary Alan Johnston, from a base in Blanchardstown,...
Head of legal and deputy commisioner | Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is an independent national authority tasked with enforcing data protection legislation in Ireland. With nine out of the top 10 global IT companies...
Head of legal unit | Department of Finance
Joining the Department of Finance as the only lawyer in 2009 in the aftermath of the worldwide crash is testament to Antoine Mac Donncha’s resilience as a pioneering in-house counsel...
General counsel | SIRO
SIRO, a startup business owned by telecoms giants ESB and Vodafone, aims to bring high speed internet service online across Ireland, especially smaller rural areas and so bridge the ‘digital...
Director of legal services - local compliance | accenture
With over 25 years’ successful track record of legal support for leading local, regional and global organisations, Brian Connolly has become a highly respected and experienced lawyer in the region....
Head of legal | Bank of Ireland
One of Ireland’s traditional ‘big four’ banks, Bank of Ireland offers a wide range of financial products including savings, loans, mortgages and deposit accounts. Following a two-year stint in private...
Head of legal | AIB
With a total career with AIB spanning almost a decade-and-a-half Carol Drury has amassed a wealth of knowledge into the company’s operations, and has been engaged in a number of...
General counsel | Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg)
With over 24 years of experience and qualified in three jurisdictions, Caroline Dee-Brown has been the general counsel for The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) – the regulator for Irish...
Chief legal officer | SMBC Aviation Capital
Owned by a group of major Japanese financial organisations (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Limited and Sumitomo Corporation) the scale of SMBC Aviation Capital’s...
Legal director EMEA and company secretary | Dell Financial Services
Catherine May has amassed over 10 years of international financial experience and in her current capacity set up the financial services business of Dell in the EMEA region. Establishing this...
General counsel | Valentia Technologies
Legal adviser to Valentia’s management team, Cian Crosbie, has had a varied but extensive career path. After completing his legal practice training he subsequently worked in Australia with a national...
General counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa | OtterBox
To meet the demands of today’s mobile consumers, US company OtterBox has evolved to become a leading seller of premium protective cases for smartphones and tablets. As the company’s general...
Head of legal | Rabobank Dublin
As a qualified tax consultant who formerly worked in tax for a number of years, Colin Fuller is well placed in his role as head of legal for Rabobank. Fuller...
Vice president and general counsel | Element Fleet Management
Damian Maloney believes that ‘there is a certain amount of confidence you need in order to practice as an in-house lawyer’, and if so his career successes so far show...
General counsel and company secretary | UDG Healthcare plc
Damien Moynagh currently serves as the general counsel at UDG Healthcare plc, a leading international provider of services to the healthcare industry, employing almost 8,000 employees and operating across 23...
Head of group legal and compliance | DCC plc
Head of legal and compliance at DCC, Darragh Bryne stands out for his dedication to the DCC group and pioneering work in the compliance field. Byrne joined DCC in April...
Head of legal | Mercury Engineering
A construction law specialist, a skill honed during his time with Arthur Cox, Darren Isaacson gained his first taste of in-house legal life when he was placed on secondment with...
Vice president, head of legal | State Street Ireland
Darren McMahon has spent over ten years at American international financial services firm State Street, and provides legal support to the company’s global services business in Ireland and the Channel...
General counsel | Irish Life
A highly experienced general counsel, David Boyle supplements his professional expertise with journalistic efforts; he has been an editor with The Irish Law Times journal since the year 2000 and...
Regional counsel EMEA and India | Xilinx
As part of the management team based in Xilinx’s EMEA headquarters, David Dobbyn has a central role in supporting Xilinx’s regional business activities. Upon joining Xilinx in January 2012, Dobbyn...
Group company secretary | C&C Group
As group company secretary for C&C Group, a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributer of branded beverages in Ireland, David Johnston has worked on transforming the legal function into an integrated...
EMEA head of legal - CFS | Citi
Deborah Hutton outlines how, after completing her academic studies and qualifying as a lawyer, she considered how she could ‘combine passion for an area of expertise with legal and industry...
Head of legal and compliance | Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU)
IFRU is the governing body that manages rugby in the island of Ireland. With rugby being one of Ireland’s most popular sports and with the Irish national rugby team being...
Head of legal services | AXA Insurance
Deirdre Fagan is one of the most experienced and well-respected general counsel in the insurance sector in Ireland, having been employed by global insurance giant AXA’s Irish subsidiary AXA Insurance...
Chief administrative officer, general counsel, executive vice president and company secretary | ICON
Diarmaid Cunningham developed a reputation for excellence during the early days of his career, when he worked for law firm A&L Goodbody for 10 years as a private practice lawyer....
General counsel | Avolon
Ed Riley drew particular acclaim for his role in Dublin based aircraft leasing company Avolon’s IPO on the NYSE in December 2014. ‘This was the culmination of the first four...
Head of governance and legal | Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
Responsible for managing and improving Ireland’s national road and light rail networks, TII was created in 2015 after the Roads Act 2015 provided for the merger of the Railway Procurement...
Group general counsel and company secretary | Paddy Power Betfair
Paddy Power Betfair’s Edward Traynor is praised by sources for his outstanding expertise in corporate governance, employment law and dispute resolution, alongside his problem-solving skills and his ability to maintain...
General counsel | PwC Ireland
Elizabeth Davis joined PwC Ireland in 2014 as its general counsel. An experienced in-house lawyer, Davis joined PwC from Mercer Ireland where, she was its first general counsel and established...
Head of legal affairs | ARI
Another segment of Ireland’s booming air travel support industry, ARI now has a truly international presence, around 3,000 employees and over $1bn in revenue. Emily Ennis, its head of legal...
General counsel Ireland and head of EMEA privacy, senior legal director | Yahoo!
Emma Kearney is a highly experienced lawyer in the IT sector, who plays an influential role in Yahoo!’s EMEA operations. Employed by the global internet giant since 2014, Kearney has...
General counsel, head of legal and compliance | Storyful (Newscorp)
Emmet O’Grady has had an exciting in-house career to date, which included a long and successful tenure with Paddy Power. Here, he was significantly involved with laying the legal groundwork...
Head of legal and compliance | Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited (WUPSIL)
Part of the American multinational financial services company Western Union, Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited (WUPSIL)’s line of business focuses on the operation of payments services. Feidhlimidh Wrafter has...
General counsel | OpenJaw Technologies
Gemma Neylon is an in-house lawyer with a formidable academic record. Since 2011 she has been general counsel at OpenJaw Technologies, a company that transforms travel companies into travel retailers...
Group general counsel | Allied Irish Banks (AIB)
Founded in 1966, AIB is a financial services group that operates primarily in the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Group general counsel for the company since 2012, Helen Dooley...
General counsel | NBC Global Finance
After a rewarding private practice career, Ian McLaughlin moved into the Corporate and Treasury in-house team at Bank of Ireland, a position he recalls fondly as ‘a really good role...
Head of legal | RSA Insurance Ireland
Qualifying in 1994 and with RSA Ireland since 2011, James Murray was required to prove his mettle as an internal counsel very quickly upon taking his first in-house role with...
Senior legal counsel | Perrigo
During his legal career, ‘excellent lawyer’ James O’Rourke has amassed significant in-house legal experience in the pharmaceutical sector and now is the most senior lawyer in Ireland for Perrigo, a...
Head of legal | Veolia Ireland
Veolia Environment, branded as Veolia, is the global leader in optimised resource management. Active in three main service and utilities areas – water management, waste management and energy services –...
Head of legal affairs, corporate and institutional services | First Names Group
First Names Group is a leading provider of trust, fund real estate and corporate administration services around the globe. Described by a colleague as an ‘experienced business leader’, Jennifer O’Riordan...
Legal Counsel & Company Secretary | Zurich Ireland
During the last nine years, Jim Harper has had a number of varying responsibilities within the Irish and EMEA legal team of the international insurance group Zurich. He acted as...
Head of legal and regulation | Bord Gáis Energy
Bord Gáis Energy provides gas and electricity to over 680,000 customers in Ireland. Joanne Ross, head of legal and regulation, has been with the company since 2011. She describes that...
Executive vice president and general counsel | GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS)
Ireland is a global centre of aircraft leasing, and the sector is a huge success story for the Irish economy, with it contributing around €4bn in revenue in 2016. GE...
Vice president and associate general counsel - head of legal for Western and Central Europe | MetLife
The global insurance provider MetLife has made significant investments in Ireland in the last few years and has expanded in the country rapidly, adding new products and services to its...
Head of legal and compliance | Greencore
Established by the Irish government in 1991 following the privatisation of Irish Sugar, Greencore is a fast growing, international convenience food company and the world’s largest sandwich manufacturer. Praised by...
Chief legal and regulatory officer | Ryanair
Ryanair needs little in the way of introduction, as it is one of the most prominent and famous Irish companies globally, particularly within Europe where its low-cost, short-haul service has...
Head of legal affairs | An Garda Siochana
Nominated for his excellent legal work in the Irish public sector, Kenneth Ruane is the current head of legal affairs for the Republic of Ireland’s police force, An Garda SÃochána....
Chief legal officer | Brookfield Renewables
With several years’ experience acquired working in the in-house legal market for energy companies, Kevin McCarthy is the chief legal officer of Brookfield Renewables, a Candian headquartered energy company that...
Legal director | Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus is the flag carrier for Ireland, with its 52-aircraft fleet presenting a symbol of the nation around the world. It operates a mixed service of both short and...
Regulatory and competition counsel | An Post
Having previously been recognised as one of Ireland’s premier in-house lawyers in the GC Powerlist: Ireland, with her legal team also being included on the GC Powerlist: Ireland Teams in...
Head of legal | Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland)
Nominated during our research process for her outstanding contribution to the market leading consumer finance business, third party loan servicer and asset manager, Lisa Doyle is head of legal for...
EMEA Personal systems, supply chain, customer services and support and procurement counsel | Hewlett-Packard International
Described by a nominating source as ‘an excellent lawyer’, Margaret Ahearn – an inclusion of the inaugural GC Powerlist: Ireland – has spent almost a decade at multinational American company...
General counsel | CarTrawler
CarTrawler is global vehicle hire business, and having built the CarTrawler legal department from scratch upon her appointment to the role of head of legal in 2010, Kearney assumed her...
Head of legal | Topaz Energy
Leading a relatively small but strong team at one of Ireland’s leading forecourt and retail convenience retailing chains, Maria Costello serves as Topaz Energy’s head of legal. Under her leadership...
Head of legal and regulatory affairs | Ibec
Known as an excellent ‘litigator, lobbyist and lawyer’, Marie Daly joined Ibec (formerly the Federation of Irish Employers) in 1991 as an employment lawyer. When the Federation of Irish Employers...
General counsel | AIG
Distinguished lawyer Marie Griffin leads the legal department at AIG in Ireland, a department which is part of the wider AIG European Legal Group. Prior to her current role, Griffin...
General counsel and head of legal services | Nestlé
Credited for driving an ethical and inclusive culture at Nestlé, Mark Maurice-Jones has been responsible for aligning the legal function with the business and shaping the business agenda. Initially Maurice-Jones...
Group counsel and senior director | Forcepoint
Marlene Connolly successfully led the cybersecurity company, Forcepoint’s US and international teams through a number of transformative transactions, such as the Raytheon acquisition due diligence, completion and integration in 2015,...
Global head of group legal affairs | Kerry Group
Quoted on the London & Irish stock exchanges and earning revenue totals of €6.1bn in 2016, Kerry Group provides a large and innovative portfolio of taste and nutrition technologies and...
Group general counsel | Glanbia
Since being formed in 1997 out of the merger of Avonmore Foods and Waterford Foods, Glanbia has developed into a global nutrition company which sells or distributes its products in...
Senior corporate counsel | Hubspot
Commercially focused technology and IT lawyer Michelle Geraghty joined HubSpot in February 2017 but is already well-acquainted with its faced paced, ever-changing and exciting environment. Coming from Afilias, the world’s...
Head of legal Ireland | Optum
Healthcare company Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (UHG). Whilst UHG has been in Ireland for almost 20 years, its Dublin presence has expanded recently and its in-house legal team...
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...
Director of legal services | CRH
A leading global diversified building materials group with a market capitalisation of around €27bn, employing c.87,000 people at c.3,800 operating locations in 31 countries worldwide, CRH is the largest building...
Group general counsel | Stellwagen Group
Stellwagen Group provides various services to the aviation, shipping and defence infrastructure sectors. A lawyer with over 25 years of experience within the industry and private practice, its chief legal...
General counsel, Northern, Central and Eastern Europe | Schneider Electric
Nikki joined Schneider Electric in January 2008 as associate general counsel EMEA. Through her proven dedication over the years, in May 2013 she was promoted to vice president and general...
Head of litigation | Ulster Bank
An experienced financial lawyer of 19 years, Noel Gaughran draws attention for his handling of high-stake litigations since the 2008 global financial crash. First working for the Bank of Ireland...
Deputy general counsel | IAC Applications
Corporate and commercial legal adviser Orla Cullen has accumulated premium private practice and in-house legal experience over the course of her 15-year professional career. Cullen currently serves as the deputy...
International legal counsel and company secretary | Endo International
Orla Dunlea was appointed in September 2014 as International Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at Endo. Since that time the Irish operations have significantly grown from a small employee base...
Head of legal | Heineken Ireland
There was no in-house legal function at Heineken Ireland when Orla Joyce joined the international brewer in 2014, initially on a part time basis and subsequently as the full-time head...
Regional general counsel - EMEA | Synopsys
For the last three years Orla Murphy has served as the regional general counsel for Synopsys, a provider of electronic design automation and the world’s 15th largest software company. In...
Head of legal | Invesco (Ireland)
Training and practicing successfully for many years with Arthur Cox, where she reached the level of senior associate, Orla Ormsby decided to move to in-house work because she wanted to...
Chief legal officer | Goshawk
With a portfolio of aircraft valued at over $4.5bn, Goshawk is a world-class specialist in aircraft leasing based in Dublin. Having gained significant in-house legal experience with regard to aircraft...
Legal director | Virgin Media Ireland
During his eight-year tenure at Ireland’s leading telecommunications company, Peter McCarthy has led many of its defining projects and transactions. Joining Virgin Media Ireland in 2009, McCarthy’s role has expanded...
Associate general counsel, commercial | Facebook
Coming from a private practice background, Peter O’Neill took up his in-house role at Facebook five years ago, which he describes as a refreshing move into a dynamic environment. As...
Associate general counsel and EMEA head of legal | Twitter
Philip Merrils-Dearn joined the global social media company Twitter in April 2016. In his role as associate general counsel and EMEA head of legal, Merrils-Dearn is responsible for providing a...
Senior attorney, head of legal | Microsoft
Microsoft has a significant operation in Ireland and hosts several business units in the country involved in software development and testing operations, finance, human resources and sales and marketing. Having...
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Panda Group
Prior to joining Panda Group, an organisation involved in the UK and Irish waste management and utilities sector, in March 2017, Richard Henry served as Irish head of legal at...
Regional counsel | Diageo
‘Versatile and solution-orientated’, regional counsel Richard Kindred has been with Diageo for over five years and has gained broad experience in that time working in Ireland, Canada and Nigeria in...
General counsel | Dunnes Stores
Highly regarded general counsel for the flagship Irish retail group Dunnes Stores, Robert Heron leads a versatile legal function that is well respected by peers. Dunnes Stores’ business is divided...
Head of legal Ireland | Danske Bank
Robert Owens, head of legal for Ireland at Danske Bank, mentions two projects that he recalls particularly fondly among the other successes he has had with the company since joining...
General counsel | Clanwilliam Group
Hailed as one of Ireland’s brightest legal talents, Ronan Lennon made his move in-house in January 2017, taking up a general counsel position at the Irish healthcare, technology and services...
Legal director | Pfizer Ireland
The Irish branch of global pharmaceuticals company Pfizer has employed legal director Rory Sullivan since 2006. As part of his role in providing general commercial legal support for all of...
BT | Chief counsel business and public sector
Ruth Murphy has served the majority of her in-house career with BT Ireland, joining the telecommunications giant in March 2004 as a commercial lawyer and working her way up the...
General counsel | NewsWhip
Originally from Los Angeles, Sanaea Daruwalla’s background in assisting tech firms and startups saw her ideally placed to take on an in-house legal role for content intelligence company NewsWhip upon...
Executive vice president | Aircastle
During her career of over 11 years at the aircraft leasing company Aircastle, Sarah Clarkin has been at the forefront of commercial affairs for the company, participating in complex aircraft...
Legal director | Tesco
Award winning Sarah Gallagher took up her current role as legal director at Tesco in August 2012. Gallagher previously served as director of commercial legal services at telecommunications provider Eircom....
General counsel | Vodafone Ireland
Serving as the general counsel and company secretary for Vodafone Ireland, Sarah O’Gorman leads the commercially-minded legal team supporting the business, ensuring risks are dealt with and enabling the company...
General counsel and risk management leader | EY Ireland
Suzanne Tucker joined EY Ireland in 2003 and has been working there as general counsel since, adding responsibilities for the firm’s risk management function since January 2016. She was the...
Head of legal | Ding
Sylvia Fagan has led the legal team at innovative technology company Ding since 2011, through a period of constant growth and change. Ding’s service allows users to top up mobile...
Company secretary and head of legal | VHI Group Services
Described by a colleague as an ‘experienced lawyer, who brings a calm head to analysis and decision making’, Tara Glynn joined the legal department of VHI Group Services, Ireland’s leading...
Executive vice president, general counsel and MD | Inteprid Aviation
Having led the Irish operation of the global aircraft leasing company, Intrepid Aviation, Thomas Schmid has built a team of highly skilled professionals who have become known internally for their...
Head of legal UK and Ireland | Capita Asset Services
Capita Asset Services is the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of business process management and integrated professional support solutions. Since joining the company as head of legal, Tom Byrne ‘has...
Director of legal services | Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
Úna Butler is credited as one of the top Irish public sector in-house lawyers, having consistently demonstrated her understanding of competition and European law. She joined the Irish Competition and...
General counsel | Inver Energy
With over 25 years of experience in all aspects of commercial law, Ursula Earley is responsible for establishing the legal function at Inver Energy and making it a key part...
Head of legal | New Ireland Assurance Company
Head of legal at New Ireland Assurance Company, Valerie Barlow is recognised for her commercial focus and solution driven and practical approach to legal issues. She began her career in...
Head of legal leasing | AerCap
AerCap has over 1,500 aircraft owned, managed or on order as of June 2017, making it the largest independent aircraft-leasing company in the world. The company is headquartered in Dublin,...
The economy of The Republic of Ireland has carved out an enviable niche, boasting a diversified, up-to-date knowledge economy that is strong in imports and exports and is extremely business-friendly thanks to a low rate of corporation tax. The Irish success story has not all been plain sailing, however. The ‘Celtic Tiger’ period of extremely high pre-2007 growth was cut short by the global financial crisis, and necessitated downsizing and cost-cutting methods by many Irish companies – as well as economic stagnation. Nonetheless, Irish business proved its resiliency by returning to economic growth in recent years and the prognosis for enterprise in the country going forward is highly promising.
The role of in-house legal counsel within this story is significant. Many GCs and other internal counsel featured in the GC Powerlist: Ireland were involved in reorganising and rebuilding their companies in the wake of the financial crisis, and all of them have contributed to the successful operation of the businesses that have been responsible for the country’s return to economic health.
The rise of Ireland as the base for European headquarters for many large, multinational companies has meant a raft of new opportunities for local GCs, particularly in the area of technology, where Ireland is regarded as a global leader. Other areas are also particular specialties of the country, with aircraft leasing, aviation services and agriculture being just some examples of industries that it excels at. As such, Ireland is a fertile and rewarding country in which to operate as an in-house counsel, and the hugely talented individuals featured in the GC Powerlist: Ireland 2017 bear this out. These are the best, brightest and most innovative in-house counsel in the country, all of whom have made an indispensable contribution to the companies they work with, and they join the illustrious ranks of our GC Powerlist: Ireland alumni, both GCs and teams, who all continue to push the role of in-house forward.
I would like to express my personal thanks to our sponsors, McCann FitzGerald, for supporting this publication. A special mention must also be made to all the in-house personnel who spoke to us during the course of the research for the GC Powerlist: Ireland, and the research team who completed the project, led by senior research analysts Sara Mageit and Joe Boswell.
McCann FitzGerald is delighted to continue its support of the GC Powerlist in Ireland, recognising as it does the breadth and depth of legal talent that play an increasing important role in many of Ireland’s most successful businesses.
The environment in which lawyers operate is dynamic and ever-changing. Increasing workload and risk, the demand for delivery of more legal services at less cost, limited availability of qualified legal resources and increasing use of technology are just some of the drivers in today’s highly competitive market for legal services. These changes place serious demands on all lawyers, both in-house and in private practice, to constantly evaluate how they deliver their services and to figure out how to respond to the demand for increased efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of legal services.
Innovation has been the key to ensuring that McCann FitzGerald responds to these changes. Technology is having a transformative effect on all businesses and the legal services sector is no exception. The choice is to drive onwards and to progress, or risk becoming irrelevant – that is why we have put innovation at the heart of our strategy.
Building on the successful launch of the Data Investigations Group in May 2016 – a state-of-the-art model for the management of high-volume document review and reporting that can deliver cost savings of up to 40% for clients – over the last year or so we became the first Irish firm to invest in complementary artificial intelligence software from two of the leading global providers – Kira Systems and Neota Logic. This investment allows us to explore ways to create products and services that offer value for McCann FitzGerald and our clients, such as the development of smart advisor apps and document automation services.
These investments are tangible proof of our commitment to utilise the newest technologies as a means of improving services and delivering increased value to clients.
At the same time as these changes are occurring, in-house legal teams are being called on to take a leading role in advising businesses, and to have an expanding influence in areas such as risk management and business strategy. They are seen as thought leaders and experts within their industries, with the insights to drive and create business opportunities and influence decisions at the highest levels.
Private practice lawyers have a strong role to play when advising in-house teams. It is important that they too have an understanding of the economic and business landscape that their clients are operating in. They need to be on hand to offer expert counsel within their area of expertise, and work closely with their in-house counterparts to navigate through the changing business, regulatory and legal environments. There are a wealth of opportunities for private and in-house legal teams to collaborate, allowing them together to give expert advice to their business, and ultimately to drive further growth and create significant business efficiencies.
McCann FitzGerald is excited by the developments in the legal sector and the evolving role of in-house counsel. As a firm, we seek to enable your progress through the provision of strategic legal counsel on the major business and commercial issues of our time, delivered through a culture of high performance and high integrity. We look forward to further developing our partnerships and collaborations with corporate counsel. These partnerships enable businesses to benefit from the insight that McCann FitzGerald has obtained over many years in working with clients across a range of diverse industries.
On behalf of all the partners at McCann FitzGerald, I wish to extend our sincere congratulations to all those who have been included in the GC Powerlist: Ireland 2017. Recipients of this accolade come from a broad and varied range of sectors, from banking and financial services, to retail chains and consumer brands. This prestigious recognition highlights the hard work, strength and innovation displayed by corporate counsel across Ireland, and also emphasises the increasingly important and expanding role of corporate counsel in today’s business environment.
We are delighted to launch our first China GC Powerlist since the pandemic. It has been far too long since we could celebrate the best in-house lawyers in this remarkable country, but it has certainly been worth the wait. We thoroughly enjoyed researching this edition and are immensely grateful to the many lawyers and GCs who supported us over the past few months to bring this publication to fruition. The launch event was a huge success, with over 120 key legal professionals who make up the elite of the Chinese legal scene attending to hear speeches from leading partners at sponsor firm Tian Yuan and the in-house lawyers who made it on to this exclusive list.
In particular, the excellent team at Tian Yuan Law Firm played a pivotal role in providing insights into key market changes and introducing some of the most innovative GCs for consideration in this publication.
As expected for legal and business leaders in such a powerhouse economy, we had an abundance of outstanding candidates to choose from. Narrowing it down to the final 100 names was no easy task. Congratulations to everyone included—earning a place on this prestigious list was a significant achievement.
