About

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 internet, television, radio and all other sectors in the telecommunications field – since 2009. A reliable and collaborative legal professional, Dee-Brown defines her input as being a ‘thought leader and trusted advisor [to] senior management and the legal team building the framework to lead the team to high performance defining and demonstrating the value of the legal advisors to the rest of the organisation’. Developing and operating a matrix management of lawyers within the business, Dee-Brown takes an integrated approach labelling internal lawyers as being ‘embedded advisors’ in order to avoid being seen as a ‘separate “ivory tower” within the organisation’. Such an approach has paid dividends, as the ComReg legal function is promoted and acknowledged as respected critical thinkers by colleagues, and are encouraged to be thought leaders and trusted advisors with commercial acumen. Dee-Brown is keen to ensure she is at the forefront of not only important strategic decisions within ComReg, but advocating for legal reform at a national and European level – enabling her to contribute toward the development of law and policy in the wider telecoms sector. Providing this outstanding support has been achieved in a context of often difficult market conditions that have led ComReg to undergo change; during Dee-Brown’s stewardship of the legal team the Commission has had five different commissioners, acquired three significant additional roles and come through the financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures. Dee-Brown states she has been ‘required to deliver increased efficiencies in delivering the legal function during a time of austerity. This has required use of my skills to deliver and ensure innovative, thought leadership consistently across the organisation. The development of influencing and negotiating skills to drive consensus has been key’. The rapidly increasing developments in the relevant markets within the sectors ComReg regulates have also added challenges and opportunities. Operating within ‘dynamic innovative markets’, Dee-Brown has forged ‘stronger work relations internally and increased liaison with lawyers in other national and international regulators’ for broader and more informed decision making, a testament to the innovative approach Dee-Brown takes in the development of policies and laws related to electronic communications regulation.