About

Diane Fahy, head of legal at Investec in Ireland began her career in private practice with Matheson, where she trained and worked post-qualification for a number of years. Having joined Investec in 2009 as an in-house solicitor, she was appointed head of legal in 2010 and has successfully lead the legal team through a challenging time, given the changing environment in the financial services sector in Ireland. Highlights of Fahy’s career include advising on the acquisition by Investec of NCB Stockbrokers in 2012, acting on the disposal by Investec of its Irish sub-prime mortgage arms – Start Mortgages and Nua Mortgages – to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, and the recent sale of the Irish Stock Exchange to Euronext. She identifies that ‘each of these transactions further enhanced my understanding of the business, which allows you to become a more commercially minded lawyer who understands the key concerns and risks of the business. Part of my role as in-house counsel is to help and guide any external lawyers who are instructed by the business to ensure that the best legal advice is given where required’. When Fahy was appointed as head of legal, she set about enhancing the legal team’s offering so that it offered a more dynamic and solution focused service to the business. This, coupled with the training that she had gained from private practice around file organisation, template sharing and a strong work ethic, meant that the legal function earned the respect of the business for being a well organised and efficient legal function. She highlights that she ‘finds working in an in-house role exciting as it allows you to completely immerse yourself in the business. This gives you a much better understanding of the risks involved and the business needs, thereby ensuring that your legal advice is always on point, practical and commercial’.