What impact did Brexit have on the financial Industry in Ireland?  

Despite the run-up to Brexit consuming a significant amount of the financial industry’s resources, the operational impact for firms in Ireland was less significant than some commentators had first feared.  Significant credit should however be given to the extensive work undertaken by the financial services industry to ensure that a Y2K-style “cliff-edge scenario” did not materialise. The legal team was heavily involved in Citi’s multi-year Brexit planning project to ensure that the company was appropriately prepared to continue to service its clients, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.  

In the short term, Brexit had a ‘reset’ effect and has driven a shift in the nature and scale of the financial services industry in Ireland. Dublin was one of the winners in terms of UK firms either relocating or establishing new operations in the EEA. Many firms have set-up operations in Ireland, providing a range of services from commercial-wholesale banking, investment services, insurance and fintech.  The longer term consequences for the Irish financial industry remain to be seen; however, what is certain is that regulatory policy in light of Brexit will remain front and centre for industry participants for the foreseeable future.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years? 

A key requirement of the in-house legal role is the ability to understand business priorities quickly and provide practical, concise and understandable legal advice, enabling the business to make an informed decision.  While this aspect of the role will not change, the symbiotic relationship between the in-house legal department and its clients means that the manner of delivery of legal services will also need to evolve.  Key to this will be the leveraging of technology to create efficiencies to free up the legal team to focus on qualitative advisory and strategic objectives. Harnessing data will hopefully generate further insights that will allow the in-house legal team to identify thematic trends, proactively manage legal and regulatory risk and provide reporting to help quantify the value that in-house teams deliver.   

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry? 

Flexibility and adapting positively to change are crucial to a lawyer’s ability to succeed in the modern in-house industry.  Change is a constant theme in today’s workplace; it can be very challenging to deal with but it can bring opportunities for those who are flexible enough to embrace it.  Key to this will be the continued development and investment by corporate legal teams in their people; the members of a legal team are its greatest asset and providing the necessary resources will enable the team to demonstrate their skillset and value to internal clients.