Team size: Four

What impact did the pandemic have on the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries in Ireland?

The rapidly changing environment has accelerated the utilisation of many digital and remote healthcare solutions and brought these industries to the forefront of people’s minds in an unprecedented way. A lot of patients and providers who may previously have been reticent about virtual options have adapted to the idea of telemedicine services.

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

The in-house role has already evolved from a legal advisor to a commercial or strategic business partner to their organisation, involved in wider decision making. There will be further evolution in that regard in the future to the point that a trend may even emerge whereby in-house lawyers are expected to have previous hands-on experience in the industry they want to specialise in before becoming lawyers in that industry.

There will be increased use of innovative solutions to streamline routine work using artificial intelligence such as contract review software and Chatbot to handle initial triage of requests for legal support. This should free up resources to allow teams to focus on risk anticipation and risk reduction rather than spending time on remediation efforts such as litigation.

Companies will have an increased emphasis on environmental and societal considerations and build these considerations into the fabric of their business model rather than just aiming to comply with the law. This will add a different dimension to providing legal advice.

What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

A key piece of my work has been partnering with the local business throughout the pandemic, from the initial transition to working from home, putting plans in place to return to the office and planning for the future of work. This has spanned many areas of law such as Health & Safety, Employment, Corporate Governance and Data Protection. The future of work and return to office transition is likely to throw out some interesting complexities in the year ahead.

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

A corporate legal team will need to have enough agility and open-mindedness to pivot from being a traditional legal function to being strategic business partners able to embrace innovative solutions.

To keep pace with their business side of the industry and technological developments, there needs to be a culture of continuous learning and self-improvement. In addition, legal teams will need to have a strong enough fabric to be able to successfully navigate a rapidly changing environment. Supporting their team members professionally and emotionally will be essential to achieving this in the long term.