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

My role is to provide risk-based advice, working closely with the local legal teams on corporate and M&A transactions. I supported the Irish, German, UK and Canadian businesses on nine M&A transactions in 2023 and advised on the successful transfer of an Irish Life Assurance portfolio of insurance policies to Saol Assurance DAC, trading as AIB life (a Canada Life joint venture with Allied Irish Banks) which was approved by the Irish High Court. This was a landmark transaction in the Irish market.

I also supported the Irish and UK businesses on some complex corporate restructurings and supported the joint venture in Germany between Canada Life, Bain Capital Insurance and JDC Group, a consolidation platform for insurance intermediaries. I acted on the disposal by Canada Life Limited (UK) of its individual onshore protection business to Countrywide Assured, a subsidiary of Chesnara.

In your role, how do you balance the need to protect the organisation’s interests today while also considering legal implications and opportunities that may arise in the future?

This is a key part of my role. I work on a lot of complex transactions with a lot of moving parts. It is my job to make sure they are successfully implemented in a manner satisfactory from a commercial perspective. I identify actual and potential risks, assess the risk level involved and try to provide practical solutions. I advise on the structuring options with that risk-based approach in mind. My work ties very closely to the financials of the transactions. You need a sophisticated understanding of the financials to best advise the business, particularly where pragmatic and creative solutions are needed.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?

This was always an important factor and has become increasingly so. For example, our company believes strongly in diversity, equity and inclusion and driving improvements in this area. It is critical to approach this internally within the organisation, but also externally, in terms of suppliers. It is incumbent on organisations to interrogate their suppliers on issues such as DEI and ESG and look for evidence-based reporting on that.