Team size: Ten+

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Ireland over the next five-ten years?

The role of a local general counsel has grown and evolved markedly in recent years. With the expansion and deepening of the regulatory environment within which firms operate; the evolution of the litigation landscape; and the increased complexity and cross-jurisdictional focus of business performed out of Ireland, the general counsel role has become a core part of the management team of any enterprise operating at scale in or from Ireland. The role is now as much as anything else, one of legal risk manager, trusted advisor, and critical information broker, and this promises to continue as Irish businesses grow and confront some of the changes in store in the years ahead – whether they be geopolitical, technological, straightforward commercial, or otherwise.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most? Which have you found most useful in your legal team?

The development and further refinement of AI supports, including LLMs, will have a meaningful impact on the role of in-house legal teams in the short to medium term. Enterprises are only beginning to understand some of the opportunities technology of this nature brings. AI is not new in the context of in-house legal functions – as anyone who has ever used anything from comparison software to eDiscovery will tell you. The benefits which this next generation of AI will bring, however, in terms of data extraction and summarisation, document production, among others, are already plain to be seen. They will serve to increase the quality of output as well as free scarce resources for concentration on higher-value tasks.

It will be a long time before AI can replace much of what our teams do, but it will certainly be a very useful support and something which will mean that our teams can be much more productive and effective in carrying out the important roles assigned, and functions entrusted to us.