Team size: 43

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

Our legal division comprises the legal team, which advises across all aspects of the Central Bank of Ireland’s mandate, including on regulatory, central banking and operational matters; and the Regulatory Decisions Unit, which manages the administrative sanctions Inquiries and certain decision-making processes of the bank.

The legal division has advised on and supported several recent legislative developments. For example, the legal division was responsible for engaging with the Department of Finance on the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 and for drafting the regulations the Central Bank made under this Act to bring into effect the Senior Executive Accountability Regime. They were also responsible for drafting the draft regulations arising from the Consumer Protection Code review, which have recently been consulted on.

The team has also managed a number of recent supervisory and resolution matters, where action was required to be taken in relation to regulated financial service providers, including, for example, a recent appointment of a liquidator to an investment firm. Members of the legal division are also members of the Eurosystem Legal Committee (LEGCO), which advises the Governing Council on legal matters, such as on the recent review of the operational framework for implementing monetary policy. The division is also an advisor on several key Central Bank organisational projects, which involve advising on property, public procurement and contract matters.

The regulatory decisions unit is currently supporting the Inquiry members in managing various administrative sanctions procedure (“ASP”) Inquiries, including the INBS Inquiry and the PTSB Inquiry. The PTSB Inquiry recently completed its substantive hearing of the matter. The regulatory decisions unit has also supported the adoption of recently revised ASP Guidelines, which implement changes to the Inquiry process arising from the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023.

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

The role of general counsel in Ireland has evolved significantly over the last number of years from a role with a focus on traditional legal issues to a role which actively supports organisations in delivering on their strategic objectives. Increasingly, general counsel play a key role in upholding compliance and governance and on other ESG issues. This evolution will only continue, and general counsel need to take a future-focused and strategic approach to their role.

Technological developments offer greater opportunities for general counsel to reduce the time spent by their teams on low-level tasks and to instead focus on their strategic contribution to the organisation. The general counsel will have an important leadership role in guiding teams through this period of significant change, including through a focus on learning and development for teams.

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?

We are keeping a close eye on the technological advancements developing, and various initiatives to use AI in in-house legal teams, including for legal research purposes. We found the introduction of an electronic document and records management system to our team to be very useful in providing an enhanced opportunity for team knowledge sharing and collaboration, in addition to its data management function. We are continuously looking at ways in which we can enhance the use of this system. The Bank is in the process of implementing a new e-discovery system. This will be particularly valuable for the management of Central Bank administrative sanctions Inquiries, which can at times, involve the management of significant volumes of data.

In general, what would you like to see change about the external law firms you use?

We would like to see law firms taking a leading role in legal innovation; to reduce costs, enhance the value they provide to their clients, and potentially support in-house legal teams in adopting legal innovation. The general support law firms provide on knowledge management is very valuable, and we would like to see this as a continued focus for law firms, with AI tools potentially offering the firms the ability to do more in this space.