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

Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) has undergone a significant corporate restructuring over the last number of years. The legal team has managed all legal, governance and regulatory aspects of the complex reorganisation project efficiently and effectively, working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the appropriate approach is applied in all aspects of the restructuring. The team also had a key role in inputting to the drafting of the Gas (Amendment) Act 2024 from the outset, ensuring that all nuances and legal concerns with respect to the draft legislation were clearly identified and addressed in a way that protected GNI’s interests and achieved the best result for all stakeholders concerned.

Decarbonising the gas network and supporting industries such as the agricultural sector to do likewise is a key priority for GNI. The legal team has advised, and driven initiatives associated with getting biomethane and hydrogen on to the gas network.

Members of the legal team are an integral part of the project team for the delivery of Ireland’s first central grid injection facility in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. This facility will take gas from farms and will facilitate the injection of biomethane into Ireland’s transmission network.

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?

GNI’s main area of business today is the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of Ireland’s national natural gas network in a safe, compliant manner. This is a key area of focus today and it will continue to be a requirement for the future. However, the way it will do so will need to look quite different, taking account of for example, the decarbonisation agenda.

A key part of my role is ensuring things are done safely, efficiently and within the four corners of the legal and regulatory framework, while also advising on for example, emissions and decarbonisation requirements. This requires comprehensive and practical legal and governance guidance from myself and my team.

We are seeing a huge amount of new law coming through, and while such regimes will impose new obligations on organisations like GNI, they are also introducing new potential opportunities. I play a key role in considering and advising on such new areas and potential new businesses. This is a key balancing activity, and it requires a smart and commercial approach.

I also have the benefit of an extremely engaged and supportive board; excellent CLO team; and fantastic executive colleagues who I work closely with in seeking to achieve an optimal balance between that need to protect GNI’s current interests while also considering potential legal implications and opportunities which may arise in the future. Those relationships are fundamental, and my ability to work collaboratively is key.

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

I think that the role of general counsel has been evolving steadily over the past number of years and we are increasingly seeing lawyers having a seat at executive and board levels. I do not see this slowing down, and I think that the need for adaptability across areas like DE&I, ESG, cyber and AI will be key over the coming years. We will continue to see the law and regulation in these areas develop at a very fast pace and general counsel have the opportunity to play a key role in corporate strategy in that regard.

The growth and focus on these topics require an appreciation of the importance of the law, and of the way these issues move and inspire people. General counsel will be challenged to perhaps bring more of themselves to work, put themselves outside of their comfort zones and lead by examples in supporting these important initiatives, while also ensuring that their client is meeting its legal and governance requirements.

General counsel and their teams can sometimes be seen as a hurdle to overcome in an organisation, so collaboration and connection with staff will be key as they continue to cement the value which they add.

The role of general counsel is increasingly becoming one which is less about the law and more about the purpose and strategic direction of companies. This is partly because of their increasing roles on boards, but it is also a testament to the strength of skillset which they bring to the table.