Ireland

Irish full-service firm Matheson LLP‘s expertise extends from renewable energy, especially the financing and development of projects as well as advice on corporate PPAs, to ESG and sustainability-focused investment funds, sustainable supply chain management and ESG reporting. Garret Farrelly, who heads up the firm’s energy, natural resources and utilities group as well as projects and infrastructure practice, serves as chair of the cross-sectoral ESG advisory group. 

Seán Scally has continued to support the regulation of renewable energy projects, advising the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) on the terms and conditions of both the second renewable electricity support scheme (RESS-2) and the first offshore renewable electricity support scheme (ORESS-1), here adapting the scheme for a novel offshore context. By aiming to develop 7GW worth of projects, the ORESS-1 auction is leading Ireland’s offshore wind development. 

For Bord na Móna, the firm is acting on the project financing, contracting, and planning of the Cloncreen Wind Farm, and the construction and operational agreements for Derrinlough Wind Farm. 

In the finance and capital markets space, the firm continues to act as legal adviser to joint lead managers in AIB Group’s issuance of senior green bonds. In 2022, it advised on AIB’s issuance of a further €750 million in senior green bonds, which will support lending toward renewable energy generation and storage, and green construction. 

The firm’s expertise has helped lead developments in sustainable finance, with Tara Doyle serving as Chair of the Irish Funds ESG Sustainability Working Group. 

The commitment to a green transition extends internally: The firm is a signatory to Business in the Community’s Low Carbon Pledge; is targeting to become net zero by 2025; and has used its experience to develop a new template clause within The Chancery Lane Project concerning the transparent sourcing of renewable energy.  

Garret Farrelly

Garret is a partner and Head of both Matheson’s Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities Group and Projects and Infrastructure Group. He also chairs Matheson’s cross departmental specialist ESG Advisory Group. Garret advises on all aspects of projects and project financing, from PPPs to privately-financed energy and infrastructure developments and privatisations as well as electricity, gas and telecommunications network infrastructure. Garret’s experience also includes project development, M&A and financing in the conventional and renewable electricity sectors.

Garret’s practice focuses heavily on electricity market regulation and trading as well as renewable energy projects and sustainability and ESG mandates and transactions.  Recent mandates include advising the Irish Government on the Renewable Energy Subsidy Schemes (the RESS 1, RESS Offshore and RESS 2 schemes), advising EirGrid plc and SONI Limited (the all-island transmission system operators) in relation to the re-design of the Irish power market (I-SEM) and advising both corporates and developers on all but one of the renewable energy corporate power purchase agreements which have been signed in Ireland to date. Garret is consistently ranked as a Tier 1 Energy lawyer in Ireland, including in leading legal international directories such as The Legal 500.

Louise Dobbyn

Louise is a partner in the Financial Institutions Group, specialising in financial services regulation. Louise regularly advises banks, MiFID investment firms, asset managers, fund promoters, fintech firms, payment institutions, trading platforms, intermediaries and brokers on all aspects of Irish and EU financial regulation and compliance and related matters. Louise’s experience includes advising financial institutions on compliance with industry guidance, obtaining licences and licence extensions, assisting with corporate governance reviews, risk and compliance reviews.

Alan Keating

Alan is a partner in the firm’s Finance and Capital Markets Department and heads the firm’s New York office.  Alan has been based in the firm’s New York office since 2011. Alan advises international companies and financial institutions, asset managers, private equity firms, hedge funds, investment banks, arrangers, issuers, rating agencies, trustees and investors on all aspects (including restructuring) of debt capital markets, fund finance, securitisation (cross-border and domestic) and structured finance transactions.  Alan has worked with a number of managers in the US and Europe on launching their European CLO platforms.  Alan has also worked on the structuring, establishment and on-going operation of a large number of US direct lending / loan origination funds, including the negotiation of debt facilities (sub-line and NAV) for these funds too.

Anne-Marie Bohan

Anne-Marie has over 20 years’ experience in technology related legal matters, and is Head of Matheson’s Technology and Innovation Group and a member of our Asset Management and Investment Funds Group. Anne-Marie brings together significant practical experience in advising on technology and privacy legal issues with industry knowledge and an understanding of applicable regulatory rules and regulatory requirements.  She advises on all aspects of technology and e-commerce law, as well as outsourcings and contracted services, with particular focus on the requirements of financial institutions and financial services providers in these areas.

Bryan Dunne

Bryan is a partner and Head of the Employment Group at Matheson.  He advises on both contentious and non-contentious employment law matters.  This work includes preparation of senior executive service and severance agreements, secondment arrangements for international employers, defence work in contentious employment litigation matters and advising on all of the employment aspects of commercial transactions.  He also regularly advises employers on internal grievance and disciplinary processes, with particular focus on senior executive level employees.

David O’Mahony

David is a partner in the Finance and Capital Markets Department.  David has extensive experience advising in relation to secured and unsecured lending transactions, bilateral loans, real estate finance, syndicated loans, debt restructuring, project finance, receivables finance and fund finance. David currently acts for several leading Irish and international banks and financial institutions, non-bank lenders and a wide range of corporate borrowers across a number of different sectors.

Kimberley Masuda

Kimberley is a partner in the Construction and Engineering Group.  She has previous experience as a solicitor in real estate development in Canada and Hong Kong. Kimberley is a dually qualified solicitor and registered architect which gives her a unique insight to the issues which arise in Construction which is much valued by the Team’s clients.  Kimberley has significant technical skills and experience having acted as lead construction adviser in many of the Team’s very significant and complex transactions.

Nicola Dunleavy

Nicola Dunleavy is a partner in, and co-head of, the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group, with almost 30 years’ experience in ESG litigation. She also heads the Environmental, Planning and Safety practice. In June 2021 Nicola was granted the title of “Senior Counsel” by the Irish Government. This is only the second time that solicitors have been appointed as Senior Counsel, an honour which up to recently been reserved for barristers.

Nicola is consistently chosen to represent international and domestic private and public sector bodies in complex, high-stakes ESG disputes in Ireland and in the European Courts (CJEU). Nicola is the Irish Court member of the London Court of International Arbitration. She is a Chartered Tax Advisor, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a member of Energy Law Ireland and the Irish Environmental Law Association and has been recognised by The Legal 500 as an elite leading lawyer as part of the Planning and Environment: European Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2020.

Richard Kelly

Richard is a partner in the Finance and Capital Markets Department, and advises corporates, financial institutions, investment banks, asset managers and institutional investors on all aspects of capital markets transactions, including corporate bond issuances,
asset backed securitisations, CLOs, repackagings
and segregated managed account structures.

Richard’s practice also includes advising Irish corporates and investment funds and their counterparties in relation to derivatives transactions, repurchase and reverse-repurchase transactions, securities lending and prime brokerage and on the regulation of derivatives, the application of the Financial Collateral Directive and the operation of netting and set-off in Ireland. Richard has acted for many of the world’s leading financial institutions in providing bespoke legal opinions on the enforceability of close-out netting provisions and collateral arrangements documented using industry standard or client-specific derivatives, repo and prime brokerage documentation.

Sally Anne Stone

Sally Anne is a partner in the Commercial Real Estate Department at Matheson and leads the international real estate practice as well as the occupier advisory and transaction practices. She is an accomplished and commercially focused lawyer with over ten years’ experience in large scale acquisitions and disposals; site development; commercial landlord and tenant; sustainable real estate investment and advising owner / occupiers on the acquisition of office, industrial, manufacturing, and technical / data centre premises. Sally Anne has advised on many of the market’s major commercial real estate deals and some of the largest real estate transactions in Ireland in the last five years.

Sally Anne advises both landlords and occupiers on the largest and most significant real estate transactions in the Irish market. She has a breadth of experience in running sophisticated transactions and her in-depth knowledge of the market has resulted in her being first choice as trusted advisor to some of Ireland’s largest occupiers (both tenants and owner / occupiers) on the development, letting and ongoing management of their office and technical space. Sally Anne has advised one of the largest international tech giants for over ten years in respect of all its real estate requirements in Ireland. She is at the forefront in the Irish market on advising clients (landlords, developers and occupiers) on green leasing, green premiums (“greeniums”), green building certification and other green building standards, including LEED, BER, BREEAM and NZEB.

Susanne McMenamin

Susanne is a partner in Matheson’s Corporate Group specialising in corporate advisory matters and equity capital markets transactions. A member of Matheson’s ESG Advisory Group Susanne has particular expertise in company law and corporate governance advisory work for public and private companies, including assisting clients to embed good corporate governance policies and practices across their organisations.

Susanne advises our clients on European securities law, Irish and UK Listing Rules and the Irish Takeover Rules and works with our clients on corporate reporting requirements in Ireland. Susanne provides board induction and ongoing director training on specialist corporategovernance, compliance and securities law matters. Susanne also advises on matters of crisis and reputation management.

Susanne has extensive equity capital markets transaction experience advising international and domestic clients on IPOs, capital raisings, public company M&A (hostile and recommended offers) as well as experience on corporate migrations, redomiciliations, joint ventures and reorganisations.

Tara Doyle

Tara is a partner and head of the Asset Management and Investment Funds Department at Matheson. She practises Irish financial services law and advises many of the world’s leading financial institutions, investment banks, asset management companies, broker-dealers and corporations carrying on business in Ireland or through Irish vehicles. Tara has extensive experience in advising a wide range of domestic and international clients on the legal and regulatory issues surrounding the structuring, establishment, marketing and sale of private and public investment funds.

Tara is a former Chair of the Irish Funds Industry Association (Irish Funds) and currently serves as Chair of the Irish Funds ESG Policy, Legal & Regulatory Working Group.  Tara is also a member of the EFAMA Stewardship, Market Integrity, ESG Investment Standing Committee. Tara is also a member of the IFSC Funds Group established by the Department of An Taoiseach (the Irish Prime Minister) to consider and advise on legislative and other changes which are necessary or desirable to facilitate the continued growth of the Irish investment funds industry.

Climate change mitigation and the implementation of meaningful sustainability are key focus areas for Matheson. The firm actively engages in facilitating climate action and green change through our Environmental Sustainability Committee offering and developing sustainability and climate action initiatives within our organisation. Our Environmental Sustainability Committee are supported by our Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Advisory Group.

In addition we have established an Impactful Business Program (IBP) to deliver and support meaningful, sustainable and measureable change across our community of colleagues, clients and society.

Matheson’s ESG Advisory Group is a cross-disciplinary legal team dedicated to meeting our clients’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges and opportunities.

Having worked on a number of innovative ESG projects, and with years of experience advising in this area, Matheson’s partners understand the pace at which dynamics are changing. Through one combined advisory platform, Matheson’s ESG Group provides an integrated approach to supporting clients in responding to legislative and regulatory change; delivering on their own ESG goals; and meeting the challenges and opportunities in doing so.

Chaired by Garret Farrelly, the dedicated group of 12 partners combines a strong collaborative focus with deep industry knowledge, providing ESG expertise in the areas of sustainable finance; governance; climate action; energy, natural resources and utilities; waste and the circular economy; employment practices; supply chain management; investment funds; environmental and planning; data privacy; sustainable construction; and sustainable commercial real estate.

As a business, Matheson is committed to environmental, social and governance standards. With an integrated approach providing thought leadership and innovation in this area, key initiatives include:

Matheson’s Sustainability Committee – Tasked with implementing initiatives and setting targets, it ensures the firm meets and continuously improves its sustainability objectives;

Pro Bono Pledge Ireland – Matheson are the founding signatory of an access to justice initiative calling on legal professionals in Ireland to commit to providing free legal assistance to those who need it; and

Gold Standard Diversity and Inclusion Programmes – Matheson is the only law firm in Ireland to receive this standard from the Irish Centre of Diversity for D & I practices.

Has your firm established a dedicated ESG/climate change/sustainability practice, team or task force?

In April 2021, Matheson became one of the first Irish law firms to establish a dedicated Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Advisory Group. The ESG Advisory Group assists companies in navigating and responding to the rapidly evolving ESG landscape.  Chaired by Garret Farrelly (Head of Matheson’s Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities Group and Projects and Infrastructure Group), our cross-sectoral group of 12 partners (together with their respective teams) combines a strong collaborative focus with deep industry knowledge, providing ESG expertise in the following areas:

• Sustainable finance;
• Governance;
• Climate action;
• Energy, natural resources and utilities;
• Waste and the circular economy;
• Employment practices;
• Supply chain management;
• Investment funds; environmental and planning;
• Data privacy;
• Sustainable construction; and
• Sustainable commercial real estate.

By bringing our expertise together into one combined advisory platform, we provide the integrated approach required to support our clients in responding to legislative and regulatory change, delivering on their own ESG goals and identifying the challenges and opportunities in doing so.

In tandem with the establishment of the ESG Advisory Group, we also established a dedicated online ‘ESG Hub’ which brings together knowledge and insight from the ESG Advisory Group, as well as information on relevant news and events. Most recently, the ESG Advisory Group has published a Guide to Upcoming Developments in Sustainability Reporting For Corporates (highlighting significant impending EU reform in this area).

We recognise that collaboration and partnership through open dialogue is necessary to identify solutions required to meet ESG goals.  In recognition of this, we hosted our first virtual ESG summit in 2021, ‘Sustainable ESG: Charting the Road Ahead’. The Summit heard from senior business leaders from the technology, financial services, renewable power, and consulting sectors, together with members of Matheson’s ESG Advisory Group.  Speakers provided their practical insights on the key challenges and opportunities for businesses in adapting to ESG changes, sectoral responses to emerging legal, regulatory and policy changes, and impacts on investment and business strategy. The Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications also provided a keynote speech for the Summit.

What type of work do you handle in connection with “green change”?

We have advised on many ESG projects and represented both established industry leaders and innovative market entrants for many years. We recognise how ESG standards are accelerating change in the operating environment for businesses across the world.

We have particular experience in renewable energy advisory mandates, many of which are key to the development of the energy sector in Ireland.  For example, we are advising the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) on the terms and conditions for the first offshore competition under the renewable electricity support scheme (ORESS). This mandate follows on from our previous advice regarding the first and second onshore competitions under the renewable electricity support scheme (RESS-1 and RESS-2).  These mandates have provided us with a unique insight into the regulatory landscape for domestic renewable projects in Ireland and the subsidy schemes which are required to help Ireland meet its climate change targets.

Another area of significant activity for us is renewable energy M&A. We regularly advise international financial investors and institutions, global and domestic energy companies, utilities and developers in acquiring and financing renewable energy projects in Ireland. For example, we recently advised a large investor on the acquisition and project financing of what will become Ireland’s largest solar park once constructed, which will have a significant impact in achieving Ireland’s carbon reduction targets.

We are advising many of our largest clients on their own sustainability programmes and initiatives, including for example their renewable energy procurement programmes. In this regard, we have advised on all but one of the corporate power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) which have been entered into to date in Ireland (further detail is provided on this in the section below).

We are also increasingly advising our clients on their supply chain management with respect to sustainability. For example, we recently advised a global technology company on bespoke (and first of their kind for the Irish market) supply chain management provisions for their purchasing contracts which seek to ensure that modern slavery is excluded from their supply chain. We are also advising our clients on the new or impending reporting and disclosure requirements which are mandated under European ESG-driven legislation.

Would you like to highlight a particular area of strength?

As mentioned above, advising on our client’s renewable energy procurement and sustainability programmes is a particular area of strength. For example, Matheson has advised on more corporate PPAs executed in the Irish market than any other Irish law firm and this has provided us with a unique insight into the Irish energy market.

Corporate PPAs are attractive to large corporates (in particular international technology, life science and pharma companies) which are committed to consuming “green” energy from renewable sources to power their activities, as part of their own sustainability and ESG targets and goals.  Corporate PPAs are also highly beneficial to Irish developers and generators as they provide long-term fixed prices (typically from investment grade counterparties), which prices underpin the financing of those projects. Given the presence of many of the largest international technology, life science and pharma companies in Ireland, the Irish market is particularly suited to corporate PPAs and we see these types of contract as a key tool in assisting Ireland to meet our national as well as Europe’s sustainability and carbon reduction goals.

As part of our leadership in the Irish corporate PPA market, we have hosted briefing sessions for clients and others (including a breakfast briefing in our offices on the topic of Corporate PPAs where we presented in conjunction with Brookfield (now Orsted) and Schneider Electric) and have published insights on the topic (for example, ‘Corporate PPAs in Ireland: Current Trends’).

For a number of years we have worked closely with an international law firm on their jurisdictional overview of corporate PPAs, providing an overview of corporate PPAs in Ireland. We also continue to draft new template PPAs for a number of our offtaker and energy trading clients, in particular in the context of RESS.

Given our expertise in regulatory reform (including with respect to ESG), we have been increasingly advising our international and domestic clients on changes to their supply chain management policies and procurement with respect to ESG, on impending reporting and disclosure requirements under European ESG legislation, and with respect to their energy efficiency retrofitting programmes and contracting.

Has your firm implemented any internal best practices?

Matheson is committed to promoting environmental sustainability, social and governance standards in all parts of our business.

In 2021, Matheson became the largest law firm in Ireland – a business comprising 327 practising lawyers and over 720 people of diverse skill sets, abilities, backgrounds, gender and generational profiles. Our growth as a business has been nurtured through technical excellence, dedication to client service and a strategic focus on becoming the law firm of choice for internationally facing companies and financial institutions. It has also been nurtured by our determination to recognise that we are more than just a business – we are a community of people with the power to make a positive impact on each other and on the communities in which we live and work.

Matheson’s Impactful Business Program (IBP is both a recognition and a celebration of our power to make a positive contribution to our communities. It is also a statement of intent – a declaration of how we plan to continue to make a difference by working together and in collaboration with our clients. By more closely aligning each of our (1) Corporate Social Responsibility, (2) D&I, (3) Environmental Sustainability and (4) Arts initiatives we believe that we can bring even more focus and direction to our activities and efforts, and make an even bigger difference to those impacted by them. By working more closely with clients and other businesses with similar aims, we believe that we can extend the horizons of the impact we make.

Matheson’s IBP delivers and supports meaningful, sustainable and measureable change across our community of colleagues, clients and society. Some of our initiatives include:

Matheson’s Sustainability Committee – Tasked with implementing initiatives and setting targets, it ensures the firm meets and continuously improves our sustainability objectives (including our net zero target for 2030);

Pro Bono Pledge Ireland – Matheson is the founding signatory of an access to justice initiative calling on legal professionals in Ireland to commit to providing free legal assistance to those who need it; and

Gold Standard Diversity and Inclusion Programmes – Matheson is the only law firm in Ireland to receive this standard from the Irish Centre of Diversity for D&I practices. We are also delighted to become the first organisation in Ireland to achieve re-accreditation of the prestigious Investors in Diversity Gold Standard from the Irish Centre for Diversity, in recognition of our continued work to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees and their contributions and perspectives are valued and respected.

Matheson’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives – these are built around social mobility, educational opportunity, job readiness skills development, and work experience.  We have a vision for how we want to engage in our community. We encourage and promote a culture of giving back to society and recognise how this benefits us as well as our community. Our volunteering is an equal exchange and our CSR initiatives are developed in partnership with the organisations we support.

Matheson’s Arts initiatives – we have a strong tradition of supporting the arts and creative talent, including a number of exhibitions and artists.  Matheson has sponsored over 30 exhibitions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art over the years. We also support contemporary visual art through the firm’s collection of Irish and Ireland-based artists, which currently comprises 50 pieces of artwork. We view the arts as including all art forms – including visual arts, dance, theatre, music, literature and film. We also keenly appreciate the importance of nurturing the arts within educational frameworks – and for all age groups and abilities – and how different forms of art and creative endeavour can have the impact of encouraging involvement, interaction and inclusivity.

Mindful Business Charter – in May 2020, Matheson was the first Irish law firm to sign up to the Mindful Business Charter.

We would particularly like to highlight our environmental sustainability initiatives and programmes. Across the firm, we are continuing to reduce our energy consumption, reduce our waste, reduce our carbon footprint, and to increase our recycling.  Matheson has identified three strategic aims to support environmental sustainability:

• ensure that firm personnel are aware of the environmental impacts of their work activities and make an effort to minimise that impact;
• continue to reduce firm consumption of resources and set specific improvement targets, monitor progress and communicate results internally to stakeholders; and
• continue to measure our carbon footprint of business activities by quantifying our energy and waste output and continually working on measures to reduce our carbon footprint.

Some of the practices we have introduced over the last few years to reach our environmental sustainability goals have included:

• making recycling more accessible throughout the firm, ultimately achieving recycling rates of 97% over the past three years;
• introducing duplex printing in 2017 which has reduced the amount of paper used by Matheson by approximately 4 million pages per annum or 20 tonnes of waste or 16.02 tonnes of CO2 emissions; and
• removing plastic spoons (resulting in a saving of approximately 900kg of waste of waste going to a landfill) and replacing plastic non-biodegradable straws with recyclable paper alternatives.

Together with our Digital Services Group, our Environmental Sustainability Group have also recently developed an energy tracker app, which will allow all of our staff to measure their carbon footprint on an ongoing basis. This will help us in achieving the firm’s 2025 net zero target (we will be shortly signing up to Business in the Community’s Low Carbon Pledge). The energy tracker app will go live in the firm on Earth Day (22 April 2022).

In addition, Matheson engaged two international consultants in 2020 and 2021 to measure the firm’s scope 2 and scope 3 emissions. Our Environmental Sustainability Committee is now implementing a number of measures across the firm in order to further reduce our carbon footprint, including revising our travel and taxi policies, and updating our cycle to work scheme.  As part of our building upgrade which is planned over the next 18 months, we will be installing new LED lighting in the building, upgrading some of our mechanical and electrical equipment as well as exploring the feasibility for new EV charging points in our car park for both staff and clients.

For our 2 Irish offices, we have also signed up to a 100% renewable energy power supply contract pursuant to which we are also bearing the additional cost of acquiring guarantees of origin (renewable energy certificates demonstrating that power is produced from renewable sources) from an Irish renewable energy generation company.

Has your firm joined any external ESG-related projects, networks or initiatives?

Matheson promotes a culture of sustainability and collaborative endeavour by sponsoring and participating in environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility focused events. The firm has partnered with Dublin Chamber for its ‘Sustainable Dublin 2050’ event series and focuses on themes including alternative energy, city planning, green supply chain and green finance. The core audience comprises senior decision makers of Dublin Chamber’s membership. Contributing significantly to this forum, Matheson partners have spoken about sustainability topics such as the circular economy and the European Green Deal and its implications for Ireland. These events present an excellent opportunity to share sustainability insights with key business stakeholders.  Garret Farrelly (as mentioned above, a senior partner who chairs Matheson’s ESG Advisory Group, and who is head of Matheson’s Energy, Natural, Resources and Utilities Group and Projects and Infrastructure Group) participated in the EU’s Green Deal panel which also included Ciarán Cuffe, Green Party MEP for Dublin, and Kadri Simson, EU Energy Commissioner. The roadmap to create a sustainable and climate neutral economy by 2050 is complex and will require a huge collaborative effort right across the Irish economy. We are also sponsoring and speaking at a number of ESG events in 2022 for Dublin Chamber and Cork Chamber. Through our increased engagement with these events and others, Matheson will continue to showcase its thought leadership and expertise in ESG related projects, networks and initiatives.  

Matheson has sponsored over 30 exhibitions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art over the years. We also support contemporary visual art through the firm’s collection of Irish and Ireland-based artists, which currently comprises 50 pieces of artwork. We view the arts as including all art forms – including visual arts, dance, theatre, music, literature and film. We also keenly appreciate the importance of nurturing the arts within educational frameworks – and for all age groups and abilities – and how different forms of art and creative endeavour can have the impact of encouraging involvement, interaction and inclusivity.

In 2021, Matheson Together was launched, which is our employee resource group to connect and support LGBTQ+ employees and their allies. Matheson Together organised a number of events in 2021 to celebrate Pride Week 2021 (similar events will be held this year).

Matheson’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are built around social mobility, educational opportunity, job readiness skills development, and work experience.  We have a vision for how we want to engage in our community. We encourage and promote a culture of giving back to society and recognise how this benefits us as well as our community. Our volunteering is an equal exchange and our CSR initiatives are developed in partnership with the organisations we support. By way of example, we support the following charity partners and volunteer and provide philanthropic funding for the following: Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, the Emer Casey Foundation, the Calcutta Run, Jobcare, The Irish Rule of Law International and Junior Achievement Ireland. Matheson also recently made a six figure donation to The International Red Cross to support those affected by the war and crisis in Ukraine.

Pro bono is a fundamental element of Matheson’s Impactful Business Programme vision, to deliver and support meaningful, sustainable and measurable change across our community of colleagues, clients and society. As a founding signatory of Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, we are committed to promoting access to justice by providing free legal assistance to those in need. Matheson is currently involved in a number of pro bono projects. Some recent examples include supporting the Chancery Lane Project as well as the World Bank on their annual “Doing Business – Getting Electricity” Guides. We have signed  The Open Community Cairde Allies Partner Pledge to support  Ireland’s Community Sponsorship Programme for Refugees and our lawyers are currently providing legal services to refugees and their families. We are also collaborating with Public Interest Law Alliance in providing legal advice and assistance to not for profit organisations working with groups and individuals who cannot afford to pay for or access legal services. We are also proud to continue and further develop our long standing partnership with the Irish Rule of Law International by providing pro bono services that enhance and promote the rule of law and access to justice.

What are your firm’s ESG-related goals?                    

ESG related goals are the foundation of Matheson’s Impactful Business Programme (“IBP”), our vision to deliver and support meaningful, sustainable and measurable change across our community of colleagues, clients and society.

As noted above, our IBP is structured around four strategic pillars: diversity and inclusion (“D&I”), corporate social responsibility (“CSR”), environmental sustainability, and the arts. Within each of these pillars, we have identified relevant strategic aims.  For example, our D&I philosophy is built on six pillars: Generational; Gender; Family and Working Parents; Disability;  LGBTQ+; Multiculturalism and Social Mobility. We have established a range of initiatives across each of the pillars including:

• the formation of a D&I Ambassador Committee;
• Open Doors Month and Matheson Week – a celebration of people, values, and culture; the Matheson Agile Working Programme;
• the Matheson Maternity and Paternity Programmes;
• Matheson’s D&I Scholarship in partnership with Trinity College Dublin; the Matheson Life Stages Series;
• Matheson’s Annual D&I Conference in partnership with Trinity College Dublin; and
• the launch of the firm’s Values Wall.

Matheson was also one of Ireland’s founding members of the OUTLaw Network which is aimed at promoting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees across the legal sector in Ireland.  In 2020, Matheson was the first organisation in Ireland across all industry sectors to achieve a Gold Standard accreditation from the Irish Centre of Diversity for its investment in D&I practices.

From an environmental sustainability perspective, our Environmental Sustainability Committee is tasked with implementing initiatives and setting targets, to ensure the firm meets and continuously improves its sustainability objectives. Matheson has already made significant progress in the area of energy consumption, waste management and carbon footprint.  Our highlight achievements include:

• a partnership with Print Releaf to measure our paper usage and reforest that usage;
• achieving average waste recycling rates of 97% over the past three years; and
• reducing our energy consumption by 40%.

As mentioned above, we have also set ourselves a 2025 net zero target and we will be shortly signing up to Business in the Community’s Low Carbon Pledge.  We also recently developed an energy tracker app, which will allow all of our staff to measure their carbon footprint on an ongoing basis.  In addition, Matheson engaged two international consultants in 2020 and 2021 to measure the firm’s scope 2 and scope 3 emissions, and Our Environmental Sustainability Committee is now implementing a number of measures across the firm in order to further reduce our carbon footprint, including revising our travel and taxi policies, and updating our cycle to work scheme.  As part of our building upgrade which is planned over the next 12- 18 months, we will be terofitting new LED lighting in our headquarters, upgrading some of our mechanical and electrical equipment as well as exploring the feasibility for new EV charging points in our car park for both staff and clients. We are also exploring the feasibility of a number of reforestation projects with our consultants.

Is your firm involved in any relevant pro bono work?

Pro bono is a fundamental element of our IBP vision. As a founding signatory of Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, Matheson is committed to promoting access to justice by providing free legal assistance to those in need.

Our pro bono practice is partner-led and is afforded the same priority and resources as all of our other specialist practice areas. Our Pro Bono Partner, Niamh Counihan, dedicates 50% of her professional time to pro bono work (and Niamh is supported by other lawyers across the firm with our pro bono initiatives). She is a member of the Pro Bono Pledge Steering Group which supports Public Interest Law Alliance in growing and developing Pro Bono Pledge Ireland and provides strategic direction to the operation and development of the Pledge.

Through our pro bono practice we provide legal assistance to those who most require representation and advice in our community, and to the organisations that support them. We have a number of ongoing pro bono initiatives which support Environmental Sustainability, CSR and D&I to benefit our communities, including the following:

Cairde: The Open Community Allies Network: We have signed The Open Community Cairde Allies Partner Pledge to support Ireland’s Community Sponsorship Programme for refugees which is coordinated by Amnesty International. As part of a dedicated panel of expert legal firms, Matheson lawyers will provide legal services to refugees and their families. The legal panel is live on the Cairde website.

Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA): We are collaborating with PILA in providing legal advice and assistance to not for profit organisations working with groups and individuals who cannot afford to pay for or access legal services. We provide a range of legal services, contentious and non-contentious, across areas such as employment, data protection, contractual interpretation, risk, compliance and corporate and charities governance and media and entertainment law and property law.

Legal risk review: We are assisting a number of cross-sectoral pro bono clients in relation to a review of their policies, procedures and compliance to help them identify, manage and mitigate legal risk  and achieve the highest standards of corporate and charities code governance.

Irish Refugee Council: In collaboration with the Irish Refugee Council we are supporting the humanitarian crises facing Afghanistan. We are providing free legal assistance to Afghan nationals located in Ireland who are applying to the Irish Government under the Afghan Admission Programme for temporary immigration permission for their family members to enter and reside in Ireland.

Training and Education

In collaboration with other Irish law firms, PILA and the Bar Council of Ireland’s Voluntary Assistance Programme, we provide education and training seminars and drafting materials to assist NGOs with a range of legal issues most relevant to them, including in the areas of data protection, governance, employment law, lobbying and fundraising.

Our Thought Leadership | Driving Change

The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP): We are involved in a collaborative effort of legal professionals from around the world in (i) creating new, practical contractual clauses ready to incorporate into law firm precedents and commercial agreements to deliver climate solutions and (ii) seeking to ensure effective and impactful implementation of the clauses, across industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.  TCLP has launched a Net Zero Toolkit, a collection of clauses and tools which enable lawyers to align their work with a decarbonised economy, and a safe and habitable planet for us all. Matheson was most recently involved in developing a new template clause as part of TCLP on transparent sourcing of renewable energy, drawing on our extensive energy experience in order to do so.

In collaboration with an international law firm we are monitoring and providing Irish law updates and developments arising out of Environmental and Climate Change litigation for the benefit of two international environmental NGOs.

World Bank Group:  We collaborate with and contribute on an annual basis to the World Bank Group research that informs the development of global indicators.  The World Bank Group is currently formulating a new approach to assessing the business and investment climate in economies worldwide and we look forward to our ongoing opportunity to contribute.

Is your firm involved in any public outreach or client education?

Public Outreach

At Matheson, we encourage and promote a culture of giving back to our community and we empower our people to do so.  We have a vision for how we want to engage with our community and we will continue the progress we have made over the past few years.

Some of our recent initiatives include:

Junior Achievement Ireland: Matheson has a longstanding charity partnership with Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI), a member of the global JA network, which was recently nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.  JAI has been serving young people in Ireland for nearly 25 years, equipping them with the skillset and mind-set to create sustainable businesses, find meaningful employment, and build thriving communities.

Irish Rule of Law International: We are proud to continue and further develop our long standing partnership with the IRLI by providing pro bono services that enhance and promote the rule of law and access to justice. In association with the South Africa Law Society, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer and the IRLI, we have devised and will be delivering a Commercial Drafting Training and Education Course over a 5-6 week period to lawyers from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa with a view to building their capacity to become commercial legal practitioners.

Client Education

As mentioned, Matheson’s dedicated online ESG Hub provides knowledge and insights from the Advisory Group – some of which can be accessed on the ESG Hub page of our website. Clients can also sign up for ESG updates, to receive Matheson insights and articles of interest directly to their email.

We often provide bespoke training to clients on renewable energy, sustainability and ESG related matters (including supply chain management). For example, we recently delivered training on corporate PPAs to a large developer and a session dedicated to the recent Marine Area Consent Consultation (for Ireland’s offshore wind farm developments projects) being facilitated by the Department of the Environment Climate and Communications.

Matheson’s PSL faculty collaborates to track and analyse legislative policy debates at a national, European and international level. This faculty monitors and evaluates proposed and upcoming Irish and EU legislative and regulatory developments, identifying issues that may impact or interest our clients, their businesses and the sectors in which they operate. Our Quarterly Horizon Tracker briefings update clients on key recent and upcoming legislative developments, helping our clients stay ahead of legal developments and market trends.

Have there been any recent non-confidential stand-out matters that were particularly innovative, pioneering or complex?

Matheson has been involved in a number of innovative and pioneering renewable projects over the last number of years.  As well as the matters which we have already mentioned, we would also highlight the advice various members of Matheson have provided on:

• Ireland’s first large-scale (200MW) battery energy storage (BESS) project;
• all legal aspects of Bord Na Móna’s proposed development of Cloncreen Wind Farm, a 75MW wind farm in Co. Offaly (which will be one of the largest onshore wind farms to be constructed in Ireland) – one of the first wind farms under the new RESS scheme to be project financed in Ireland;
• advising the Irish Government on all legal aspects for the development and drafting of the terms and conditions for Ireland’s renewable energy subsidy schemes known as RESS (RESS 1, RESS 2 and RESS Offshore);
• advising a global technology company on the drafting of bespoke (and first of their kind for the Irish market) supply chain provisions for their purchasing contracts to counteract modern slavery risks; and
• Octopus Renewable’s acquisition of the Ballymacarney solar project (which, when completed, will be the largest solar park in Ireland).

The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP)

We are involved in a collaborative effort of legal professionals from around the world in (i) creating new, practical contractual clauses ready to incorporate into law firm precedents and commercial agreements to deliver climate solutions and (ii) seeking to ensure effective and impactful implementation of the clauses, across industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.  TCLP has launched a Net Zero Toolkit, a collection of clauses and tools which enable lawyers to align their work with a decarbonised economy, and a safe and habitable planet for us all. Matheson was most recently involved in developing a new template clause as part of TCLP on transparent sourcing of renewable energy, drawing on our extensive energy experience in order to do so.

When did ESG, climate change and/or sustainability become an area of focus at your firm?

Matheson has been advising its clients on ESG, sustainability and climate change related projects since at least 1996.  Since that date, our focus on ESG, climate change and sustainability have continued to grow in pace with the development of these areas both in the legal industry and our clients’ business, accelerating noticeably in the past five years in particular.

What has driven your firm’s involvement in a green transition? (Client demand? Business case? Personal attitudes/beliefs/initiatives?)

The green transition has been a gradual process, driven by Matheson’s values and commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, which has also been supported by strong client demand.

In addition, Matheson’s employees are increasingly interested in how the business can support the green transition, both in terms of its own activities and supporting our clients in their activities. In this context, we have broad representation at our various ESG-related committees from all parts of our business and have seen great engagement from our employees on ESG-related matters and initiatives, many of which we are actively pursuing (and which are noted above).

Do you have any strategic plans to expand your work or your initiatives in this area in the future?

We are proud to have been one of the first Irish law firms to establish a dedicated ESG Advisory Group, and believe that our cross-departmental experience provides a strong ESG offering to our clients. However, we recognise that this is a key area of growth for the legal sector and our focus over the next few years is to build on this momentum.

There is currently a real opportunity for our ESG Advisory Group to collaborate with our Digital Services Group to provide innovative ESG solutions for our clients. Most recently, our ESG Advisory Group has been working with our Digitals Services Group to develop a ‘Know Your Footprint’ energy tracker app which will help our employees in reducing their carbon footprint.  The app will help our employees measure their carbon footprint by analysing their energy usage at home, consumption habits and travel and support them in making meaningful changes by sending tips and challenges that will help them reduce their footprint.  The app will go live in the firm in April this year, and we are aiming to make the app available to others.

As well as being instructed on market-leading transactions and building our sectoral experience, a key objective of our ESG Advisory Group is to contribute via thought leadership, and facilitating discussion through industry events. As mentioned above, in 2021 we hosted our first ESG Summit, and later this year we will be hosting a number of events around COP26 in the Autumn.

Garret Farrelly, Chair of our ESG Advisory Group, is also attending the (invite only) ESG Forum for ESG Legal Leaders in Washington DC from 1 to 3 May 2022 being run by Cambridge Forums, and which will be attending by the leading international ESG legal advisers. Garret will also be chairing a session at The European Forum in ESG in the UK which is being scheduled for January 2023.

Where do you see the future of ESG/sustainability in the legal community (both in terms of legal offerings and firms’ best practices)?

In the legal community, we believe that ESG will feature prominently in legal procurement. At our 2021 ESG Summit, a snapshot poll of attendees revealed that two-thirds (65%) of respondents ranked ESG within the top five risks for their organisation. Consistent with this, just over half (51%) stated that their organisation had put an ESG / Climate Action Plan or Strategy in place in the past two years, and about a quarter (24%) have had a Plan or Strategy in place for more than two years.  The effect of all of this is that ESG is at the heart of corporate governance and decision making for our clients.

We have noticed in both public procurement and private engagement, firms are being judged on their ESG performance. ESG considerations are increasingly important for law firms and we believe that the effectiveness of their ESG initiatives will have an impact on their success in the market.

In the public sector, Green Public Procurement is growing. Green Public Procurement (“GPP”) is a concept that permits, in certain circumstances, public authorities taking account of ‘green’ or environmentally friendly considerations in their tenders for goods, services or works. The GPP rules are currently voluntary although it forms part of the EU and Ireland’s efforts to become a more resource-efficient economy.