About Niamh Breslin Niamh Breslin is Territory Manager UK for IDA Ireland, based in the firm’s London office. She works with UK companies across all sectors as they grow their operations in Ireland. About Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland is an autonomous statutory agency set up under the Industrial Development Acts 19862019. The agency plays a key role in attracting and retaining foreign direct investment into Ireland. Contact Niamh Breslin Territory Manager UK IDA Ireland Shaftesbury House, 151 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8AL, UK Tel: +44 02073 799728 www.idaireland.com In this respect, IDA Ireland provides several services that ease the process of moving to Ireland for work – such as visa and work permit fast-tracking and inter-company transfers. These services are not limited to just the EU, but to high-skilled workers across the globe. That said, basing your law firm within the EU opens up access to 27 countries and 440 million people. Common Law Advantage Arguably, common law is more beneficial for business and commercial use than continental-style coded law because it makes the legal process more flexible and provides leeway for innovation. Being in a jurisdiction that practices common law is therefore an advantage, especially as the legaltech wave began in the US and was able to work hand-in-hand with the common law system to help legal firms provide cutting-edge services to their clients. Ireland also holds a unique position within the EU, being the only member state with a prominent financial centre that practices common law. This not only makes it a prime location for EU law firms, but for those outside looking to gain access to the EU while maintaining a common law primacy. Many law firms have already taken advantage of these merits, allowing Ireland to facilitate a strong international legal ecosystem within its borders. Simmons & Simmons, Bird & Bird, DLA Piper and Dentons are examples of leading global law firms that have all set up office in Dublin over the past four years. With current barriers to legaltech revolving around law firms’ limited digital expertise, the future will, for now, focus on designing slicker, useroriented products that ease legal processes as much as possible. As legaltech progresses towards this goal, it could inadvertently democratise legal services, as digital applications become accessible to more than just the larger law firms. Again, this should help free law firms in terms of their locations: a prospect likely to benefit Ireland in the coming years. With current barriers to legaltech revolving around law firms’ limited digital expertise, the future will, for now, focus on designing slicker, useroriented products that ease legal processes as much as possible. SPECIAL FEATURE 35
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