The In-house and Public Sector Committee and Law Society Professional Training are pleased to host the annual panel discussion onsite in the Law Society. The theme this year is ‘Innovating and Leading in Transformative Times’ where our panel event will focus on AI and the practical implications and usage for in-house solicitors and the organisations/businesses they serve across the public and private sectors. The panel event will also be covering the topic of in-house solicitors skillset being transferable to other non- legal roles, a discussion aimed at broadening career considerations for the legal profession.  

The discussion will be facilitated by a select panel of public sector solicitors, in-house solicitors, and industry experts who will share personal observations and insights based on their career experiences. Smaller break-out discussion groups will follow, which will provide an ideal opportunity to learn and explore further the issues raised by the panel with your in-house colleagues.  

This event is suitable for: in-house practitioners in the private and public sectors.

Learning Outcomes
Gain a greater understanding of the use of AI for businesses and the in-house solicitor and insights for solicitors taking up or considering non-legal roles. 

Chairperson
Alison Bradshaw, Head of Credit Legal Services, AIB
Alison is an Irish qualified solicitor who has worked inhouse in AIB for 12 years. She is a member of the senior management team for AIB’s Legal & Corporate Governance unit.  Her role, as Head of Credit Legal Services, has a focus on providing legal support to AIB’s lending teams, ESG and Sustainable Finance, panel management and operational effectiveness.  Previous roles included supporting activity in products, regulatory implementation, data protection and horizon scanning.  Prior to joining AIB, she worked in a large Dublin law firm where she practised in their Banking and Financial Services department.

Speakers/panelists

Tom Heerey, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft
Tom is an Irish and Australian qualified solicitor who has worked in-house with Microsoft for 17 years. He is a member of the Microsoft Ireland Governance Team and since 2015, has supported the Microsoft engineering teams building out digital infrastructure and datacenters, including two years in Microsoft HQ in Seattle. Between 2012 to 2015 he led the commercial legal team for Microsoft India in Delhi, and between 2006 and 2012 was the legal lead for Microsoft Ireland. Prior to joining Microsoft Tom worked for 8 years at Dublin firm A&L Goodbody, and before that for 3 years in Australian firms, where he originally qualified in 1996. Tom’s current role delivers projects across 22 countries in EMEA and he has extensive experience working and collaborating with teams and projects across geographies

Davinia Conlan, Country Head, Citi Ireland  
Davinia is Country Head for Citi Ireland since 2023 and leads the Citi Ireland franchise which includes three key legal vehicles/branches and over 3000 members of staff. She joined Citi Ireland in 2015 as legal counsel and was Head of Legal, Ireland and Associate General Counsel role from 2019 to 2023. In her legal role, Davinia has led the provision of legal support on key strategic projects for Citi Ireland and Europe. Before joining Citi, Davinia was a lawyer with Bank of Ireland. Davinia is a qualified lawyer in Ireland and New York. She holds a Corporate Law Degree and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the National University of Ireland Galway and a Masters of Laws (LLM) from Duke University, North Carolina.

Niamh Hodnett, Online Safety Commissioner, Coimisiún na Meán 

Amy Ball, Business Transformation Leader, PWC

IMPORTANT:

• This is an in-person event and, unless otherwise stated, will not be available online or as a recording.
  
• To reduce waste and to support the work of the Law Society Environmental and Sustainability in Practice Taskforce, materials will not be printed. Instead, they will be emailed before the event.
  
• Please see  https://www.lawsociety.ie/Solicitors/Practising/CPD-Scheme  for the CPD hour required to be fulfilled in any given year.
• For full programme details download the Brochure
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• If you have technical or other queries, contact the Law Society Professional Training team on: LSPT@lawsociety.ie