There will be a new in-house role in the Law Society on the retirement of director general Ken Murphy next March, the online In-house and Public Sector Conference heard today (5 November).

The outgoing director general, who himself made the transition from partner at A&L Goodbody to lead the Law Society 26 years ago, said that one of the most significant changes in the profession during his career was the enormous expansion in the general counsel (GC) sector, which now accounts for 20% of the practising certificates issued by the Law Society.

“There might be a good argument to be made that somebody with experience in-house would have the requisite skillset to be Director General of the Law Society,” he said.

'Vibrant'

Mr Murphy (pictured) continued that he fully recognised the importance of the general counsel constituency to the Law Society and the life of the solicitor profession generally.

“This is a particularly vibrant part of the profession,” he said.

This phenomenon has been enhanced because of globalisation, though the trend initially began in the US, Ken Murphy said.

Though historically the Law Society of Ireland has tended to focus its attentions on private practice, it is constantly seeking to re-orient towards the general counsel sector, he said.

Increased representation

He urged the conference online attendees to consider increasing their representation at Law Society Council level.

Scotland, with a similar-sized profession, has had three Law Society presidents with a general counsel background, he noted.

Mr Murphy said he understood that service to the profession was necessarily different in the in-house sector, compared with private practice, where a culture of service to the profession already existed.

“It would be really good for the profession if the GC sector had a stronger voice on the Council of the Law Society,” he said.

Brexit insights

Finally, he said that Ireland, as the only English-speaking common-law jurisdiction in the EU, and holding an international outlook, is positioning itself to attract post-Brexit business with the Ireland for Law project.

In-house counsel at multinational companies will have the insight to understand the push-and-pull factors of decisions on choice of legal forum, he pointed out.

“Those of you who are in-house in international organisations and multinational corporations – the insights you can provide could inform this campaign,” he said.

The tendency in the Law Society and in the world to focus on private practice must change, Ken Murphy concluded, given the important and developing nature of the in-house and public sector part of the profession.