5 October 2018

FT Innovative Lawyer Awards 2018 honours McCann FitzGerald for Innovation in the Business of Law

The partnership with Women’s Aid provides legal information and assistance clinic to support women experiencing domestic violence who are representing themselves in domestic violence and family law proceedings. Led by Mary Brassil, partner in McCann FitzGerald’s employment group, the project saw 40 of the firm’s solicitors undertake comprehensive training and mentoring in domestic violence law and family law in order to provide a fortnightly clinic on such matters as separation, divorce, custody and maintenance.

Speaking at the awards, Managing Partner of McCann FitzGerald, Barry Devereux said;

“Accessing legal aid is often not an option for women experiencing domestic violence, given the huge delays in the legal aid system. At McCann FitzGerald, we believe that it is important that we have a positive impact on the communities where we work by supporting projects that help those most in need.  This partnership with Women’s Aid shows how corporate law firms can use their skills and expertise for the benefit of some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society.”

The firm was also recognised for its work in developing innovative, AI-driven client solutions including a GDPR gap-analysis application. An online compliance tool built using award winning Neota Logic software, the app was the first of its kind in Ireland.

Devereux continued,

“Innovation is at our core, it’s how we ensure that we are delivering the best possible service to suit our clients’ specific needs. We call this, ‘Progressive Delivery’. Our aim is to bring together our deep legal, business and regulatory knowledge with digital and AI technologies so that we can deliver a suite of agile and clever solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of our clients who are increasingly looking for greater flexibility and cost-efficiency in their legal services.”

Further commendations were also awarded to McCann FitzGerald for its creation of a people services division, a formalisation of its secondment programme that allows the firm to fulfil clients’ demands in an agile manner, without impacting internal teams. Separately, McCann FitzGerald was recognised for its work advising Greencoat Capital on the acquisition of two wind farms and the subsequent listing of its operating company.

The FT Innovative Lawyer Awards, now in their thirteenth year, are one of the top legal awards in Europe.