In-house lawyers ‘sweeping’ Ireland’s legal profession

In-house lawyers are “sweeping” the Irish legal profession, according to new analysis produced by the Law Society of Ireland.

Writing in the latest edition of the Law Society Gazette, Ken Murphy, director general of the Law Society, said the number of in-house solicitors in Ireland “is ‘growing like Topsy’ every year”.

As of the end of 2017, there were 1,805 solicitors with a practising certificate in the in-house sector in the 26 counties.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of in-house solicitors are women, which Mr Murphy (pictured) said “requires research and consideration” - with a possible link to work/life balance.

The vast majority of in-house solicitors (81 per cent) work in Dublin.

For the first time, the Gazette has also published a break-down of Ireland’s largest employers of in-house lawyers:

Ranking

Corporate/public sector body

31/12/2017

1

Allied Irish Banks

108

2

Central Bank of Ireland

94

3

Bank of Ireland

58

4

Law Society of Ireland

50

5

National Asset Management Agency

40

6

State Claims Agency

35

7

Electricity Supply Board

26

8

Dublin City Council

19

9

Córas Iompair Éireann

16

10

ESB Networks Legal

15

10

Accenture

15

10

Ulster Bank

15

13

Icon

14

14

Deloitte

13

14

Zurich

13

16

AXA

12

16

Citi

12

18

Cork County Council

11

18

eir

11

18

KPMG Legal Services

11

Commenting on the figures, Mr Murphy said if Allied Irish Banks were a law firm, it would rank as the ninth biggest firm in the State.