Irish law firms and the wider legal profession again enthusiastically marked International Women’s Day on Sunday, and those involved included Whitney Moore, one of Dublin’s oldest and leading commercial firms, whose managing partner is Emma Richmond.

The Law Society of Ireland hosted an International Women’s Day celebration under the theme ‘Give to Gain’ at The Odeon on Harcourt Street last Thursday, with insights from women leaders and networking opportunities for professionals across all firms.

For Ms Richmond, the idea of ‘giving to gain’ makes perfect sense. “It’s a simple call for everyone to give something more, which brings benefits to us all,” she says.

“A few years ago, sport took up the theme ‘can’t see it, can’t be it’ around unconscious bias and this year’s message is similar in that both women and men should strive to ensure that we achieve gender equality and give us the voice to ensure that it happens.”

Ireland, in fact, has performed well in this area. The Law Society launched its gender equality, diversity and inclusion task force in 2019 to encourage more women solicitors and solicitors from diverse backgrounds to seek leadership roles in its council and committees. Since 2014, a majority of Irish solicitors have been women.

However, women continue to remain under-represented in senior and leadership roles within major firms, comprising around one-third of partners and with equity partner figures often around 35-37 per cent.

Ms Richmond notes: “There are still few female managing partners. Women going into law to train as solicitors now outnumber men but there is a subsequent drop-off and they don’t seem to advance as swiftly or consistently as their male counterparts.

“My view is that there is not enough being done to proactively ensure that women progress.”

A major issue, she says, is maternity leave. “That inevitably impacts your fees — and with three children, I personally experienced that impact.

“It’s not just the year that you’re off on leave that matters but the fact that you must start again from scratch to build up the work, which affects more than just one year’s fees.

“And if firms are just looking at fees in order to progress women up the chain, they are naturally not going to get there as quickly as men.”

Encouragingly, Ms Richmond has prevailed over these challenges to become both managing partner and partner in the employment and immigration team at Whitney Moore, a long-established Dublin commercial law firm advising domestic and international clients across sectors including financial services, technology, healthcare and construction.

Ms Richmond works closely with HR professionals and management teams advising on issues such as disciplinary and grievances plus more complex terminations, restructuring and redundancies.

She’s also well-known as a public speaker, delivering seminars to clients and training to in-house management teams.

Ms Richmond qualified as a solicitor in 2004, graduating from Trinity College Dublin and later obtaining a postgraduate diploma in employment law from University College Dublin. After training with Whitney Moore, she became a partner in 2017.

“I started here in 2001, which means I’ve been here 25 years now — which makes me sound very old,” she laughs. She remains very much engaged in the day-to-day business of the firm: “We are a medium-sized firm, so I still have the opportunity to do client work while managing Whitney Moore.”

There have been, of course, an increasing number of international companies setting up in Ireland. “We can assist them in doing that, whether it involves contracts, handbooks or work permit applications,” she says.

“Some of these companies have HR teams in the UK or US but perhaps less so in their Irish operations so we can provide support when needed and defend them in the Workplace Relations Commission if necessary.”

Ms Richmond has seen the employment team at Whitney Moore grow significantly, perhaps unsurprisingly given the growth in foreign direct investment and the resultant number of international clients. This focus saw the firm become the sole Irish member of Meritas, an international network of independent law firms.

In 2024, Ms Richmond was chosen from over 8,400 attorneys across the Meritas global network to serve a three-year term on its board, alongside six distinguished lawyers from around the world. She also participates in the labour and employment and sports law groups within the network.

“Meritas provides us with referrals and inbound international work but it also affords a safe home for our clients,” she explains. “Whether in, for example, France or the US, Whitney Moore can refer them to a firm where we know the people and it’s important for us to have that international presence.

“It’s also very positive to have that degree of knowledge-sharing through focus groups and practice groups, plus a very active employment and labour group where learning about what’s happening from the Netherlands to Australia can be of huge mutual benefit.”

Ms Richmond is planning to go to the annual meeting of Meritas in New Orleans next month for three days of collaboration, thought leadership and connection, having attended the network’s conference in Vienna in November last year.

“As a board member there are other meetings that I travel to and as in all forms of business, people deal best with people — and it makes it easier to pick up the phone, ask the question and refer a client to someone you have actually met and spoken to.”

Her involvement with the network’s sports law group is reflected in her personal interests, as she is herself a keen sportswoman who regularly comments on women in sport.

“Nowadays I’m more often on the sidelines than on the pitch,” she admits. “I think experiencing teamwork in sport is very beneficial, even if you’re not playing at an elite level; it’s the discipline of being in a team and turning up for training every week.

“I’m certainly a big advocate for sport and for girls playing it at a young age and staying involved.”

Whitney Moore has sponsored two podcasts with The Currency website, each featuring six interviews with leading figures in Irish sport. The conversations explored leadership (including employment law, data protection, and regulatory compliance) as well as resilience and decision-making — themes that resonate just as strongly in business as they do in sport.

Ms Richmond is also a children’s hockey coach, “though I think I probably manage more than coach,” she says. “All my children play hockey and soccer and are learning beneficial skills that will be with them for life. Experiencing teamwork is hugely valuable and many of the lessons translate directly into leadership in business.”

Returning to gender equality in the workplace, she’s generally optimistic about its progress in the Irish legal profession: “I’m very much a glass half-full person and believe things are going in the right direction.

“However, there’s no room for complacency because the world is changing so rapidly that if you step back, things could go in the other direction. We must all keep proactively pushing the equality issue.”