With its established cluster of global medtech companies, strong links with universities and research institutes, and a highly-skilled workforce, the city, which hosts global companies such as Medtronic and Boston Scientific, is now a major centre for Ireland’s medtech exports, R&D, and high-value employment.

That sector also provides large quota of RDJ LLP’s client base, where partner Marie Gavin advises corporate and institutional clients on corporate transactions and company law.

Having joined the firm 20 years ago on the transaction side, she has also advised companies and both private and venture capital investors on investment projects and equity fundraising.

RDJ is now a top 10 Irish law firm with a team of more than 300 and offices in Cork, Dublin and Galway. The firm represents clients across several sectors, including scaling and established Irish companies, multinationals, financial institutions and global insurance companies.

Ms Gavin explains her history with the firm: “I did my LLB at the University of Galway and later attended the Law Society of Ireland’s law school [which, though based at Blackhall Place in Dublin, had a presence in Washington Street in Cork as part of its solicitor training programme from 2006 until July 2011]”.

After her law school entrance exams, she decided to gain work experience in a legal office and began work at William B. Glynn Solicitors, which was acquired by RDJ in 2007.

“After starting on the reception desk, my current office is only about two metres away from where I was when I started 20 years ago,” she laughs. It was, she believes, a useful route into the profession.

“While I was doing my next batch of exams, I worked as a legal secretary, so I’ve been involved in the full range of roles in the firm, able to see how everything worked under the bonnet before I qualified.

“It was a great start because I got full exposure to what a solicitor does before I went to law school and several people here have followed the same career path.

“While some of my contemporaries would have been just studying, I was both studying and in a solicitor’s office at the same time so knew what all the documents looked like — a civil bill or a land registry folio — and got to hit the ground running from a practical perspective.”

She has, she says, always been interested in how businesses function and how they are funded. RDJ’s corporate department spans the firm’s locations in Cork, Galway and now at George’s Dock in Dublin — which, she notes, is unlike many legal firms, as the office in the capital was the latest, not the first, to open. 

She spends her time between the three locations: “I frequently travel to the other offices and it’s great to see other team members and given the nature of the job I’m in Dublin for meetings and events quite frequently.”

Since the medtech sector took off in the 1980s, much of the firm’s corporate and commercial client base in Galway is in that cluster, which has been establishing major operations in the region and attracted suppliers, spinouts and competing multinationals.

Many of these firms are now involved not just in assembly but high-value manufacturing, R&D, and product development, taking advantage of collaboration with the University of Galway’s expertise in biomedical engineering, medical device design and data science.

“That growth has been pretty much synchronous with my career journey as I qualified around the same time the importance of that sector was becoming apparent and a major component of our corporate and commercial work in Galway is servicing these clients,” she says.

“Many tend to be startup companies that might be coming out of the BioInnovate programme — a specialist health technology innovation programme affiliated to Stanford Biodesign based at the University of Galway — or other startups.

“A lot of our work involves helping them with their first investment rounds and subsequently, as they grow. Then as they grow, they may see venture capital funds investing during their Series B and Series C rounds.”

The firm assists these companies across the full spectrum of fundraising and other legal requirements and the BioInnovate programme, she adds, brings people together to help them identify unmet clinical needs.

“A lot of those groupings can result in in the genesis of a company that’s often supported for a while by Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund. Then they will incorporate and look for funding in the corporate world and it’s very fulfilling to advise them during that journey.”

RDJ is a member of TerraLex, a global collaborative legal network comprising a community of more than 23,000 lawyers from highly-regarded independent firms.

“That gives us access to a worldwide network,” says Ms Gavin. “So, for instance we may have a medtech client which is entering into a supply agreement with a company in Germany that will be governed by the laws of Germany — and can then put them in touch with our German TerraLex firm. That allows us to reach into the network for advice in jurisdictions other than in Ireland.”

RDJ was also the first law firm in Ireland to achieve become a Certified B Corporation, a global certification for businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact.

“We’re proud of that and it reaches into nearly every aspect of how our firm conducts itself and carries out its business,” she says. “A lot entails environmentally sustainable practices such as transitioning to renewable energy, decreasing printing and reducing the carbon footprint of the firm, as well as prioritising diversity and wellbeing initiatives.

“We also encourage people to use sustainable means of transport such as taking the train to work and using bike schemes while generally ensuring that we are a good corporate citizen and facilitate staff participation.

This includes volunteer days during working hours. “In Galway we’ve had beach cleanup days and staff have several working days during the year in whict to engage in volunteer activities, so it’s great that we can offer that,” she says.

RDJ is also a sponsor of Connacht Rugby and has been a longstanding official legal advisor for the club.

“As Connacht Rugby’s client relationship partner, I’ve had a front-row seat to an exciting chapter for the club. The opening of the new Dexcom Stadium this month — complete with its state-of-the-art Clan Stand — marks a major step forward,” Ms Gavin says.

“It’s an impressive, structure and will transform the way fans can participate in watching the game. The stadium will be the be the largest conference and hospitality space of its kind west of the Shannon so while it will be great for rugby, it will also facilitate all kinds of events and meetings that the west of Ireland will be able to host.”

She admits she knows more about rugby as a spectator than a participant — possibly constrained in her extracurricular activities by being a busy mum to a young son who has just turned eight. 

“Juggling work with my own life is always a challenge, but despite the downside of Covid, it’s probably become a lot easier since then with the advent of hybrid working,” she notes.

“Corporate law has evolved quite seamlessly with things such as virtual meetings and electronic document execution, which is an advantage to mothers working in that world.

“All our jobs can be tough sometimes and it’s important we’re flexible enough to accommodate people’s needs.”

Busy though the job is, Ms Gavin says that any corporate lawyer will report that when they’re in the middle of an investment transaction, with emails flying in all directions, there’s an adrenaline boost.

“At the end of the day, you’re in control in ensuring a transaction happens for your clients. It’s great when it does: they get their investments, they’re happy and everything works out and I think it’s the buzz of the corporate transaction that ultimately keeps me going.”