Managing partners of some of Ireland’s top firms tell Ben Haugh about the biggest legal challenges that businesses should be aware of this year.

ACTIVITY

Regulatory and legislative changes impacting clients involved in the technology industry were particularly significant during 2024, as they continued to implement changes driven by the EU AI Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Digital Services Act, as well as the continued growth in the operation of regulators like Coimisiún na Meán.

Changes impacting financial services clients were also significant, and these included those needed to respond to the commencement of the Senior Executive Accountability Regime as part of the Individual Accountability Framework and the Digital Operational Resilience Act.

CHALLENGES

Transactional activity was impacted positively by easing interest rates but also negatively from continuing global upheaval and market uncertainty. The volume and complexity of regulatory developments in various sectors during 2024 was unusually high and presented a significant challenge for clients.

There are also opportunities to achieve efficiencies for clients on the back of investments in technology. There is a wide depth and breadth of services KPMG Law LLP can provide through our cross functional and multi-jurisdictional model, and we have nearly 4,000 legal personal across over 80 jurisdictions.

The trend away from standard hourly billing pricing continued to present opportunities for firms like us who can offer alternative pricing models based on risk sharing, cost discipline and infrastructural efficiencies.

INNOVATION

We have a unique multi-disciplinary offering, combining our legal services with our tax, deal advisory and consulting teams in KPMG to provide clients with a holistic, ‘one-stop-shop’ solution, deploying our managed services and forensic technology solutions in place of higher cost legal resources.

KPMG’s investment in technology provides the firm with access to a range of cutting-edge technologies including AI tools. There’s also the international network of KPMG Law firms, which includes almost 4,000 legal professionals in over 80 jurisdictions, to complement our nearly 100-strong Dublin-based team.

OUTLOOK

In terms of trends in the industry, we see the continuation and further enhancement of the drive for efficiencies though lower-cost resourcing and technology.

There will be an increasing importance of international capabilities to respond to clients with interests in different jurisdictions. We also expect the ongoing drive towards innovative and alternative pricing models to continue