The Eagle Interviews Emma Boylan, Maples Group, by Emma Bowie

The Eagle Interviews Emma Boylan, Associate Solicitor at the Maples Group

By Emma Bowie, JS Law

Photo courtesy of Emma Boylan & The Maples Group Emma Boylan is an Associate Solicitor at the Maples Group in Dublin and a member of the firm’s pro bono committee.

After graduating from Trinity with a BA in History and English Literature in 2015, Emma undertook two postgraduate law degrees before joining the Maples Group as a Trainee Solicitor in 2018.

In this interview, she speaks to Editorial Board member Emma Bowie about her professional journey, the Maples Group corporate social responsibility initiative, and the benefits of pro bono work for local communities in Dublin.

You have had quite a varied educational path, having initially studied English and History at Trinity, after which you pursued a Postgraduate Diploma in Law at DIT, and then a Master of Laws in Trinity. Why did you decide to pursue a legal education after your initial undergraduate degree?

When I finished my undergraduate degree, I did not have any inkling of what I wanted to do. When you finish an Arts degree, there can often be a push to go into a postgraduate degree of some sort, but at that point in my life, I really wanted to do something practical and be out in the workforce. A few of my friends had mentioned that a career in law would be a good fit for somebody who had studied history – there are quite a lot of parallels in terms of how law and history approach their subject matter – and so I decided to apply for the one-year DIT postgraduate course. I really loved it – the course provides a really helpful introduction to the core law modules, and is also geared towards FE1 study. Once I had finished the diploma, I decided that I would do the LL.M. in Trinity, and use that year as an opportunity to have a better building block for my legal career. I found the LL.M. and the diploma to be quite different: while the diploma was focused on core modules such as contract and torts, the subjects available to study in the LL.M. course were quite varied, ranging from the death penalty in the US to Islamic law. I think it is good to have a pairing of the academic and the practical when studying law, as having a sense of general legal principles is always helpful in the practice of law. By the time that I had started my training contract with the Maples Group, I managed to complete the LL.M. course as well as my FE1 exams.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in corporate law, and specifically, what attracted you to working with the Maples Group?

practising law were quite distinct disciplines. I really fell in love with the Maples Group – the firm fosters such a warm and inviting atmosphere and one of the things that was really important for me, coming from an academic background, was a real openness and expectation of learning. The senior partners are as involved in the learning process as the junior associates, and there are mentors available at every level encouraging you to become the best lawyer you can be. Before my internship, my experience of law firms was what I saw on TV - the stereotype of the terrified trainee lawyer being afraid to ask questions – but this was not my experience at all! The culture of learning, openness and friendliness of the firm is really what drew me to the Maples Group. What was also attractive was the global nature of the firm - there are many secondments available abroad in Hong Kong, Jersey and the Cayman Islands, and even staying within Ireland, you have the opportunity to work with international legal teams, which is exciting.

In terms of choosing to pursue a career in corporate law, I think there is quite an attractive structured career path: you get your training contract, qualify to become a junior lawyer, and then work your way up the ranks. Of course, corporate law is not for everyone – and nor should it be, given the range of opportunities that are available for someone with a law degree – but personally, I was really drawn to the structure and the subject matter of the corporate field. I am now working in finance, which was the seat I enjoyed the most as a trainee solicitor. It is hard work, but it is good work: I think that at the end of the day, no matter what you go into you will be working hard, so I think that you need to pursue something which will continue to energise you, day after day!

You are a member of the Maples Group Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and pro bono committee. Could you describe some of the pro bono and CSR initiatives that are currently ongoing, as well as your own role within the pro bono team?

Earlier this year, the Maples Group in Dublin revitalized its pro-bono initiative. We partner with a number of pro bono legal programmes, including TrustLaw (under the Thompson Reuters Foundation), the Public Interest Law Alliance (run by FLAC), and Irish Rule of Law International. In my capacity as liaison for the pro bono team, I find a home for the pro bono cases which are referred to us through these partnerships and assess whether we can assist with a particular case. Occasionally, we are also involved with multidisciplinary research projects. Of course, this is not what you usually would be doing in your day-to-day job in a corporate firm, and I think this is what makes the work attractive for many people. I am involved with the CSR Committee specifically through the pro bono team. We conduct charity partnerships annually and this year we have committed to supporting two ‘core’ charities in particular: St Michael’s House, which provides a comprehensive range of services and supports to people with intellectual disabilities and their families in the greater Dublin Area, and BasisPoint, which is an organisation that coordinates support for a number of charities and programmes, with a particular focus on funding educational programmes.

There are other charitable initiatives w hich we support and help organise on an annual basis, such as the Calcutta Run in aid of the Hope Foundation and Peter McVerry Trust. Also, as part of our “Business in the Community” mentorship programme, volunteers in our Dublin office are paired with 5th year students in a local school for one-to-one mentorship sessions every few weeks.

It is reassuring to see how we have been able to continue with our CSR work, even in Covid times, as it is more difficult in terms of organising people and coming up with event ideas that are not Zoom-related!