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As Schillings’ Dublin operations continue to gather momentum, leading Irish business outlet, The Currency, profiled the firm in an in-depth interview with a multidisciplinary team of Schillings experts.
Journalist Hannah McCarthy spoke with Ben Hobbs, Viv O’Connor‑Jemmett, John Curtin and Aoife Butler‑Nolan about why the firm is investing in Ireland - and what it means for clients navigating an era of disinformation, deepfakes, and unprecedented reputational risk.
Schillings Ireland Partner, Ben Hobbs, explained why Ireland was a key strategic move: “Internationalisation is something we’re doing more as a firm…Dublin was always the next point,” he says. “It’s where the clients are and where the platforms have their headquarters.”
Ben highlighted the significant growth in Irish matters over the past year, noting that the Dublin office has attracted new clients in Ireland while also enabling the firm to serve its existing client base more effectively.
The interview explored the increasingly complex challenges facing clients in Ireland and beyond. Dublin’s position as a global technology hub, where the majority of social media platforms have their EU headquarters, means Schillings can offer greater protections and avenues of recourse for clients facing harmful content online.
Aoife Butler-Nolan, Senior Associate in Schillings Communications, emphasised the speed and ease of emerging threats: “With the rise of AI and how sophisticated it’s gotten even in the last year, at the touch of a button a smear campaign can be started by anyone using very real AI video imagery.”
But, as Legal Director John Curtin explained, true protection comes from unmasking who’s behind that content: “You can remove content, but unless you know who’s behind it, you never actually deal with the root problem.”
They key, says Consultant Partner, Viv O’Connor-Jemmett , is in connecting the dots: “We identify the problem, but then we go back to the source and realise that there’s one individual who has shared information online that they shouldn’t have done because that eventually ended up becoming a campaign. So that’s where we have the multiple pieces coming together to solve the problem.”
Read the full interview in The Currency here: Inside Schillings’ Dublin expansion and its bet on reputation, tech and defamation - The Currency :The Currency
