Michael Jackson

The firm said “Matheson Agile” has been developed following significant research, consultation and piloting across the business, focused on adapting to the changing needs of the firm’s clients, lawyers and business professionals.

The new programme allows eligible employees the opportunity to avail of flexibility and to accommodate individual arrangements around the starting and finishing hours and location of work - empowering those participating in Matheson Agile to manage how they work whilst continuing to deliver at the highest levels for the firm’s international and domestic client base.

The launch of the new initiative has been made possible through significant investment in IT systems, infrastructure, and devices in order to enable off-site agile working to be as efficient, connected and collaborative as possible.

Michael Jackson, managing partner at Matheson, said: “We believe that excellence in client service is measured by reference to the quality and timeliness of advice. As a firm which operates in multi-disciplinary teams from six different offices globally, we recognise that not everyone needs to be in the same place, or even in the same time zone, to deliver that level of service.

“Our lawyers and senior business professionals value agile working arrangements, including the option of not having to travel to the office every day and the ability to work from different secure locations when possible. As a large Irish employer we are pleased to confirm our commitment to facilitating agile working and believe that it will enable us to deliver our people strategy of attracting, developing and retaining the top legal and professional services talent.

“I would like to thank all of the partners and business professionals who participated in our consultation process and in the design and delivery of our Matheson Agile programme.”

Lorraine Roche, HR director at Matheson, said: “Recognising that not everybody works in the same way and to the same schedule is fundamental to achieving real workplace diversity - and in driving innovation and entrepreneurship.

“As part of Matheson’s commitment to empower diverse talent and inclusive teams delivering excellence in legal services at Matheson, the firm’s agile working programme is one of the demonstrable elements in delivering on its D&I commitment. Whilst some roles which require supervision and training will still need to be office-based, I am delighted to see the success of this programme already, with so many colleagues from our legal practice areas to our business services teams availing of it across the firm.”

She added: “We believe that Matheson Agile represents a leading and innovative approach in the Irish legal market. For us, agile working is a working philosophy rather than a rigid policy, which is based on accommodating working remotely, together with appropriate flexibility around start and finish times as and when required. In this way, it enables us to work in the same way that our clients work.”