Welcome message from David Widger, Managing Partner
We’re delighted to bring you our first Responsible Business report.
We have been at the forefront of being a responsible business for well over a decade. We were the first Irish law firm to appoint a dedicated Responsible Business Manager and a Pro Bono Associate. During that time, we’ve been focused on creating programmes that deliver real impact in our society. We’ve also expanded our Responsible Business and Pro Bono teams to increase our reach and deepen our impact.
This report outlines our performance to date, focusing on how we realised Our future with purpose, our 2022-2024 responsible business strategy. It highlights key developments across environmental sustainability, community engagement, ESG advisory for clients, support for our people, pro bono work and more. It also recognises the collective efforts of colleagues in ALG who have helped shape our Responsible Business journey.
Our partners and senior leadership team remain firmly committed to our responsibilities – to our people, our clients, our communities, and the environment. This commitment is not just about doing the right thing, it’s central to how we operate and grow as a firm.
However, we recognise there’s more we can achieve, and we appreciate there are challenges ahead as the ESG landscape continues to evolve. That said, we are more than ready. In fact, we’re setting more ambitious goals than ever to ensure we remain at the forefront of being a responsible business in Ireland.
This year, we moved into our newly redeveloped headquarters in Dublin. Built using low carbon materials and the latest in sustainable technology, it will go a long way toward achieving our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
As a firm, we’re building on our progress by continually evolving how we work, strengthening our partnerships and driving greater impact.
I hope you find this report both insightful and interesting. It’s not just a reflection of what we’ve achieved, but a clear view of where we’re heading.
David Widger Managing Partner
“We're building on our progress by continually evolving how we work .”
Who we are and what we do
Building on our 120+ year heritage as a law firm, we’re at the forefront of the Irish and European market. We are laser-focused on delivering for our clients, developing brilliant people who enjoy what they do, having keen insight into our markets and, of course, on being a responsible business.
partners
employees
Global reach
Dublin, Belfast, London, New York, San Francisco
Our values
Recognised for excellence
Partnership with Charity Chambers Ireland 2025
Irish Law Firm of the Year
Chambers Europe 2022, 2023, 2025
Outstanding DEI Firm
Chambers Europe 2025
Company of the year
National Diversity and Inclusion awards 2025
Investors in Diversity Silver Mark 2024
Best Client Service
The Lawyer European Awards 2024
Band 1 in all practice areas
Chambers Europe & UK 2022–2024
Tier 1 in 24 practice areas
Legal 500 2022–2024
Law Firm of the Year, Republic of Ireland
Acquisition International 2023
Law firm of the Year Republic of Ireland
The Lawyer European Awards 2023
Business Working Responsibly Mark
Business in the Community Ireland
2023
Social Enterprise award
Chambers Ireland 2022
Snapshot 2022, 2023 and 2024
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
In conversation: Séamus Ó Cróinín, our outgoing Chair, and Keavy Ryan, our incoming Chair
Keavy: Seamus, when you look back over 2022 to 2024, which achievements or initiatives are you most proud of in terms of ALG’s sustainability journey?
Séamus: Looking back, I feel incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made as a firm over the past three years. Exceeding our social mobility targets in graduate recruitment and having real impact in our community through our volunteering and fundraising programmes stand out as highlights for me. Likewise, setting science-based targets for emissions and having them approved. And of course, our people giving over 14,000 hours of pro bono work each year. 80% of our lawyers provide pro bono hours, which is incredible. It demonstrates how committed our people are to providing access to justice and legal services for the most vulnerable in our society. There’s a lot to be proud of.
Keavy: It’s certainly hard to choose one particular highlight. But what stood out to you most in relation to our social mobility targets?
Séamus: It’s two-fold for me. Firstly, we’re helping young people in our community, people who otherwise might not have access to opportunities, gain valuable experience in the workplace, preparing them for working life. Secondly, setting targets to give people from different backgrounds the opportunity to apply for jobs in ALG helps us become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. That’s a significant benefit both for our firm’s culture and our business – and it’s also important to our clients, our people and our community partners.
Keavy: Absolutely, it’s been great to see young people from all backgrounds coming through our doors for work placements, whether that’s through our Step In Experience and P-TECH programmes, or as interns during the summer. The feedback from the students and our own people is hugely positive. To pick up on our carbon emissions, why was setting science-based targets so important for us?
Séamus: It’s important for several reasons. First, setting emissions targets allowed us to calculate a clear baseline. You can’t set meaningful targets without knowing where you're starting from. In turn this helped us define what are our biggest sources of emissions and what our focus areas should be. For us, that meant introducing new policies around energy use, sustainable travel, and supply chain management. Having our targets approved by the SBTi also means they’ve been rigorously assessed for credibility and ambition and are aligned with the latest climate science. Finally, it will ensure that we’re kept accountable - as part of our commitment, we’ll be transparent about our progress by publishing our carbon footprints annually.
Keavy: I know that moving back into our redeveloped headquarters in Dublin has been a huge success and one we were all looking forward to, but how will that help us with our carbon emissions?
Séamus: One of the main reasons why we stayed in our location and redeveloped the existing building was that it saved on a huge amount of carbon-heavy building materials that you’d need with a completely new office somewhere else. Also, we used the latest in sustainable materials to reduce our embodied carbon by 60%. Now it’s built, we’re using 100% renewable energy to power the building, which is topped up by our own solar and heat-pump energy generation. The air conditioning is state of the art and uses minimal energy, we harvest rainwater for our indoor and outdoor plants, and we have special glass and window blinds that help us manage heat from sunlight.
Keavy: It certainly is a fantastic building, and I think that the input from our people on the design and fitout, especially from an accessibility perspective, has created a real sense of belonging there. You mentioned the incredible impact of our pro bono work, tell me a bit more about that.
Séamus: We’ve had a long, proud history of pro bono in ALG. But it really gained momentum when we established a dedicated team back in 2018, making us the first Irish law firm to so. Since then, we’ve partnered with incredible organisations to support some of the most vulnerable in society, including international refugees and people facing homelessness. It’s genuinely inspiring to see so many of our lawyers dedicate their time, skills, and compassion to those who need it most. The impact on people’s lives has been profound.
These are just a few examples that reflect how committed we are to embedding responsible business principles into our everyday practices. This was a key focus for us when we launched this strategy in 2022 and I am delighted that we have made real progress over the past three years.
Séamus: As we look ahead to the next chapter Keavy, which area of Responsible Business are you most excited to progress?
Keavy: Well, in addition to everything you’ve talked about, I’m really looking forward to seeing how we can continue to advance diversity in ALG, particularly in areas like gender, accessibility and cultural diversity.
Séamus: Yes, we have made good progress on gender equality, particularly where it’s needed most, in our partnership, but there’s clearly more we can do.
Keavy: Absolutely, our policy of promoting an equal number of women and men to partner over a rolling three-year period is really starting to bear fruit. In the last three years, the percentage of female partners has increased from 28% to 34%, and that will only improve over time. Our DARE gender equality programme is designed to help to support women in their career and includes our Female Leadership Initiative, our mentoring and role model initiatives and our family-centric policies and benefits.
Séamus: You mentioned accessibility and making our workplace as inclusive as possible for people with disabilities and neurodiversity. I know this is something you’re particularly passionate about.
Keavy: Yes, we’ve been doing some great work here and there’s so much more we can do. We have recently partnered with NOW Group which is a social enterprise that supports neurodiverse people in finding jobs. As part of that partnership, we’re aiming to be a JAM Card-friendly business – JAM stands for Just A Minute and helps people with hidden disabilities to signal when they need extra time or understanding. Also, our new headquarters building is a great example of inclusive design with thoughtful features like a dedicated area for assistance dogs. It’s clear that accessibility was front and centre in the planning.
Séamus: Certainly, a lot of thought went into the design of the building to ensure it’s as inclusive as possible. Finally, you talked about cultural diversity.
Keavy: This is one of the areas where we’ve made great progress. Ten years ago, we would have had perhaps a handful of different nationalities working here, whereas now we have people from 22 different cultural backgrounds, which is a far greater representation of the community that we operate in and the clients we work for.
Séamus: Speaking of clients, we’re actively advising our clients too on how to lead strategically - whether that’s through inclusive governance, their ESG strategy or managing regulatory and reputational risks.
Keavy: Yes, our ESG advisory work focuses on helping our clients stay ahead of the curve, anticipate change, and navigate the regulatory landscape with confidence and integrity. But to do that well, we also have to walk the walk ourselves, by showing leadership, being guided by our values, and keeping ourselves accountable.
Séamus: Yes, while it's great to see the progress we’ve made over the last few years, we know we have more to do. But thankfully we are moving in the right direction, and I am confident that we will deliver on our ambitions and on our strategy. And I know Keavy, as incoming Chair, you will play a central role in leading this.
Keavy: Thanks Séamus. And thanks for your leadership over the last few years.
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