Dervla Simm

Dervla typically acts for companies operating in heavily-regulated industries where the private and public law worlds interact. Her clients include transport providers, tobacco manufacturers and oil and gas companies. Dervla recognises that her clients have to find a way to operate profitably in the face of increasingly burdensome regulation and works with them in their engagement with government and regulators to shape policy and regulation to assist their businesses. As a starting point, Dervla provides her clients with pragmatic legal advice on issues such as UK and EU legislation, commercial human rights, and information rights. But this is just one part of her role. Dervla knows that getting the best for her clients often means combining quality legal advice with smart, timely discussions with governmental and regulatory bodies. By engaging early in this way, her clients are often able to head off issues before they become problems, avoiding the time and costs associated with litigation. Dervla also guides her clients on how to use their interactions with public bodies to tee-up legal arguments when it looks like litigation is likely to be the best or only option. Where litigation is part of a client's strategy, Dervla has experience in acting on a range of contentious matters, including in commercial judicial reviews and information rights appeals.