WEBVTT 00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:18.399 Hello, welcome and thanks for listening to Carbon 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.260 Climates, an energy podcast dedicated to discussing 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:23.899 all things energy, carbon and sustainability. 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:26.160 We also like to talk about what's getting hot, 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:28.879 asides from our planet. I'm your host, Enya, 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:31.219 and today I'm joined by my Carbon Climate and 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:34.789 co -host. Adam. Hi, Adam. Hi, how are you? Yeah, 00:00:34.789 --> 00:00:37.369 thanks. Yeah, well, how are you? Yeah, all's 00:00:37.369 --> 00:00:39.409 good. All's good. It's not a day of work either 00:00:39.409 --> 00:00:41.469 way, so looking forward to having a wee chat 00:00:41.469 --> 00:00:44.490 about more things energy. Exactly, exactly. So, 00:00:44.609 --> 00:00:47.509 love to hear it. Love to hear it. So, Adam, you 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:49.710 are a... I'm going to see if I can get your job 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:53.170 title. Okay. You are a Corporate Energy and Natural 00:00:53.170 --> 00:00:56.469 Resources Solicitor at A &L Goodbody. That's 00:00:56.469 --> 00:00:58.530 right, yeah. Okay, we're going to be delving 00:00:58.530 --> 00:01:01.570 into that in more detail later on in the episode. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.560 But first question, how's your week been? And 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.799 can you tell us a bit about yourself? Yeah. So 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:09.780 yeah, it's been quite enough with the bank holiday. 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:12.640 Just spent the weekend, as I said, with my dad's 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.859 birthday. So I went home for that from Newry 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:18.019 originally, but living in Belfast now. So I went 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:21.079 home to see the family and just, yeah, just blow 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:23.319 beers with him. Kind of a nice, chill one. And 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:25.439 then I had a mate's 30th as well. So that's kind 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.590 of a weekend filled with birthdays. You know 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:30.310 what it is. See, this summer, all the birthdays 00:01:30.310 --> 00:01:32.829 seem to be popping up. Yeah. And I'm not complaining, 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:36.469 but I'm just like, well. Yeah, I'm kind of dastardly. 00:01:36.530 --> 00:01:38.870 It's all 30th, so they're all having a big birthday. 00:01:38.950 --> 00:01:41.670 So you can't even be seen. Yeah, you have to 00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:45.049 attend. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's brilliant. 00:01:45.930 --> 00:01:49.250 So your job title, as I've just said, is Corporate 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:52.209 Energy and Natural Resources Solicitor at A &L 00:01:52.209 --> 00:01:54.450 Goodbody. So how long have you been there? Been 00:01:54.450 --> 00:01:57.629 there since October, October 23. So not that 00:01:57.629 --> 00:02:02.299 long. very good and yeah that's actually we met 00:02:02.299 --> 00:02:04.719 when i think you were three weeks into the job 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.120 energy institute ypn event in ulster university 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:13.240 so yeah i think like once i had rumblings about 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.240 the podcast then so i'm like yeah definitely 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.520 have you on it but yeah so you've been there 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.280 since october so how long have you been in this 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.099 sector kind of the legal um energy maybe but 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:28.189 maybe not so much energy because you know More 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:31.490 legal sector, say. Well, legal, kind of on and 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:34.469 off for about 10 years. And so graduated in law. 00:02:34.650 --> 00:02:36.689 And then went to actually work for a good buddy 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:40.069 in Dublin for about two or three years. And then 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:43.409 did a bit of traveling. So just to make sure 00:02:43.409 --> 00:02:45.409 that law was definitely for me, kind of get my 00:02:45.409 --> 00:02:47.490 toes in there. Different industry, banking, you 00:02:47.490 --> 00:02:51.229 know. And then realized that law was definitely 00:02:51.229 --> 00:02:53.449 the career for me. So jumped back into it maybe 00:02:53.449 --> 00:02:57.819 the last four years. Did my training. And then 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:00.039 once I qualified, that was when I kind of made 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.099 the move towards energy. Right, okay, yeah. Was 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:04.639 there anything in particular that you've seen 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:06.479 in energy? Like, you know, you're like, I want 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:08.639 to be a part of that. I think it's just how innovative 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.000 it is. There's a lot of law I think can be very 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.099 repetitive and it's very nature. Whereas energy, 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.400 you're not going to get that. Every day is a 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:18.840 different day. It's constantly changing. The 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:20.659 way it's linked with technology, with other industries, 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:22.819 it's obviously ever -changing. So the link with 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:26.219 them too. just knowing that every day is a new 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:28.699 day it's constantly learning that's kind of really 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:34.340 what appealing me to it so I'm kind of the same 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:37.819 I've been in the sector for about say six seven 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:43.060 years but even before I was like before this 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:46.400 job as a sustainability engineer I was more like 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.939 on the practical side I was more an office based 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:52.819 work and it was for an energy company but just 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:55.819 kind of seen like I want to be like on that side 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:57.860 that like, you know, you're doing something towards 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.259 the energy and everything. Getting more stuck 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.599 in. Yes, exactly. Getting more actively engaged 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:05.919 in it that way. See, when you were at school, 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:09.120 like second year school or even uni, did you 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.159 ever envisage yourself in this role you're in 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:15.060 now? The whole way through school, I was actually 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:18.180 more like technology focused and a lot of technology 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:19.920 in school, like did competitions and all that 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.220 kind of thing. But always through that, you would 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:24.839 have seen, well, energy wasn't as big a talking 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:26.920 point maybe when i was in school and you obviously 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.100 had rumblings of recycling that kind of thing 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:31.920 but it was never like the full scale energy focus 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:36.500 as it is now um so you know there's a lot through 00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:37.899 the technology competition you want to see a 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:39.920 bit of innovation kind of coming through and 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:42.120 with regards to energy but at that stage it was 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.639 more just focus on law and it's kind of one of 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:46.660 those things when you're that young you don't 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:49.279 really know how what law entails yeah you actually 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:51.399 jump into it and see how many very and are like 00:04:51.850 --> 00:04:54.930 how diverse a kind of career path it can be so 00:04:54.930 --> 00:04:58.410 um yeah kind of when i got into it got qualified 00:04:58.410 --> 00:05:00.430 and saw it i was able to link that global technology 00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:03.810 with law that's kind of what kind of shaped my 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:06.850 path a wee bit more okay yeah that's that's really 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:09.189 great to hear like one of the things i want to 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.829 do with this podcast is show like uh like although 00:05:12.829 --> 00:05:15.170 like everyone has a different experience like 00:05:15.170 --> 00:05:16.970 when they're at that age deciding what they want 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:19.750 to do yeah for the rest of their life i'm like 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:22.000 saying that like deciding what they want to do 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:23.980 for the rest of their life it's such a like daunting 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:27.019 thing it really is and even i don't think like 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:31.120 like someone like at 16 or 70 who's picking a 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.639 levels or deciding what uni like they're going 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:35.259 to that's a lot of pressure to put on them yeah 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.180 so even the likes of sean there is so many ways 00:05:38.180 --> 00:05:41.220 you can end up in the desired career you want 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:43.600 absolutely like even guys i know who went to 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.279 university with who all did law Very few of us 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:48.579 do the same area. You know, there's guys that 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:50.779 have gone into the practice. Some guys have gone 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:52.420 into recruiting. Some guys have gone into more 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:55.160 like policy side stuff. So that is kind of incredible 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:56.899 just to show you how within a couple of years, 00:05:56.920 --> 00:05:59.019 how everyone took a different path from it. Yeah, 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:02.839 that's great. Okay, well, thanks for explaining 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:06.860 that, Adam. So you're with NL Goodbody, who I 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:10.089 constantly see on LinkedIn. from the energy promotions 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:12.529 page, like you do a lot of stuff for Renewable 00:06:12.529 --> 00:06:15.949 NI. Yeah. So just to give a bit of a brief about 00:06:15.949 --> 00:06:18.750 A &L Goodbody. See, I'm going to do this and 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:20.149 you're going to be like, you absolutely butchered 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:24.110 that. Probably more than I did. So A &L Goodbody 00:06:24.110 --> 00:06:26.610 for Belfast, you're experts in energy regulation, 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:29.910 finance and development. You advise market leaders 00:06:29.910 --> 00:06:32.949 in renewable energy and development and also 00:06:32.949 --> 00:06:37.829 focus on ESG and sustainability. You help navigate 00:06:37.829 --> 00:06:40.129 businesses in the changing economic, environmental, 00:06:40.370 --> 00:06:44.029 social and government's landscape to ensure ongoing 00:06:44.029 --> 00:06:47.490 development and success. Does that sum it up? 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:53.550 Sounds perfect, yeah. Like you guys do so much 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:56.350 more like sectors, like, you know, like the likes 00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:59.990 of criminal and like litigation and all that, 00:07:00.009 --> 00:07:02.600 but I wanted to focus on. on your website you 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:06.300 have particular services that focus on the environment 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:09.459 and sustainability and like that was really cool 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.800 to see because not that I go about all the different 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.579 law sites but I don't know anyone else who yeah 00:07:14.579 --> 00:07:17.420 again it's definitely a growing sector as well 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:19.740 I think and like I'm going to go into a role 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:22.740 where our company does definitely make prioritizes 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.410 it and a lot of places would I think have emerge 00:07:26.410 --> 00:07:27.829 the kind of energy in with other departments 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:29.670 where we're kind of lucky in the sense that we 00:07:29.670 --> 00:07:33.170 do have a specific energy um team and we're all 00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:34.750 kind of very much specializing and have a love 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:38.050 for it so um and it's ever growing like i said 00:07:38.050 --> 00:07:39.769 i'm relatively new to it and already the team's 00:07:39.769 --> 00:07:42.269 grown massively since when i started so it's 00:07:42.269 --> 00:07:46.389 um yeah it's looking good that's close uh okay 00:07:46.389 --> 00:07:49.709 so before we get on to the questions um i'm gonna 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:53.810 ask you i have a joke for you. Okay. And, you 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:55.230 know, if you want to walk out of here after it, 00:07:55.250 --> 00:07:57.949 that's something like the fine. So, what does 00:07:57.949 --> 00:08:02.509 a lawyer order to drink? What? Justice. Justice. 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:05.509 I said it wrong. I messed it up. It's supposed 00:08:05.509 --> 00:08:09.870 to be just ice. So, yeah, you can keep that. 00:08:09.949 --> 00:08:12.050 You can tell your friends, okay? We'll run the 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:15.769 office tomorrow. Okay. Well, see your role when 00:08:15.769 --> 00:08:18.759 you're focusing on the energy team. Can you describe 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.339 a typical day or describe how untypical it is? 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:24.839 Yeah, so it is one of those things that every 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:27.899 day very much is different. Again, one of the 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:29.459 reasons why I absolutely love it. No two days 00:08:29.459 --> 00:08:31.579 are the same. There's days you're going in and 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:33.700 doing a lot more kind of corporate -focused stuff, 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:37.860 more merger and acquisition type stuff. So say, 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:40.139 for instance, two companies are buying another, 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:42.600 but we would focus more, like I said, on the 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.159 energy field. Being within mergers and acquisitions 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:49.100 is good because... It involves all different 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:51.840 departments within the company. So you can be 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.240 working with people from the property team, people 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.860 from employment, people from literally such a 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:01.980 wide range. There can be pensions. So while it 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:04.659 might be an energy industry company that you're 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:09.440 purchasing or dealing with, it does have a wider 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.960 range and scope to deal with throughout the firm. 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:16.139 and interesting like that and other days you 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:18.360 can deal with a lot of policy based stuff right 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.460 okay yeah so um obviously again with policy kind 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:23.440 of we've had an assembly for quite a while so 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:26.139 policy is quite new in the north so you're constantly 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:28.679 looking at different jurisdictions and taking 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:30.840 a land plan from how they look of approach things 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:34.279 and so it is um it's interesting very interesting 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:36.500 you know almost to the extent kind of hopefully 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:38.919 so much shape policy you know because it's so 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.950 new so it's um class so you're saying like you're 00:09:42.950 --> 00:09:45.610 kind of in a role where you have you have the 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:47.909 potential to decide the future of northern energy 00:09:47.909 --> 00:09:50.669 yeah i think i'll maybe leave that to the bones 00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:53.610 more so than me but if i can help them somewhat 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:57.190 yeah that's uh that seems to be like no it is 00:09:57.190 --> 00:09:58.769 very good like i didn't think there would be 00:09:58.769 --> 00:10:00.870 as much policy involved in what we're doing like 00:10:00.870 --> 00:10:03.289 a lot of regulatory type stuff um and i do really 00:10:03.289 --> 00:10:06.879 enjoy that it is um It doesn't feel like necessarily 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.919 you're doing law all the time. You know, it is 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:12.580 different, but it's very interesting. Very interesting. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:15.759 Good. I know you do a lot of seminars set in 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.940 with Renewable NI. Yeah. A lot focused on part 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:22.659 of the committee, energy and shit. That's how 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:27.899 we met, of course. Like, there's a lot of, a 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:30.220 lot of the team would focus on offshore, like 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:32.639 renewable stuff, like the wind turbines. I know 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:34.539 a lot of that. There was a lot of focus on that 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:37.320 at the minute. Yeah, I think again, just obviously 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:39.519 with the targets that they've set for Northern 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.659 Ireland, it's 80 % by 2030, 100 % then and thereafter. 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:47.139 And to achieve that, I think offshore is going 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:48.820 to have to play a massive role. But then there's 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:50.580 going to be issues in terms of planning and legislation 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.019 there to allow that to come through. So that 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:55.120 is massively what the focus is. So again, like 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:56.220 you were saying, you're looking at all the jurisdictions 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:59.980 and how they've played it out. you look to the 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:02.379 Republic of Ireland, you look at Scotland, you're 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:03.899 looking at England and how they have approached 00:11:03.899 --> 00:11:07.340 it and obviously a massive part of the play is 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:09.559 the incentive schemes that are in place that 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:11.259 the government put in place to kind of encourage 00:11:11.259 --> 00:11:13.980 investors to invest in renewable energies which 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:15.919 is going to be massively important to kind of 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.399 achieve those targets and yeah so again that's 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.419 kind of a lot of the chat talks that we do we 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:25.580 host renewable energy seminars in our office 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:29.139 and a lot of them are about the incentive schemes 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:32.379 our last one there and Stephen and I you kind 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:35.799 of hosted it but it was based on the new incentive 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:37.720 scheme that we'll be coming in so it's like the 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:40.120 first incentive scheme in the last I think the 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:42.980 last one was brought in was 2017 so it's going 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:44.620 to be massively important to kind of try and 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:47.600 achieve that 2030 target which is keeping up 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.159 very quick. You mentioned Stephen Hackney so 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.360 I have to tag him in this and like you know be 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:54.539 like here Adam mentioned you by DM just so you 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:56.259 know and he's like so I have to listen to it. 00:11:57.870 --> 00:11:59.570 Just name drop, get as many letters as you can. 00:12:00.529 --> 00:12:03.350 Tag, like, you know, and everything. There's 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:07.629 actually one time I was tagging something, like 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:09.850 I'm with this group at the minute, 30 Under 30, 00:12:09.950 --> 00:12:14.769 and we're doing a lot of stuff, like around Belfast, 00:12:14.769 --> 00:12:17.529 like take us to different workshops, and I tagged 00:12:17.529 --> 00:12:20.559 someone in TransLink. Right, okay. I thought 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:22.399 it was fine in the post. And then I went back 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.440 to the post and they were like, be tagged. And 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:26.799 I was like, did he reject that? Or did he like, 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:30.639 you know, report that? Yeah. Yeah. Some people 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:32.360 are very peculiar about having things that they 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.059 don't necessarily know about. Whereas like, I'm 00:12:36.059 --> 00:12:38.639 all for it. I'm like, tag me in everything. Everything. 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:42.559 So yeah. Well, that's great. Thanks for explaining. 00:12:42.659 --> 00:12:46.230 No problem. So set at start, A &L Goodbody, they're 00:12:46.230 --> 00:12:48.669 one of the leading energy firms in Northern Ireland. 00:12:49.350 --> 00:12:51.389 And like, you know, you say their name in bell 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:53.789 class, you automatically know like you're talking 00:12:53.789 --> 00:12:56.490 about. How does it feel to be part of that world? 00:12:56.529 --> 00:12:59.690 Like to be, like to go places and like, you know, 00:12:59.690 --> 00:13:02.519 say a name that like. someone automatically recognises 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:04.600 it. They're like, yeah. Yeah, it is great. Like 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.360 I said, I kind of worked for them in Dublin maybe 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.580 like 10 years ago and you kind of knew from there 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:11.820 the reputation that they had. But I was very 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:13.659 lucky that when I went looking for a job again, 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:17.419 particularly in the energy sector, or like in 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:19.840 an energy role within the law firm that, you 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.980 know, we're looking at the time for someone with 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:25.019 an energy. So I was very lucky to kind of work 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:27.080 under Mark Stockdale at the moment. He's been 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:30.210 brilliant. Especially... bringing someone in 00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:33.710 who had no prior experience in the energy side 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:35.990 of law. So I know it's been brilliant. Very good. 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:37.889 And you know that because, like you said, since 00:13:37.889 --> 00:13:39.850 they are such a leading firm, that you're going 00:13:39.850 --> 00:13:41.850 to get the best you possibly can. So it's been 00:13:41.850 --> 00:13:45.649 a great experience so far. It's great. Very good. 00:13:46.409 --> 00:13:49.029 I'm like, what is it? I kind of feel the same, 00:13:49.049 --> 00:13:52.830 like BPP energy, like a saint with pride. But 00:13:52.830 --> 00:13:55.220 then... I like, you know, it's not that I have 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:58.279 a lisp. I sometimes like have a lisp. So saying 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.080 the latter is BPP, like, you know, I can muck 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:04.919 it up. So I'm just like, yeah, building performance. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:07.279 Especially with an energy, there's not many acronyms. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.259 They don't necessarily roll off the toes at all 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:13.500 times. Oh, great, great. So for your role, was 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:16.259 there any sort of training prep that you recommend 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:20.809 for like? Yeah, I say that and I realise obviously 00:14:20.809 --> 00:14:24.929 you have to go to the Institute. That's true, 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:27.429 but that was the route I took. So I did just 00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:29.669 the law degree in the Institute, but other people 00:14:29.669 --> 00:14:33.809 do the SGEs in England and go that route. Which 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:35.470 it is good in the sense that there are different 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:37.850 avenues. There's not one right way of doing it, 00:14:37.870 --> 00:14:41.230 one wrong way of doing it. It allows people to 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:43.549 find a route that ultimately suits them. And 00:14:43.549 --> 00:14:47.080 then you get your training contracts. And some 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.519 people go training. I think a lot of times, like 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.379 having even seen, I didn't train with NL myself, 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:53.259 but when you see the training that they do provide 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:55.000 for the trainees, they kind of sit in different 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.059 seats. So you might have a seat within employment, 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:00.799 a seat within property, a seat within corporate. 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:03.159 So it means then after your two years, you've 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.299 kind of got a wide range and kind of experience 00:15:05.299 --> 00:15:08.629 of how a corporate. frameworks you know which 00:15:08.629 --> 00:15:11.289 is brilliant um other people take a small different 00:15:11.289 --> 00:15:13.470 routes but like i said there's no right or wrong 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:17.470 and i think ultimately everything does you get 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:19.129 experience from no matter what way you go about 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:23.009 it and yes that's law is a very peculiar kind 00:15:23.009 --> 00:15:24.669 of industry in that regard there's no right or 00:15:24.669 --> 00:15:28.990 way wrong wrong way of doing it okay very good 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:31.570 and you're saying in your energy team um like 00:15:31.570 --> 00:15:33.169 just like all the policies and all you have to 00:15:33.169 --> 00:15:35.919 read up on Is there any particular guides that 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:37.820 you find helpful that, like, helped you, like, 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:39.259 you know, with the amount of work you're doing? 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:41.860 I think it's one of those things, there's no 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:46.899 one sort of resource that you go to more than 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:48.600 the other. Like, for instance, there's certain 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.639 news websites, like Renews, or is it Renews? 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:53.820 There's a great one, kind of shows you global 00:15:53.820 --> 00:15:57.500 energy news. Even so much as reading the Irish 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.559 Times, they have a lot in regards to planning. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.340 And because it's so news, it's very much in the 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:06.700 news. just being up to date with daily affairs 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:09.820 is massively important, I think, as well. You 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:12.120 understand the government in a position with 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.779 regards to planning and their outlooks and, like 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:17.559 I said, the incentive schemes of the government. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:19.620 So a lot of it is very intrinsically linked with 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:22.740 politics and the government. So being able to 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:24.779 keep up with scratch labs, I think, is very important 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:28.539 as well. It's very, very interesting. I'm kind 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:31.159 of in the... You mentioned about property there. 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:34.120 One of the things of property and legal, We're 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.259 on the side where we create EPCs, like energy 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:39.899 bill certificates for people. And one of the 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:42.360 things that I'm really passionate about, and 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.879 it's really to do with politics, so with an EPC, 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.320 I'm explaining this to you, but I'm also explaining 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:52.379 it to them. Like with an EPC, depending on what 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:54.580 rating you get, you could get a green mortgage. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.299 And also some banks offer cashback options, so 00:16:59.299 --> 00:17:02.000 you can get money for your rating. And that's 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.039 really great. But the EPC software we use to 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:09.279 calculate for Northern Ireland, it's so out of 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:13.619 date. It is about 15 years out of date. It is 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:23.579 three years off being able to vote. That pisses 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:27.180 me off because there is potentially properties 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:30.019 that could be getting... b or an a that people 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:32.759 could be entitled to this yeah funding for or 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.380 there's properties that like okay you're actually 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:38.359 like you know a d or an e like we need to get 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.180 like you know when hopefully when um grants and 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:44.799 all come out for home improvement you could like 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:47.579 yeah you can apply for it um so yeah it's also 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:49.480 making people aware that those things exist as 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:51.440 well i can imagine the job in itself i think 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:54.210 a lot of people just they tend to look at a house 00:17:54.210 --> 00:17:55.990 and don't look at those kind of they don't realize 00:17:55.990 --> 00:17:58.109 the implications that energy has and those things 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:00.430 you know exactly and then the thing with energy 00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:04.490 assessment like it's such a like it's for northern 00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:06.309 ireland i feel like you know like for energy 00:18:06.309 --> 00:18:08.009 assessment and buildings i feel like we are kind 00:18:08.009 --> 00:18:10.829 of let down just because of our executive like 00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:13.369 you know there was no there wasn't one for a 00:18:13.369 --> 00:18:15.170 while which is why these updates didn't happen 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:17.430 but then when you look over mainland england 00:18:17.430 --> 00:18:20.579 scotland like all their policies and like all 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:22.339 the stuff they've got out the percentage reduction 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:25.619 you're like it's amazing it's good though sometimes 00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:28.039 having that blueprint though as well because 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:29.480 it allows you to take the bits that are right 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:31.460 from what they have done what the wrongs have 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.019 done so then it kind of hopefully might help 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:35.819 you can create a better policy and moving forward 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:37.599 it might be a wee bit slower as you said but 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:39.420 it kind of allows you to cherry pick then what 00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:41.559 elements you think will work best for this jurisdiction 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:45.859 you're just right you're just right so hopefully 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:48.339 I don't know once this podcast gets bigger we 00:18:48.339 --> 00:18:50.650 can like you know off the executives I'm like 00:18:50.650 --> 00:18:52.730 here's what you need to do that's it be the first 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:55.430 first vote of call like you know yeah but if 00:18:55.430 --> 00:18:59.190 you're on the end one here yeah absolutely like 00:18:59.190 --> 00:19:03.589 you know yeah no that'll be fun okay well thanks 00:19:03.589 --> 00:19:06.670 for uh giving us background on your training 00:19:06.670 --> 00:19:10.630 um like a bit about your role and yourself so 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:14.769 I'm coming to the quiz section now okay um this 00:19:14.769 --> 00:19:18.059 is where I asking questions kind of tailored 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:21.720 towards yourself. So because you're being in 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.059 the legal sector and talking about energy, so 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:29.200 what is the first law of energy? Oh, this is 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.559 going to be Newton or something along those lines. 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:35.640 So yeah, it kind of focuses in on thermodynamics. 00:19:35.660 --> 00:19:38.880 So it's the law of conservation of energy and 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.279 states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:43.420 but just transferred. Well, this brings me back 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:47.259 to Katie's. That's been a while. When I was, 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:49.079 like, because originally I wanted to ask a question, 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.680 like, what was the first, like, energy law that 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:54.900 was created? And then it came up that. I'm like, 00:19:54.980 --> 00:20:02.380 oh, hold on, that's better to ask. Yeah, and 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:04.660 to be honest, I was going to put my joke in where 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:07.619 it was, like, just ice, like, you know, in here. 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:09.460 But, like, I just wanted to use that as fast 00:20:09.460 --> 00:20:12.809 as I could. So thank you for playing the, what 00:20:12.809 --> 00:20:14.950 we're going to call is the laws of energy section. 00:20:15.730 --> 00:20:18.049 You've been really good, really good contestant 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:23.250 to have on. Thanks. So talking about your job 00:20:23.250 --> 00:20:26.630 roles and your projects, is there any particular 00:20:26.630 --> 00:20:29.009 favourite part you have when completing a project? 00:20:29.250 --> 00:20:31.509 I think it's because every project again is so 00:20:31.509 --> 00:20:34.529 different. What I actually just love doing is 00:20:34.529 --> 00:20:36.670 dealing with the kind of clients on a daily basis. 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:39.660 working well maybe not face to face a lot of 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:42.119 it can be through zoom or whatever but here they're 00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:44.180 all individual needs working with them and trying 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:45.799 to find a solution for it can be very interesting 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:47.599 because and then you learn a lot as well from 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.720 a lot of the clients um because they ultimately 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:53.380 they're industry specialists like while we might 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:55.140 do the legal side of it they're the guys who 00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:56.920 are probably more industry specialists in terms 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:58.859 of energy yeah so you're learning a lot from 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:00.700 them as well so having that kind of constant 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:04.180 um conversation with them on different aspects 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:07.279 of industry and it's very interesting I do like 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:11.720 that class that's class and so Adam thank you 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.599 so much for coming on today and answering all 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.500 the questions you'll definitely be back hopefully 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:21.299 well actually we'll see how the views do but 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:28.549 is there any um events that A &L got the body 00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:30.390 are part of in the future that we should be aware 00:21:30.390 --> 00:21:32.849 of? Just keep an eye out, just like I said, for 00:21:32.849 --> 00:21:37.230 the Renewable NI seminars that we host. They 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:38.930 tend to be advertised on LinkedIn through Renewable 00:21:38.930 --> 00:21:41.309 NI on the NL website. So keep an eye out for 00:21:41.309 --> 00:21:43.589 them. They try to do the same thing quarterly 00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:46.349 and they always touch different areas, you know, 00:21:46.369 --> 00:21:48.509 what's relevant at the time. So they're always 00:21:48.509 --> 00:21:51.599 very well attended. I mean they're always great 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:53.200 again because they're so well done to kind of 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.759 chat with other people within the industry as 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:57.359 well. I always see them and I'm always like yeah 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.079 I'm gonna go and then it's just like something 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:01.299 conflicting that day I'm like okay the next one. 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:06.579 Is there any other like firms that you guys would 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:08.319 collaborate with that would like to kind of do 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.140 energy stuff as well or? In terms of collaboration 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:14.619 Renewable Energy seem to be the major player 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:18.420 that we kind of work with but There's different 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:20.299 events that we would attend, but I don't necessarily 00:22:20.299 --> 00:22:22.960 collaborate with them directly. Maybe not as 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:25.480 close as Renewable Night, but that's probably 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:27.579 one that I'd be better off running past my boss 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:31.079 for. Okay, yeah, that's fair. I'm not sure. Yeah, 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:36.720 he'd be the main man there. Nope, that's fair. 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:40.299 Apologies, that was a sneaky one. Thank you so 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:43.299 much for coming on today. You've been... Really 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:46.180 interesting to interview and talk to and share 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:48.700 so much insight into the legal sector and energy 00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:51.859 in Belfast. So before we go, do you have any 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:55.200 advice for future prospective legal slash energy 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:58.900 professionals? I think, well, one thing I've 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:01.720 always just kind of tried to do is just consider 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:04.220 yourself a sponge, especially early in your career. 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:07.460 Just take in as much as you possibly can. Like 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:09.019 I said, every day as a school day, learn as much 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:11.019 as you can about the industry that you're working 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:13.930 in. um and any other that you think might have 00:23:13.930 --> 00:23:15.809 positive impact on your job so just take in as 00:23:15.809 --> 00:23:18.630 much as you possibly can yeah i feel like i'm 00:23:18.630 --> 00:23:21.190 like i remember when i started my career i was 00:23:21.190 --> 00:23:23.849 like just take it in like i was trying to absorb 00:23:23.849 --> 00:23:26.529 so much yeah now i feel like i'm up the edge 00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:29.170 i'm like like i like i still want to take in 00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:31.130 stuff i'm like forgetting people's names in my 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:35.250 yeah the smaller things that you tend to forget 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:39.230 like yeah yeah and it's even um like i was sitting 00:23:39.230 --> 00:23:41.309 in like you know i know We're doing this now. 00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:42.910 I sent you the crib sheet and everything. That's 00:23:42.910 --> 00:23:45.589 fine. I was sitting at seven o 'clock like last 00:23:45.589 --> 00:23:47.269 night. I'm like, I need to send this to Adam. 00:23:47.329 --> 00:23:51.210 Oh my God. And he had all the things just to 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:55.809 keep you busy and say flat out. Well, I usually 00:23:55.809 --> 00:23:59.289 try and say a pun for my sign off, like, you 00:23:59.289 --> 00:24:03.890 know, for the advice. And just can't think of 00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:08.019 any that is better than the just nice one. So 00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:12.740 leave it there. No problem. Yeah. Nope, nothing's 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:14.000 coming to me. Okay, that's fine. We'll leave 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:19.000 it. Okay, but thanks, Adam. And yeah, we'll definitely 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:21.940 be back on. Thanks for having me. Thanks for 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:23.900 listening to Carbon Climates. If you follow us 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:26.640 on Instagram at carbon underscore climates, you 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:28.259 can keep up to date with all our latest news 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:31.559 and posts and episode releases. Okay, thanks 00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:32.339 for listening. Bye.