By Business & Finance 
Dermot Casserly, Employment Partner, DWF Dublin
Dermot Casserly, Employment Partner, DWF Dublin takes on the Business & Finance 60-second interview challenge.
Q. What was your first job? Shortly after I qualified as a solicitor in the late 1990s, I joined KPMG where I spent the first five years of my career working in its corporate legal advisory services department. Just before I was offered the job with KPMG I was all set to travel to Australia for a year. Thankfully, the job with KPMG was very rewarding and I had the opportunity of working with great colleagues and in multidisciplinary teams on large international projects. Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date? My biggest career success to date has been building long term relationships with clients both through the good times and bad – and staying the course especially through the recession. It is very rewarding to see many clients thriving again. Q. In three words or less, how do you define success? Enjoying the challenges. Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? My late mother was very good with little nuggets of advice, but my favourite is the harder you work the luckier you are. Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff? My family help to keep me motivated. I have two gorgeous children and a great wife who inspire me and keep me on my toes. At work, I believe in empowering my team and trust the decisions they make in helping clients deal with often challenging employment law issues. Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why? I would say Richard Branson. He is such an interesting and inspiring leader and is rarely out of the headlines – and at 68 there seems to be no stopping him. I imagine a day in his shoes would be fascinating. Q. How do you relax? I love going to Kerry in the summer to relax and unwind with my wife and my two kids. I also love going to Galway, walking the prom in Salthill and taking the odd trip over to the Aran Islands and to see the views from Dun Aengus. Q. What’s your motto? I like the motto “Sine Metu” which means without fear. It is also the motto on the bottle of my favourite whiskey. Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business? Continue to help clients address and resolve employment law issues. As a partner in DWF, I am also looking forward to playing my part in transforming the way legal services are provided now and in the future.
I like the motto “Sine Metu” which means without fear.
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