Law Firms Who's Who - Business Plus Online

APRIL 2013 

SURVEY 

Law Firms 

Who’s Who 

Detailed Listing of Ireland’s 

Top Commercial Law Firms and the 

Views of Managing Partners

BP SURVEY 

COMMERCIAL LAW 

Silver Lining 

After The Bust 

Cleaning up after the crash is keeping Dublin’s top commercial law firms busy, 

writes NICK MULCAHY 

Most of the builders they worked with 

have gone bust but the law firms 

remain. Lining the docks on both 

sides of the river, though mostly on 

the southside, Ireland’s large commercial 

law firms inhabit glass and steel palaces 

containing hundreds of staff. Some areas 

of the practices, such as M&A, aren’t as 

busy as they used to be, but other areas are 

booming. In the fallout from the bust, 

there is a lot of cleaning up to be done. 

The offices of McCann FitzGerald are 

situated by the Liffey opposite the Convention 

Centre and down the road from the 

Grand Canal Theatre. The entire district 

was run-down and derelict 20 years ago 

and now McCanns is flanked by commercial 

law peers Matheson, Dillon Eustace, 

Beauchamps and ByrneWallace, with A&L 

Goodbody across the river. Mason Hayes 

& Curran is located closer to the Google 

digital action in Barrow Street while still 

clustered near the city’s Georgian squares 

are Arthur Cox, William Fry, Maples and 

Calder, Eversheds, Eugene F Collins and 

LK Shields. 

The McCann building is a fantastic 

edifice, designed by Scott Tallon Walker, 

with a large atrium looking up to the spiral 

of floors above. On the external walkways, 

it is incredibly quiet, more like a library 

than a hive of activity. Behind the closed 

doors, over 200 partners, solicitors and 

trainees are beavering away on mountains 

of documents, and their thousands of 

clauses and terms, that grease the wheels 

of international commerce. 

In Dublin terms, McCann FitzGerald 

is as blueblood as they come. Alexis 

FitzGerald, one of the founding partners 

in 1947, was a Fine Gael politician and 

special adviser to Garret FitzGerald (no 

relation) when he was Taoiseach in the 

1980s. So it comes as no surprise to learn 

that when the Central Bank needed legal 

counsel this year about the liquidation of 

IBRC and its consequences, they turned to 

McCanns. Not that McCanns is the only 

safe pair of hands that civil servants can 

turn to. In the IBRC wind-up, the Department 

of Finance took counsel from Arthur 

Cox, a firm that is equally well connected. 

Meanwhile the liquidators, KPMG, turned 

to A&L Goodbody. 

John Cronin is McCann’s chairman and 

though he is a less overtly political animal 

than the firm’s founder, McCanns is 

currently doing well from state work. Most 

large state work goes out to tender and if 

the same big firms share most of the big 

contracts, the firms insist that’s because 

they have the resources to get the work 

done. McCanns has been selected as the 

lead Irish law firm for the sale of Bord 

Gáis’s energy business, and Cronin 

describes that tender as “highly competitive”. 

Last year the firm advised BGE on a 

bond issue, and provided the same service 

for two other state entities, AIB and ESB. 

McCanns is also advising Shannon Airport 

Authority in connection with its separation 

from the DAA. 

The IBRC wind-up and the Bord Gais 

selloff are both consequences of the 

bust. So too is the shuffling of 

distressed loan portfolios that is 

keeping nearly all the big Dublin firms 

busy. McCanns has aggressive Aussie 

finance house Pepper Home Loans as a 

client, business the firm won in a pitch. 

Pepper has bought over GE Money and GE 

Capital’s mortgage and consumer loan 

books. 

Serious about law: McCann 

FitzGerald’s offices in the southside 

Docklands 

BUSINESS PLUS APRIL 2013 54

BP SURVEY 


McCanns was also involved in the spinning 

out of car loan books from Permanent 

TSB and Bank of Scotland, two deals 

to separate buyers that were both bust 

fallouts too. A&L Goodbody was also 

involved in the PTSB sale. Also benefiting 

from the Irish Life restructuring has been 

Matheson, which advised the state recently 

on the €1.3bn sale of the insurance 

company to Great-West Life. 

Liam Quirke’s firm also advised a 

domestic Irish bank on the disposal of 

loans on 400 properties in the UK and 

Germany worth €650m that had to be 

relinquished due to bailout deleveraging 

requirements. And when AIB was forced 

to get rid of AIB Investment Managers, 

Dillon Eustace was on hand to advise the 

South African buyer, Prescient. 

Another large piece of distress-related 

work in the past year involving McCann 

FitzGerald was the examinership of 

eircom. Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody 

also benefited from this process, as did 

Walkers Ireland. Maples and Calder is 

advising Grant Thornton, the liquidator 

of Treasury Holdings and 15 of its 

subsidiaries. “This is the largest and 

potentially most complex compulsory 

liquidation in Ireland in recent years with 

multi-jurisdictional issues and litigation 

arising,” says Managing Partner, Andrew 

Doyle. 

Another bumper piece of boom fallout 

work relates to tracking down the 

disputed assets of Sean Quinn and his 

family. As part of its legacy work for 

IBRC, McCanns oversaw the tracing of 

assets and bank monies in Russia, Ukraine, 

Cyprus, India, Belize and Sweden. Even 

overseas scandals are good for Irish law 

firms. The fallout from the Bernie Madoff 

scandal in America has been generating 

fees for Dillon Eustace and Mason Hayes 

& Curran in Commercial Court litigation, 

where over $1bn is at stake. 

Then there is legal work that has little 

enough to do with the Irish economy. For 

instance, insurance giant MetLife has set 

up a legal base in Ireland with a view to 

pan-EU legal consolidation. This has to do 

with European solvency regulations and 

the lawyers who worked on this one 

certainly earned their corn. 

Cronin explains: “We advised on a tripartite 

cross-border merger pursuant to 

which an Italian insurance undertaking 

and an Irish insurance undertaking were 

merged into a second Irish insurance 

undertaking. We believe this is the first 

time a tri-partite merger (with two 

domestic merging entities) has occurred 

in Ireland.” 

At Eversheds, its tax group has recently 

advised the Nasdaq-quoted Premiere 

Global Services on the restructuring of its 

cross-border share incentive schemes and 

the tax implications for staff in Ireland, the 

UK and Germany. Matheson advised 

another Nasdaq firm, SS&C Technologies, 

in relation to its purchase of GlobeOp 

Financial Services, including tax aspects of 

its worldwide group reorganisation. 

At Matheson they’ve also been involved 

in the securitisation of 39,000 Norwegian 

car loans originated by a Spanish bank. In 

December, the same firm did the legals for 

a $100m high-yield bond offering by 

Syncreon, the global logistics firm whose 

continued on page 56

BP SURVEY 


Legal giant Arthur Cox employs around 300 lawyers in Dublin and in its offices abroad 

trading presence in Ireland is minimal. 

Walkers, an international law firm that set 

up in Dublin in 2010, claimed a first with 

its involvement in getting away $60m and 

€130m of ‘catastrophe bonds’ through a 

special purpose reinsurance vehicle. “This 

was the first transaction of its kind in the 

market,” says Managing Partner, Garry 

Ferguson. 

Then there’s the acquisition of Cooper 

Industries by New Eaton, a $11.8bn mega 

deal that has mostly to do with business 

activity in America but drew in Irish 

lawyers because Cooper is registered here. 

So McCanns was involved, as were Arthur 

Cox, A&L Goodbody and Matheson, in the 

fourth-largest deal worldwide in 2012. 

American firms have a huge presence in 

Ireland and the Dublin law firms benefit as 

a result. A lot of the work relates to tax planning 

and that’s not something the firms 

tend to crow about these days. But they talk 

about the deals. Last year Matheson advised 

Goldman Sachs on the sale of its hedge fund 

administration business to State Street, 

which was advised on the deal by William 

Fry. Meanwhile Dillon Eustace acted for 

Continental Airlines in its merger with 

United Airlines and continues to act for the 

combined entity in relation to its ongoing 

corporate and regulatory affairs. 

Aviation finance is a Dublin speciality 

and there is a cluster effect. Such is the 

knowledge base and experience in Dublin 

in this area that mega-deals are routed 

through Irish law firms. Maples and 

Calder has been involved recently with 

Aircraft Lease Securitisation, an assetbacked 

securitisations vehicle with a portfolio 

of 50 aircraft valued at approximately 

$1bn. 

continued on page 58 

‘A force in the 

corporate 

sphere’ 

Chambers Europe 2012 

40 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2 | T: +353 1 661 0866 

E: hgarvey@lkshields.ie | www.lkshields.ie

BP SURVEY 


The fourteen Dublin law firms 

with over 50 lawyers employ 

1,700 solicitors between them. 

But in the legal world there’s always 

room for the entrepreneurs who 

plough their own furrow. Clerkin 

Lynch, established in 2008, has just 

two partners, Kevin Lynch and Niall 

Clerkin, and the total headcount is 

nine people. 

“We recently moved to larger 

offices to deal with the expansion of 

the firm and we have hired more staff 

to help with our workload,” says 

Lynch. In recent months, the firm 

has been involved in two Supreme 

Court appeals. One related to the law 

on security for costs applications and 

Carving Out A Niche 

the other concerned the copyright 

protection of computer programmes. 

“We are pleased with the progress 

we have made through very 

challenging economic conditions,” 

adds Lynch. “Setting up a business in 

such difficult times has helped us to 

empathise with our business-owner 

clients. We attract innovative 

businesses as clients in such sectors 

as energy efficiency, digital media 

and telecommunication networks. 

Clients appreciate our fixed-price 

approach to the provision of our 

legal services. Doing a good job for 

our clients and providing value for 

money has been our most effective 

marketing tool.” 

Kevin Lynch, co-founder of Clerkin Lynch 

A&L Goodbody was involved in 

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking’s $7.2bn acquisition 

of RBS Aerospace, the biggest-ever 

global sale of an aircraft leasing business. 

Meanwhile Walkers advised a financial 

institution on the acquisition of a portfolio 

of aircraft, valued in excess of $500m, 

across seven jurisdictions outside Ireland. 

And there are regular M&A deals too. 

Matheson advised Jazz Pharmaceuticals on 

its Nasdaq listing while Maples and Calder 

was lead advisor to FleetMatics for its IPO 

on the New York Stock Exchange. In the 

Caribbean, LK Shields was lead adviser last 

year in the sale of Karib Cable, the leading 

cable system operator in St Lucia, St 

Vincent & the Grenadines and Antigua. 

John Cronin and his colleagues at 

McCann FitzGerald advised Ladbrokes 

on its complicated takeover of Dermot 

Desmond’s Betdaq and counselled 

Vodafone on its joint venture with Three 

Ireland regarding cellphone masts. Also in 

the telecoms arena, Mason Hayes & Curran 

advised the government on the €800m 

auction of sale of 4G wireless spectrum. 

The same firm advised Polarlake on its 

sales to Bloomberg last year and also 

advised energy company SSE on its 

purchase of Endessa. William Fry did the 

legals for Skillsoft when it bought Thirdforce, 

while on the domestic front the 

reshaping of Glanbia generated fee income 

for Frys and McCann FitzGerald. 

For all the big firms, the National Asset 

Management Agency is the gift that keeps 

on giving. Nama spent €10m on legal fees 

in the first six months of 2012, following on 

from annual totals of some €20m in 2011 

and €10m in 2010. Arthur Cox has billed 

the agency over €4m since its establishment 

while Maples and Calder and A&L 

Goodbody have been paid more than 

€2.5m each. Other firms drinking from the 

Nama trough include McCann Fitzgerald 

(€2.4m), Matheson (€2.1m), William Fry 

(€1.9m), ByrneWallace (€1.7m) and 

Eversheds (€1.5m). 

And, happily, there seems to be no end in 

sight for the recovery process at Ireland Inc. 

Survey continued on page 60

BP SURVEY 


Insight From The 

Managing Partners 

The people in charge of Ireland’s large, medium and small corporate law 

firms tell Chris Sparks that business at the moment is quite satisfactory 

Emer Gilvarry 

Mason Hayes & Curran 

Commercial law firms in Ireland operate as 

partnerships rather than limited companies 

so they don’t file accounts. The only top 

firm to reveal a modicum of financial 

information is Mason Hayes & Curran, 

where Emer Gilvarry has been Managing 

Partner for six years. Last year, the firm 

announced that its turnover in 2011 was 

€42.2m, an increase of 8% on 2010. “We 

strongly believe in the importance of 

openness and aligning ourselves with the 

businesses that we serve,” says Gilvarry. 

She adds: “We are the fastest-growing 

full-service law firm in Ireland with 10 

years of consistent expansion. In the last 

decade we have doubled our revenues and 

personnel and are now part of the ‘Big Six’ 

Irish legal firms, with 64 partners and 

offices in Dublin, London and New York.” 

Unusually for a law firm, MH&C has 

adopted a full open-plan office layout. 

“Nobody in the firm has their own office, 

allowing our people to easily interact with 

each other,” says Gilvarry. “This lack of 

hierarchy means that we are solely 

dedicated to the efficient provision of 

quality legal services.” 

The firm specialises in sectors such as 

financial services, energy, healthcare and 

technology and is particularly well known 

‘We are now part of the 

Big Six Irish legal firms’ 

for its dispute resolution work. Gilvarry is 

an experienced litigator and MH&C is a 

go-to firm for litigation. The firm is advising 

on Ireland’s highest-value litigation case, 

relating to the collapse of Bernard Madoff 

Investment Securities, where €1.4bn is at 

stake. MH&C also represented Paul 

Connolly in his dispute last year with 

Independent News & Media. 

Corporate Social Responsibility has been 

rising up the agenda of the big law firms 

in recent years and Gilvarry’s firm actively 

supports the visual arts. “We are proud to 

have one of the best contemporary 

corporate art collections in Dublin from 

up-and-coming, Irish, UK and Eastern 

European artists,” she says. “Our ethos is 

to approach every aspect of our business 

with an unrivalled dynamism and dedication, 

to continually strive for the betterment of 

ourselves and those around us.” 

‘There has been a rise in capital markets activity’ 

Brian O’Gorman 

Arthur Cox 

Brian O’Gorman (43) became Managing 

Partner of Arthur Cox in November 2011. 

A corporate partner, he specialises in 

mergers and acquisitions, public 

takeovers, equity capital markets and 

private equity. Prior to joining Arthur Cox, 

O’Gorman spent a number of years in 

London and Hong Kong with a leading 

London law firm and a leading 

investment bank. 

Arthur Cox is at the centre of many of 

the big deals involving the state. Recently 

the firm advised on the liquidation of 

IBRC and the exchange of government 

bonds for €30.6bn worth of promissory 

notes. On the commercial front, Arthur 

Cox advised eircom on its restructuring 

last year, the largest successful 

examinership ever in Ireland. The 

transaction involved the write-down of 

40% of the debt of eircom to €2.3bn, 

from €4.1bn. The firm also helped Aer 

Lingus see off Ryanair for the third time. 

To strengthen its presence with FDI 

clients, last year Arthur Cox established 

an office in Silicon Valley. “I hope that the 

economy has reached the bottom,” says 

O’Gorman. “There have been a few 

positive signs: increased interest by 

private equity houses in Irish assets, more 

enquiries about M&A transactions and 

an increase in capital markets activity.” 


BP SURVEY 


Andrew Doyle 

Maples and Calder 

Managing Partner Andrew Doyle is the 

lawyer responsible for building up Maples 

and Calder’s presence in Dublin from a 

standing start in 2006 to a serious player at 

the top tier of corporate law. Doyle has 

advised on numerous high-profile private 

equity investment and buyout transactions 

and he also advises on a broad range of 

M&A and other corporate transactions. 

“All areas in the Dublin office have had a 

busy year and we have grown our team to 

over 200 people,” he says. “Our objective 

in Ireland is not to be the largest law firm; 

it is to be, and to be known, as the law firm 

of excellence in our chosen areas of 

expertise, and we believe we deliver on 

this objective.” 

Maples ramped up its insurance litigation 

capability last year by hiring Peter Lennon, 

who was formerly in partnership in his own 

firm, and a team of three other lawyers. 

“Peter has been practising as a litigator 

for over 20 years, primarily in the area of 

insurance dispute resolution advising on 

defensive insurance claims, and provides 

specific insurance advice to all of the major 

under-writers in the Irish market,” 

explains Doyle. 

‘All areas in the Dublin office have had a busy year’ 

In a first for Irish legal services, Maples 

and Calder has established a dedicated 

Irish Advocacy Service for clients engaged 

in corporate and commercial litigation. This 

move is in anticipation of changes to legal 

procedures outlined in the Legal Services 

Regulation Bill 2011, and Maples' clients 

will be offered the option of having their 

solicitor perform the role traditionally 

performed by junior counsel, including 

advocating their case in court. 

“This will ensure continuity of service 

and will eliminate the duplication of work 

that often occurs between solicitors and 

junior counsel,” says Doyle. “Maples will, of 

course, continue to appoint counsel 

in appropriate cases.” 

Survey continued on page 62 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In today’s fast-moving global economy, it’s business insight 

that makes the difference. Trust is essential and when that’s 

combined with strategic advice and strong commercial 

experience, working with Mason Hayes & Curran becomes 

an easy choice. With 65 dedicated partners we give clients 

the edge in Ireland. 

For an informed perspective, call Mason Hayes & Curran. 

It’s the smart solution.

BP SURVEY 


‘Irish corporates were active in outbound acquisitions’ 

Myra Garrett 

William Fry 

Myra Garrett (49) has been Managing Partner 

of William Fry since 2008. She specialises in 

corporate finance, including mergers and 

acquisitions, public takeovers, IPOs and 

corporate governance. She says that 2012 was 

busy for the firm, with the market buoyed by 

renewed interest from international investors. 

“This meant positive levels of activity in 

mergers and acquisitions and, very 

encouragingly, a lot more transactions 

involving the acquisition of prime property 

assets and loan portfolios. Our real estate 

colleagues are seeing levels of activity they 

have not seen for some years. Irish corporates 

were also active in outbound acquisitions, 

which is very positive.” 

Garrett adds that demand continues to 

grow for expertise in specialist areas such as 

corporate governance, financial regulation, 

administrative sanction procedures and 

pensions. 

“Litigation was also busy with increased 

bank enforcement, commercial contract 

disputes and a definite increase in IP 

litigation.” 

On the M&A front, where Frys has a strong 

reputation, recent deals involving the firm 

include State’s Street’s acquisition of the 

Goldman Sach’s hedge fund administration 

business, the spinout of Glanbia Ingredients, 

Gordon Brothers’ purchase of Clery’s and 

Skillsoft’s acquisition of Thirdforce. 

“We are client focused, results driven and 

consistently deliver an excellent service,” says 

Garrett. “We created 46 new positions in 

William Fry in the last six months, ranging from 

partner level through to 25 new entrants into 

our 2013 Trainee Programme.” 

In September 2012, the firm opened an 

office in London headed by senior corporate 

partner, Stephen Keogh. 

‘Sales of loan portfolios have become a key feature of the M&A landscape’ 

John Cronin 

McCann FitzGerald 

John Cronin (54) has been Chairman of 

McCann FitzGerald since May 2008. He has 

extensive experience in banking, structured 

finance and capital markets and “takes 

control of projects and handles them in an 

extremely efficient manner”, according to 

legal directory Chambers. In the past 12 to 

18 months, the firm has been doing well 

from legal work relating to sales of Irish 

loan portfolios by financial institutions. 

“These have become a key feature of the 

M&A landscape,” says Cronin. “This trend 

has come about as Irish banks attempt to 

deleverage approximately €70bn of loans, 

and foreign banks seek to close their 

positions in the Irish market. These sales 

have attracted a large number of 

international private equity funds, hedge 

funds and investment firms and McCann 

FitzGerald has acted on a significant number 

of these loan sale transactions.” 

McCanns has also benefited as stateowned 

corporates regain access to the 

international capital markets, with the firm 

advising last year on a series of publicly 

offered bond issues by AIB Mortgage Bank, 

ESB and Bord Gáis. More recently, the firm 

was at the centre of the liquidation of IBRC 

and unwinding of the promissory notes, 

advising the Central Bank. As McCanns 

ended up as an unsecured creditor of IBRC, 

this was a real case of Chinese Walls in 

action. 

Part of Cronin’s development strategy for 

the firm is nurturing links with China and 

India. “In those countries we have 

participated in government-led trade 

delegations as well as conducting partner-led 

trips to key clients and contacts of the firm,” 

says Cronin. “These trips promote 

opportunities in the areas of aircraft 

financing, funds and investment 

management, financial services and 

corporate acquisitions, areas in which this 

firm is internationally recognised.” 


Driven by clients needs 

Providing focused expertise 

Delivering successful solutions 

Let us talk to you about your business... 

Contact: Catherine Guy, Managing Partner 

T: +353 1 691 5678 E: cguy@byrnewallace.com 

ByrneWallace, 88 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, Ireland 

T: +353 1 691 5000 W: www.byrnewallace.com

BP SURVEY 


‘We have continued to win 

more corporate clients’ 

‘Our strategic focus differentiates us 

from our competitors’ 

Hugh Garvey 

LK Shields 

Hugh Garvey (46) has been Managing Partner 

of LK Shields since 2005. His primary practice 

is in commercial litigation and dispute 

resolution and legal directory Chambers 

Global describes Garvey as a ‘first-class 

lawyer who can efficiently deal with 

proceedings or promptly settle things out 

of court as required'. 

According to Garvey, commercial litigation 

is a busy service line for LK Shields, which 

also has a strong reputation in the M&A 

arena. In the past year, LK Shields advised 

the shareholders of Simply Zesty on the sale 

to UTV New Media; Unit4 Business Software 

Holding in its acquisition of Mentec Plus 

Integrated Solutions; Mobile Travel 

Technologies in relation to an equity 

investment by DFJ Esprit; and Aegis Media 

in the acquisition of Lucidity Digital. The firm 

also acted for Saongroup in the acquisition 

of China HR.com from Monster Worldwide, 

and was lead adviser in the sale of Caribbean 

cable company Karib Cable to Columbus 

International Inc. 

“Over the past year we have continued 

to win more corporate clients, domestically 

and internationally, and have expanded our 

services to meet their needs,” says Garvey. 

“The firm was founded 25 years ago on the 

basis that we could provide high-quality 

and solutions-focused legal services. Those 

attributes remain a core part of our 

philosophy. Our clients know that their 

legal needs will be proactively met by an 

experienced partner who shares their 

passion for the success of their business.” 

Liam Quirke 

Matheson 

Matheson Ormsby & Prentice, one of 

Dublin’s largest law firms, was fondly 

known around town as MOPs. No longer. 

Last October the firm rebranded as 

Matheson. In charge since 2003 is 

Managing Partner Liam Quirke (51), a 

top tax lawyer. Matheson has a very 

strong practice related to multinationals 

and tax, and international companies 

and financial institutions now account 

for more than 70% of the firm’s 

business. These include 27 of the 

world’s 50 largest banks and more 

than half of the Fortune 100 

companies, says the firm. 

“The principal business objective of 

our firm is to meet the most important 

legal needs of international companies 

and financial institutions doing business 

in and though Ireland better than our 

competitors,” says Quirke. “It is this 

strategic focus that differentiates us 

from our competitors. Our entire 

organisation, our systems, our 

resources, our investment decisions are 

all aligned to meeting their legal needs. 

No other firm in Ireland prioritises the 

needs of such companies and financial 

institutions in this manner.” 

Matheson employs over 600 people 

across its four offices in Dublin, London, 

New York and Palo Alto, including 75 

partners and tax principals and over 

350 legal and tax professionals. But 

there’s more to Matheson than tax 

counsel. “Our investment funds, 

banking, finance, aircraft, insurance, 

derivatives, pharma, technology, social 

media and online clients have all had 

extensive legal needs in the past year,” 

says Quirke. 

On the M&A front, the firm advised 

Eaton Corporation on its $11.8bn 

acquisition of Cooper Industries, the 

largest single M&A transaction in 

Ireland during 2012, and also advised 

Goldman Sachs on the sale of its hedge 

fund administration business to State 

Street. “We also recently advised the 

Irish state on the €1.3bn sale of Irish 

Life to Great-West Life,” says Quirke. 

Large law firms regularly garner 

awards from the trade press but the 

gong that probably gave Quirke most 

satisfaction last year was inclusion in a 

Financial Times ranking of the most 

innovative law firms in Europe. The FT 

panel described Matheson as “the goto-firm 

for international companies 

doing business in Ireland". 


BP SURVEY 


‘The food and distribution, financial services and energy sectors are performing well’ 

Alan Murphy 

Eversheds 

Eversheds is the only full-service 

international law firm in Ireland and one 

of its selling points is a range of multijurisdictional 

offerings with a single point 

of contact. Managing Partner Alan Murphy 

(42) has been in charge since 2009 and 

his practice has a particular focus in the 

healthcare and leisure sectors, and project 

managing real estate and other legal 

services for large multinationals across 

multiple jurisdictions. 

According to Murphy: “We have seen 

increased activity in corporate and 

commercial for services such as technology, 

life sciences, IP, data protection, fundraising 

and globally managed services such as 

company secretarial. Also the food and 

distribution, financial services and energy 

sectors are performing well. There has been 

increased interest from international 

investors in the Irish commercial property 

market. We have also witnessed a larger 

role for venture capital and private equity 

firms as a source of fundraising for Irish 

business looking to expand.” 

Murphy says that his firm is now actively 

competing for business that would 

previously have been the preserve of the 

bigger firms. “We have over 4,500 people 

who provide services to the private and 

public sector business and finance 

community. Access to all these services 

is provided through 43 international 

offices in 26 jurisdictions.” 

As an example of how this international 

reach works in practice, Murphy cites the 

sale last year of the Sean Quinn-owned 

Belfry Hotel in England, with support from 

the Eversheds office in Cardiff. “This was a 

complex international transaction including 

lawyers from the USA, ROI, UK and 

Luxembourg and tackling difficult issues 

such as worldwide Mareva injunctions and 

the seller’s historic debt syndicate,” says 

Murphy. 

He adds: “One of the significant cases 

in which we acted concerned High Court 

proceedings which resulted in the 

appointment of a receiver over our client’s 

occupational pension schemes being 

discharged. This was the first time a lender 

had sought to attach a defaulting 

borrower’s pension scheme assets in this 

way in a pre-retirement situation. The 

decision represents a very significant 

precedent in terms of concluding that 

assets within occupational pension schemes 

in a pre-retirement scenario are not capable 

of attachment by creditors.” 


BP SURVEY 


Julian Yarr 

A&L Goodbody 

Julian Yarr (42) was appointed Managing 

Partner at A&L Goodbody in 2010. He is a 

corporate/M&A lawyer and he was in charge 

of the firm’s London office for seven years. 

Yarr’s external focus has been expanding the 

firm’s international strategy and presence. In 

the past two years A&L Goodbody has further 

developed offices in London, New York and 

Palo Alto and established international 

lawyer programmes with China and India. 

‘Specialist areas such as aircraft finance had a busy year’ 

Inside the firm, Yarr has overseen a 

technology upgrade and new client-service 

delivery models. 

According to Yarr, 2012 was busy for the 

firm, particularly the second half of the year. 

“Initial indications are that this looks set to 

continue in 2013,” he says. “We saw some 

significant transactions and trends, particularly 

involving the international market, in M&A, 

complex corporate restructurings, the sale of 

financial institutions’ loan books and 

improvement in the commercial property 

market. 

“Specialist areas such as aircraft finance, 

technology and investment funds also had a 

busy year. This in part reflects the increasing 

positive sentiment of Ireland internationally. 

This has been a gradual and positive 

development, rather than a surprise, and one 

which we became increasingly aware of 

through our international offices and clients.” 

A&L Goodbody is a major player in the 

North’s legal market. Opened in 2007, the 

Belfast office has grown to over 50 staff led by 

10 partners. Experian recently ranked the office 

as the top M&A legal advisor in Northern 

Ireland. The firm has also established a 

dedicated German group. “This enhances the 

services that we provide to German 

corporations and financial institutions doing 

business in Ireland, as well as Irish companies 

operating in Germany,” says Yarr. 

“We believe that the level of instructions is 

based on our reputation for providing the 

highest quality of legal advice and service 

available in Ireland or internationally.” 

‘We are very conscious of the quick turnaround that our clients expect’ 

Richard Martin 

Ronan Daly Jermyn 

Ronan Daly Jermyn has 70 lawyers with 

total personnel at 150. It is the largest 

regional law firm in Ireland, with offices 

in Cork and Galway, and Richard Martin 

(46) was appointed Managing Partner in 

October 2012. He headed up the 

commercial litigation team at RDJ for 10 

years prior to his appointment and has 

particular expertise in the areas of 

professional indemnity and media law. 

“Commercial Litigation continues to be 

very busy, with particular emphasis on 

professional indemnity and bank recovery 

work,” says Martin. “Insolvency and 

restructuring work is also very busy and 

the firm continues to invest in high-quality 

lawyers. We are very conscious of the 

quick turnaround that our clients expect in 

order that they can efficiently and 

effectively operate in their markets, and of 

the need for us to ensure that we are fully 

resourced to meet their needs.” 

Although RDJ has enjoyed revenue 

growth in the past year, Martin’s belief is 

that the economy will hop along the 

bottom for a while. He explains: “Some 

level of sustained activity is being seen in 

the property sector and there are 

transactions taking place in the SME 

sector in particular. Much has been spoken 

about improvement in credit conditions 

and the notion that the banks are back 

lending. The difficulty that our clients are 

seeing is that the conditions attached to 

those loans are often so onerous as to 

render the drawdown of the loan either 

unattainable or highly unattractive.”

BP SURVEY 


‘We have extensive understanding of the privately owned business market’ 

Catherine Guy 

ByrneWallace 

ByrneWallace expanded rapidly during the 

property boom and Managing Partner 

Catherine Guy (46), appointed in June 

2012, headed up the property department 

and has a strong track record in largescale 

commercial development projects. 

“While we are a large firm we are not the 

largest,” says Guy. “But we have a very 

broad reach in terms of our experience 

and are very proud of what we do and 

how we help our clients. 

“We work with numerous 

multinationals but the single biggest 

centre of commercial activity in Ireland is 

the privately owned business market, and 

we position ourselves as a partner of 

choice to this sector. We have an extensive 

understanding of this market and the 

conditions in which it operates.” 

Guy says her firm was busy over the 

past year assisting some clients to manage 

through difficult times but also advising 

progressive indigenous and international 

companies. “We have been very active 

with transactions and have added to our 

team with senior hires. We advised on the 

sale of Shanakiel Hospital in Cork, a 

creative MBO of a chain of DIY stores by 

Home Projects Centre, and for Averda in 

its acquisition of City Bins. In the 

technology sector, we advised Swrve who 

raised $6.25m in a funding round.” 

ByrneWallace has a strong practice in the 

life science and medical device sectors and 

advised Azur Pharma on its merger with 

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Amarin on a $100m 

hybrid debt financing and Mainstay on a 

$20m funding. “A recurring theme has been 

our involvement in a number of deals 

involving foreign investors, mostly US based, 

establishing companies and operations in 

Ireland,” says Guy. 

She adds that understanding what 

clients want and need has never been 

more important. “Focusing on quality, 

efficiency and experience is a key part 

of our service.” 


BP SURVEY 


John White 

Beauchamps 

John White (39) became Managing Partner 

of Beauchamps in September 2011 and set 

the firm on a growth path. In the past two 

years the number of solicitors has increased 

from 50 to 70, due to the acquisition of 

Landwell Solicitors and more recently the 

practice of Felix McTiernan Solicitors. 

“We expect this growth to continue as 

we win larger assignments from significant 

organisations,” says White. “The banking, 

enforcement and restructuring areas of the 

firm have been extremely busy in the last 

year. One interesting area is the trend 

towards outsourcing work from banks and 

other large undertakings. We have won this 

type of work from a number of new clients 

in the past 12 months.” 

‘We have kept tight control on our cost base’ 

White is primarily a mergers and 

acquisitions lawyer but also provides 

strategic business law advice to some of 

the firm’s larger clients. He recently acted 

for the Pamela Scott fashion chain on its 

appointment of an examiner. “We did not 

expand rapidly during the boom and we 

have kept tight control on our cost base. 

We are therefore in a position to provide 

fee solutions to clients that work for them, 

including fixed fees and carrying out work 

on a retainer basis. 

“We have high-calibre and experienced 

solicitors in all of the key business law 

areas and this has enabled us to grow our 

market share in corporate, banking, 

restructuring and international referrals.” 

‘Our service is proactive and client driven’ 

Michael Lavelle 

Lavelle Coleman 

Michael Lavelle (53) is a founding 

partner of Lavelle Coleman and is 

Managing Partner. His focus is 

commercial law and commercial 

litigation, with an expertise in insolvency. 

“We provide a service which is proactive 

and client driven,” he says. “I believe the 

lawyers in Lavelle Coleman are 

commercially driven, approachable and 

are good communicators without being 

overly legalistic. The firm’s litigation 

expertise and service were recognised in 

2012, when we were named IICM 

litigation specialist of the year.” 

A notable case last year was action 

taken by the firm on behalf of investment 

bond investors against ACC Bank, which 

was settled after the hearing of the case 

commenced. The firm also acted for the 

US trustee in the bankruptcy of the 

estate of David Drumm, the former Anglo 

Irish Bank boss, which created new law 

on inter-jurisdictional bankruptcies. 

Lavelle says that the firm is receiving 

an increasing amount of instructions 

from banks and insolvency practitioners 

and litigation was the busiest section of 

the practice in the past year. He adds: 

“The level of instructions in property 

transactions has increased significantly 

and there has been an increase in 

commercial transactions, although some 

of the restructures on which we have 

been instructed are bank driven. 

“We have strengthened our banking 

and insolvency teams and positioned 

ourselves to deal with an increasing 

amount of institutional work.” 

‘There is unquestionably more deal activity’ 

Larry Fenelon 

Leman Solicitors 

Leman, established in 2007, has grown 

in the teeth of the recession to 14 

lawyers currently. Larry Fenelon (36) 

is Managing Partner and he heads up 

the litigation team and practices in all 

areas of ADR. 

“There is unquestionably more deal 

activity,” say Fenelon. “All departments 

recorded growth in the firm in the past 

year. Corporate and commercial activity 

has noticeably improved and litigation 

continues to show continued growth. 

International business is going very well,” 

he adds. 

“We recruit the best lawyers from the 

top firms. Our service level is better, our 

business is run efficiently and our charge 

out rate is very competitive.” 


BP SURVEY 


‘Our Cayman office has gone from strength to strength’ 

Mark Thorne 

Dillon Eustace 

Mark Thorne has been with Dillon Eustace 

since it was established in 1992, becoming 

a partner in 1999 and Managing Partner in 

2004. The major recent development at the 

firm has been the establishment of an office 

in the Cayman Islands in April 2012, the 

first Irish law firm to do so. “Our newly 

established Cayman office has gone from 

strength to strength, winning a significant 

number of mandates from clients 

establishing investment and structured 

finance products in the Cayman Islands and 

in addition gaining significant instructions 

in the financial services litigation arena,” 

says Thorne. 

According to Thorne, Dillon Eustace has 

the leading investment and asset 

management team in Ireland. “In the area of 

regulatory and compliance, our unit has been 

busy in relation to the introduction of new 

corporate governance codes and Central 

Bank examinations and administrative 

sanctions regimes,” says Thorne. 

“In our distressed asset and banking 

unit, we have been involved in a number 

of very high-profile non-performing loan 

portfolio acquisitions and financings,” he 

adds. As an example, Thorne cites acting 

for the purchaser, in relation to its due 

diligence, acquisition and financing, of 

the ‘Project Kildare’ portfolio of Irish real 

estate-backed loans, with a nominal 

value of €675m, from EBS/AIB. 

In financial litigation, the firm has 

represented a significant number of 

plaintiffs in the Irish-based Madoff-related 

litigation. “The firm acts for 50 investors 

in an Irish-domiciled fund and we also 

acted in the main lead investor action 

representing Kalix Fund Ltd, who were the 

first investor to issue proceedings,” Thorne 

explains. 

According to Thorne, a significant 

proportion of his firm’s clients are non-Irish. 

“Accordingly we have always benchmarked 

our service level and quality of advice 

against the largest international firms,” 

he says. “Our domestic Irish business is 

increasing as the international clients for 

whom we have acted for many years turn 

their attentions to this economy, and local 

corporates learn that they can enjoy 

international-quality service and advice 

from us on their own doorstep.” 


We can... 

At Dillon Eustace our many years of experience mean we can 

provide clear, focused advice, without ever losing sight of the bigger 

picture. We offer national and international corporates, banks, asset 

managers and insurers our expertise in: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...see the wood 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information contact: 

Mark Thorne at: 

e-mail: mark.thorne@dilloneustace.ie 

Dillon Eustace, 

33 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2. 

Tel: +353 1 667 0022 Fax: +353 1 667 0042 

www.dilloneustace.ie

BP SURVEY 


Garry Ferguson 

Walkers Ireland 

Walkers is the second Cayman Islands 

headquartered firm to set up a base in 

Dublin in recent years. Unlike Maples and 

Calder, which established in Ireland by 

subsuming an indigenous firm, Walkers 

was a total startup in 2010. 

Walkers also has offices in the British 

Virgin Islands, Delaware, Dubai, Hong Kong, 

Jersey, London and Singapore, with over 500 

staff employed. In Dublin the primary focus 

is funds and financial services including 

capital markets and aviation finance, and 

taxation as it applies to these areas. 

Recruits have come from top Dublin firms 

and from London law firms, and the fee 

earner complement is now 30, with total 

staff of 43. The aim is to grow headcount 

by 20% in the coming 12 months. 

The first lawyer to be hired was Garry 

Ferguson (38), a specialist in structured 

finance. He is now Managing Partner in 

Dublin after Vicki Hazelden, who managed 

the practice until January, stepped down. 

Ferguson joined Walkers from Matheson, 

attracted by the entrepreneurial 

opportunity of building up a new corporate 

law firm from scratch. 

Ferguson, who worked as a tax adviser in 

KPMG earlier in his career, says that the 

recruitment process in Walkers is rigorous. 

He explains that the objective is to 

ensure that not only are new hires good 

lawyers but that they also fit in with the 

‘We have consistently exceeded our ambitious targets’ 

tight-knit culture of the firm. 

A significant portion of Walker’s funds 

and financial services work is sourced from 

the firm’s other offices but Ferguson says 

more than half of such work is generated 

by the Dublin office itself. “Overall the firm 

has shown very strong growth across all 

practice areas. We have consistently 

exceeded our fairly ambitious targets and 

we are probably a year ahead of where we 

expected to be as regards headcount 

and turnover,” says Ferguson. 

Though Walkers is small in terms of 

headcount compared with the leading 

corporate firms in Dublin, Ferguson insists 

that his firm goes toe to toe with the legal 

giants in the international niche areas that 

it plays in. On the domestic front, Walkers is 

embarking this year on building up its niche 

corporate and commercial arm, as well as 

launching a new practice area in regulatory 

and compliance services. 

‘We have continued to win more corporate clients’ 

Stephen Walker 

WhitneyMoore 

WhitneyMoore signalled its growth 

ambitions earlier this year when it merged 

with Moriarty & Co, a five-lawyer practice 

specialising in bank litigation. “We view 

the merger as a positive addition to 

WhitneyMoore that will enhance the 

service offering we provide to our clients,” 

says Stephen Walker (49), who has been 

Managing Partner since January 2010. 

Walker practises across a broad range 

of commercial areas such as mergers and 

acquisitions, corporate finance, venture 

capital, joint ventures and corporate 

restructuring. WhitneyMoore also has 

litigation expertise and acted for 

McCambridges in its successful passing off 

action against Brennans. “Our intellectual 

property practice has continued to build 

upon its international reputation, 

attracting new clients pursuing actions 

in the Irish courts to protect their 

intellectual property rights,” says Walker. 

WhitneyMoore also advised San Leon 

Energy on its acquisition last year of 

London-based Aurelian Oil & Gas plc. 

“While the number of M&A transactions 

remains significantly down on peak 

activity, we have seen a surprisingly high 

level of early stage venture capital 

investments,” says Walker. “We have 

advised a large number of new client 

companies in successfully concluding 

investment rounds.” 

Walker insists that instructing 

WhitneyMoore is a ‘sound financial 

choice’ for any business client. He 

explains: “As a medium-sized firm, 

WhitneyMoore is large enough to have 

the experience and resources necessary 

to provide specialist advice, yet small 

enough to retain direct partner 

involvement in all matters and keep 

our rates competitive.” 


BP SURVEY 


‘I don’t expect a dramatic recovery 

in property-related activity’ 

Peter Walsh 

Orpen Franks 

Peter Walsh (37) joined Orpen Franks 

in 1999 and was elected Managing 

Partner in March 2009. He acts for 

corporates and financial institutions 

in various projects and now increasingly 

in restructuring, enforcement 

and insolvency. Recent high-profile 

matters involving the firm include 

acting for the liquidator of the Pierse 

Group and the examinership of the 

Pilot Training College in Waterford. “We are 

particularly pleased with the success in the Commercial 

Court action in the area of pyrite damage, 

where we acted for James Elliott Construction 

against stone supplier, Irish Asphalt,” says Walsh. 

Walsh adds that commercial litigation and 

insolvency, coupled with general commercial activity 

dealing with contracts and procurement, are 

resilient. “It is these areas of practice we will be 

looking to grow. With litigation, it is a question of 

managing the cashflow and timing of payments. 

Conveyancing is still very quiet, and though there 

was an upturn in the residential market at the end 

of 2012, I certainly don’t expect a dramatic recovery 

in the property-related activity. In the debt recovery 

and insolvency arenas, we have become very active 

for financial institutions, insolvency practitioners 

and individual borrowers.” 

What attracts clients to Orpen Franks? “Capacity, 

responsiveness, accessibility, results and value,” is 

Walsh’s response, adding that the firm has recruited 

three solicitors in the past year. “We have a good 

record of retention and development of quality 

professional staff coming from the trainee 

programme through to partner level,” he adds. 

‘We are better at understanding the 

needs of our commercial clients’ 

Joanne Griffin 

Kilroys 

In January 2013, Joanne Griffin took 

over from Eamon Jones as Managing 

Partner of Kilroys, a law firm that has 

been in business for nearly 60 years. 

Griffin was a lecturer until 1996 when 

she joined Kilroys as a trainee. She 

qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and was 

appointed partner in 2003. Griffin has 

extensive expertise of dealing with 

company restructurings, 

amalgamations and mergers and the 

structures and taxation issues arising 

in connection with such transactions. 

Kilroys also advises company 

directors being pursued by the ODCE, 

and counsels clients in proceedings 

involving liquidators, receivers and 

examiners. “Commercial litigation has 

been very strong in the past 12 

months, though we see this area 

slowing in terms of new instructions,” 

says Griffin. “We have seen an increase 

in commercial instructions work in the 

insurance, retail and financial sectors.” 

Griffin says that one of Kilroys’ key 

selling points is the availability of 

partners to deal with client matters on 

a day-to-day basis. “We are primarily a 

partner driven firm and this is what 

many corporate clients look for,” she 

explains. “It means that we are better 

at understanding the needs of our 

commercial clients and we can identify 

closely with management requirements 

in our client companies.” 

In Griffin’s opinion, credit in the 

economy is extremely tight. “Cash is 

king and transactions that are 

happening involve international clients 

and are funded with cash resources 

primarily and with little leverage. In 

the final quarter of 2012 there was 

a realisation that an indefinite hold 

cannot be put on commercial 

transaction work, restructurings and 

acquisitions. There is a more upbeat, 

can-do attitude in terms of clients 

making decisions. Legal costs budgets, 

whilst still very tight, recognise the 

benefits of timely and proportionate 

legal advices.”

BP SURVEY 


‘We are seeing more activity on the lending side’ 

Sean Twomey 

Eugene F Collins 

Managing Partner Sean Twomey joined 

Eugene F Collins as a result of a merger 

with George D Fottrell and Sons in 2003. 

Twomey and David Cantrell, EFC’s boss at 

the time, were the driving forces behind the 

merger and Twomey succeeded Cantrell in 

2009. He says his role spans formulating 

the firm's strategy, developing the business 

and maintaining close links with many of 

the firm's most important clients. 

Twomey specialises in banking and 

commercial property and he has extensive 

experience in commercial property lending 

and acts for all major lending institutions. 

He also advises on lending restructurings 

and enforcement of securities, as well as 

the property aspects of mergers and 

acquisitions and of joint venture 

transactions. 

Eugene F Collins is celebrating its 120th 

year in business in 2013 and its Managing 

Partner is happy to talk up the reasons for 

the firm’s longevity. “Our firm has a long 

and established history of giving first-rate 

legal advice and exceptional client service,” 

says Twomey. “We know that our 

knowledge, coupled with our ability to 

provide relevant business-centric legal 

solutions, will help our clients to continue 

to succeed in their business. We have 

striven to attract and retain leading legal 

talent and the reputation of our partners 

reflects the expertise and professionalism 

of a long-standing firm.” 

Twomey says the firm has seen an 

increase in corporate activity. “Our capital 

markets team has been busy, giving advises 

to the likes of Johnson and Johnson, IBRC 

and Bord Gais. Our banking team is busy 

too; we are seeing more activity on the 

lending side and there are a number of 

restructurings going on. We continue to 

work with all the major banks, Nama and 

the leading insolvency practitioners. Our 

media lawyers have also dealt with a 

number of high-profile defamation cases.” 


OUR PRIORITY 

IS YOU. 

Eugene F. Collins is a partner led law firm 

which commits to partner involvement in 

managing each client's legal requirements. 

We have built our business and our reputation on the simple 

but fundamental principle of seeking at all times to give a 

first-class legal service to our clients while building solid 

and trusted relationships with clients. Visit efc.ie 

Temple Chambers 

3 Burlington Road 

Dublin 4, Ireland 

T +353 1 202 6400 

F +353 1 667 5200 

DX 25 

E lawyer@efc.ie 

W www.efc.ie 

Celebrating 120 Years in Business

BP SURVEY 


‘Today’s client is a more 

discerning customer’ 

‘Many of our clients have weathered the 

downturn in good shape’ 

Brian Gill 

Callan Tansey 

Callan Tansey is the 

largest law firm in 

Connacht, employing 

55 people at its offices 

in Sligo and Boyle. 

Brian Gill (40) has 

been Managing 

Partner since October 

2011 and he believes 

that law firms have to 

re-evaluate the traditional business model that 

sustained them in times gone by. “Today’s client 

is a more discerning customer and law firms 

must adapt or face the consequences,” he says. 

Gill adds that 2012 was challenging for the 

firm. “Thankfully our activity and instruction levels 

have held up, particularly in litigation. The early 

signs in 2013 are good. There is an increase in 

corporate advisory work as SMEs face the 

challenges of the depressed economic climate.” 

Gill describes Callan Tansey as the ‘go to’ law 

firm for both private and corporate clients in the 

North West and Connacht. “We promote a highperformance 

culture amongst our staff which is 

dedicated to securing excellent value for money 

outcomes for all our clients,” he explains. 

“We have implemented a staff performance 

programme which involves a unique 360-degree 

peer-review process, critiqued by international 

consultants. Given the increasing importance of 

risk management in the legal services sector, we 

were delighted to secure the Q6000 Gold 

Standard accreditation for risk management from 

the Irish Institute of Legal Standards & Research.” 

John C. O’Connor 

O’Connor Solicitors 

Does having a good legal firm 

strengthen a company’s chances of 

surviving a recession? Yes it does, 

according to John C. O’Connor, 

Managing Partner of O’Connor 

Solicitors in central Dublin. “Our 

business clients value the quality of 

service and cost effectiveness of the 

practice,” he says. “We seek to develop 

a close working relationship with all of 

our clients, together with a detailed 

understanding of their businesses. This 

leads to a progressive and efficient 

method of dealing with legal issues 

that arise. Many of these clients have 

weathered the economic downturn in 

good shape and we would like to think 

these factors are all connected.” 

O’Connor’s areas of expertise include 

regulatory law and he advises a 

number of governing bodies, trade 

unions and charities. “The firm has 

continued to perform strongly in the 

healthcare and regulatory areas,” 

says O’Connor. “Employment law 

and commercial leasing have been 

particularly busy and we have also seen 

additional work in the charity sector in 

anticipation of the full implementation 

of the Charities Act.” 

O’Connor believes that some 

economic green shoots are starting to 

emerge. “Landlords are now becoming 

more realistic about rental income, 

realising the danger of having property 

vacant for long periods. Therefore 

businesses are in a position to move, 

expand and develop and are no longer 

as constrained by high rents. We are 

also starting to see the first signs of 

improved credit conditions for SMEs 

and increased volumes of lending to 

individuals in connection with 

residential purchasing.”

BP SURVEY 


‘Enforcement and insolvency 

work continue to be busy’ 

David Phelan 

Hayes Solicitors 

David Phelan (38) became Managing 

Partner of Hayes Solicitors in May 

2011. He heads up the firm’s 

commercial law team and has 

specific expertise relating to the 

manufacturing and retail sectors. 

He also advises on regulatory 

matters and has represented 

numerous businesses and individuals 

in Competition Authority 

investigations and criminal prosecutions. Phelan 

also advises on intellectual property issues. 

Hayes recently represented PTSB Finance in the 

sale of an assorted loan portfolio to a European 

bank and the establishment of First Citizen Finance. 

“There are encouraging signs of M&A activity 

increasing over the last six months or so, which 

hopefully is one sign of a recovery in business 

activity,” says Phelan. “Enforcement and insolvency 

work continue to be busy, which has been a trend 

over the last few years.” 

According to Phelan, Hayes focuses on achieving 

pragmatic solutions for clients in a way that gives 

them value for money. “We are conscious that all 

businesses need to keep their legal spend to a 

minimum and we provide service to our clients on 

that basis,” he explains. “We have continued to 

grow our numbers in a measured way so as to meet 

the needs of existing clients and a number of new 

clients won over the course of the year.” 

‘The level of M&A activity in the past year 

was surprising’ 

Orlaith O’Brien 

McEvoy Partners 

Orlaith O’Brien (41) is a founding 

partner of McEvoy Partners and is 

Managing Partner. She has guided a 

number of Irish and UK companies 

through the AIM listing process and 

she works with these clients on their 

fundraisings, acquisitions and 

disposals. The boutique practice is a 

regular award winner from legal 

journals for its M&A counsel and the 

firm is also active in commercial 

property, corporate restructuring and 

litigation. 

According to O’Brien: “The level of 

M&A activity in the past year was 

surprising, given that the ability to 

obtain bank funding remains difficult. 

We have been engaged in quite a 

number of corporate restructurings and 

in M&A transactions, and also in 

advising private equity and venture 

capital investors in relation to various 

investments. Of particular note, we 

advised Mater Private Hospital in a 

joint venture arrangement in the 

opening of a new private hospital in 

Cork.” 

O’Brien says her firm takes a teambased 

approach to problem solving 

and legal advice. “The partners work 

closely with the other solicitors within 

the firm in a cost-effective team 

environment,” she says. “As many of 

our solicitors previously worked in 

large corporate firms, we provide the 

expertise and professionalism of a 

large corporate law firm combined 

with the personal service and flexibility 

associated with a smaller boutique 

firm.” 

She adds: “The firm’s ability to 

deliver practical commercial advice and 

results within deadlines, and its 

dedication and personal service to 

clients, has ensured client loyalty and 

attracted a steady stream of new 

commercial clients.” 


BP SURVEY 


‘There has been an increase 

in property transactions’ 

‘I have been surprised at the level of 

M&A activity’ 

Cómhnall Tuohy 

Kane Tuohy 

Cómhnall Tuohy 

(42) was appointed 

Managing Partner 

of Kane Tuohy on 

the founding of the 

firm in February 

2009. He specialises 

in commercial 

litigation, largescale 

debt recovery, 

enforcement of security and employment law, 

for which he has a proven reputation. 

Tuohy says the firm has benefited from 

increased activity in its insolvency, corporate 

restructuring, litigation, property and banking 

departments, resulting in new hires. “There 

has also been a notable demand for advice in 

commercial transactions and agreements, 

and in the handling of debt, both from the 

perspective of the creditor and the debtor,” 

says Tuohy. 

“There has been a significant increase in 

activity in property transactions, mostly due 

to distressed property sales. There has been 

an increase too in instructions in private 

residential property sales and purchases, along 

with an increase in landlord and tenant work, 

particularly in the food sector.” 

In Tuohy’s view, there has been no noticeable 

improvement in credit conditions in the economy, 

apart from the agricultural sector and loan restructuring. 

“The economy is still adjusting and each 

sector is different in terms of bottoming out.” 

Neil Keenan 

LKG Ballagh 

LKG Ballagh was created in 2012 by 

the merger of Lavery Kirby Gilmartin 

with partners in KMB Solicitors. The 

firm is led by Managing Partner James 

Flynn while Neil Keenan is its Head of 

Corporate and Commercial and is the 

public face of the firm. “The merger 

has resulted in us being able to 

develop a number of specialist practice 

groups within the firm,” says Keenan. 

LKG Ballagh’s clients include Eddie 

O’Connor’s Mainstream Renewable 

Power and Keenan advised on that 

company’s raising of around €60m 

from Macquaire Capital in 2012. “This 

was a complex transaction and one 

that we were delighted to have been 

involved with,” says Keenan. “The firm 

also acted in a number of substantial 

equity fundraising transactions by 

companies who have developed 

alternative energy technologies, 

including Endeco and Aer Bio. We also 

acted for the AIB Seed Capital Fund 

and the Western Development 

Commission on a range of equity 

investments and disposals.” 

Keenan adds: “We have found the 

past year particularly busy in corporate 

transactions. I have been surprised at the 

level of M&A activity, particularly disposals 

of Irish businesses to foreign investors. 

There are a lot of good early stage 

businesses raising funds at the seed and 

early stage capital stage and a number 

of VCs who are active at this level.” 

In Keenan’s view, there is an 

increased need in the Irish market for 

boutique commercial firms who are 

entrepreneurial and business focused. 

“We believe there are very few firms 

such as ours who have a track record 

in handling large and complex 

corporate transactions, as well as 

banking and finance and large 

litigation cases, without the overhead 

and additional cost that goes with a 

large commercial firm. 

“I would like to see more state and 

bank work being spread beyond the 

large city centre firms, as there are 

many firms throughout the country 

who can offer an expert and efficient 

service without the seemingly 

extraordinary costs that some of the 

larger firms seem to be charging to 

some of the state agencies.”

BP SURVEY 


‘There has been a sharp increase in professional 

indemnity claims’ 

‘The economy has just 

about touched bottom’ 

Katie da Gama 

DAC Beachcroft 

International law firm DAC Beachcroft set 

up a Dublin office five years ago, headed 

by senior partner Katie da Gama. Globally 

DAC has around 2,500 lawyers and support 

staff and the expansion into Dublin was 

prompted by demand from London market 

insurers for the establishment of an Irish 

firm that would provide a continuity of 

service. The firm specialises in insurance 

law, professional indemnity claims, injury 

matters, healthcare and clinical risk, 

commercial litigation and employment law. 

“There has been a sharp increase in 

professional indemnity claims during the 

past year,” says da Gama. “These have 

been focused on both the solicitors' 

and construction professionals’ arena. 

The volume of commercial litigation 

has increased and a key theme is claims 

against financial institutions and/or 

financial advisors connected with the 

alleged mis-selling of financial products 

and investments.” 

In the past year, DAC Beachcroft has 

recruited 13 people to bring the staff total 

in the Dublin office to 39. “We have 

expanded into two new areas of practice, 

namely injury risk fraud and employment 

law,” says da Gama. “We are a truly 

specialist, global firm and we put our clients 

at the centre of everything we do. We also 

offer innovative and flexible pricing models.” 

Daniel Hughes 

Hughes & 

Associates 

Most solicitors 

in Ireland are 

self-employed 

and Daniel Hughes 

of Hughes & 

Associates has just 

been shortlisted 

for the ‘Sole 

Practitioner of the Year’ award at the Danske 

Bank Irish Law Awards 2013. Hughes has 

developed a strong litigation practice and he 

says there has been a significant increase in 

the advices being sought by directors in their 

personal capacity. 

“Our practice provides comprehensive legal 

advice on a par with larger firms but with 

significantly reduced fees,” says Hughes. “We 

have recently relocated to new offices on 

Eustace Street in Dublin 2. We have 

implemented a new IT system with cloud 

computing, and we anticipate a significant 

growth in our practice in the next 18 months 

and a requirement for further personnel.” 

Hughes believes that the economy has just 

about touched bottom. “I am starting to see 

an appetite by clients to develop new startup 

businesses and there has been more positivity 

among clients in the last six months.” 


BP SURVEY 


To what extent have credit conditions improved 

and has the Irish economy bottomed out? 

Andrew Doyle (Maples and Calder): 

There are signals from our market which 

would draw us to the conclusion that 

there are positive times ahead for 

Ireland’s economy: 

● Increasing interest in Irish corporates 

from overseas financial investors. 

● Increased availability of credit, 

development and turnaround capital 

with the investments being made by the 

NPRF in funds managed by BlueBay, 

Better Capital and Carlyle. This could 

have a very significant effect on the 

transactional landscape. 

● An increase in corporate confidence 

in line with recovery in equity capital 

markets. 

● Ireland continues to punch well above 

its weight in attracting inward 

investment. 

We are seeing some increase in loan 

origination and in new money 

refinancings to existing clients. Obviously 

the banks are being prudent in relation to 

some existing clients in restructuring 

debt appropriately to the reality of the 

situation. We are also seeing some fresh 

credit being provided by Nama/IBRC in 

appropriate circumstances. 

Neil Keenan (LKG Ballagh): All the 

indications are that the economy has 

touched bottom and that a slow 

improvement has started. There has 

definitely been an increase in business 

startups and corporate activity, in 

inward investment and even in property 

activity in certain areas. The macro 

indicators such as the slight rise in 

house prices in Dublin, the stabilisation 

in the unemployment numbers and the 

limited return to the bond markets are 

all positive. 

I am finding that there has only been 

a very limited improvement in credit 

conditions. The SME sector to which I 

have a substantial exposure through my 

presidency of the Dún Laoghaire 

Rathdown Chamber of Commerce is 

still struggling to get credit. Our clients 

are also finding that decisions by banks 

are slow and the terms of facilities 

difficult to negotiate, and that lenders 

are slow to agree deals that are quite 

obviously in the best interests of the 

borrower and the bank. However, there 

does appear to be an increased appetite 

to provide credit to certain sectors, such 

as the renewable energy sector. 

John White (Beauchamps): Credit 

conditions for businesses, particularly 

SMEs, continue to be very tough. There 

is no real sense of banks lending any 

more than they did this time last year, or 

indeed credit conditions easing. More 

trust and increased credit has returned 

to trading arrangements between 

corporates because the weaker players in 

many industries have gone into 

receivership or liquidation. Banks are 

now more willing to facilitate 

restructuring plans and this is an 

encouraging sign. 

Demand is certainly increasing for 

centrally located commercial property 

space and Beauchamps has seen the 

number of international referrals double 

in the last year. This is a strong 

indication that outside the country, at 

least, the bottom is being called. 

Catherine Guy (ByrneWallace): The 

retail sector is currently under significant 

pressure. Many multiunit retailers are 

having difficulties in negotiating more 

manageable lease terms and rental 

payments with landlords. Other sectors 

that are also in difficulty include services 

and construction. Five of the top ten 

construction companies have become 

insolvent since 2007 and that has 

resulted in a significant knock-on effect 

on suppliers and subcontractors. 

However, activity levels on the 

transactional side have been creeping up 

over the last six months and we are very 

confident that this acceleration will 

continue. 

 

LKG Ballagh is a dynamic and entrepreneurial law 

firm that will deliver a results focused and Partner 

led service. 

Find out more and see our impressive track record 

and client testimonials at lkgballagh.ie 

Partners pictured from left to right: 

James Flynn Head of Private Client, 

David Ballagh Head of Commercial Property, 

Agatha Taylor Head of Litigation, 

Neil Keenan Head of Corporate and Commercial. 

lkgballagh.ie | Tel: 01 231 1430 

The Forum, 29-31 Glasthule Road, Glasthule, Co Dublin. 

Consultation Rooms at Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2.

BP SURVEY 


Brian Gill (Callan Tansey): Overall, the 

credit squeeze remains tight for 

corporate clients. Over the last two 

years the government’s focus has been 

on improving its own credit lines to the 

outside world. The focus now needs to 

shift to the domestic market and a more 

robust approach needs to be adopted 

with the banks regarding the flow of 

credit to business. Consumer 

confidence has not yet improved, 

hampered no doubt by the scourges of 

high unemployment and high personal 

debt. The impact of the public sector 

pay talks will also play a key role in 

shaping the economic landscape during 

this coming year. 

Mark Thorne (Dillon Eustace): Credit 

conditions for our clients have improved 

significantly. Over the last year we have 

seen additional credit available from 

Irish and non-Irish banks, and indeed 

non-bank lenders, particularly in the 

area of healthcare and nursing home 

development. We have also seen a 

number of international banks looking 

to finance acquisitions of distressed 

commercial property-backed loan 

portfolios, and again we see this to be a 

very positive sign. 

Sean Twomey (Eugene F Collins): We 

are seeing a number of restructurings 

taking place. This would involve 

refinancing and this seems to be 

available. The credit conditions would 

not be as favourable as before, as the 

banks are looking for higher margins, 

but credit is slowly coming back to the 

‘Clients are 

looking forward 

rather than 

standing still’ 

market. I think Ireland’s economy has 

reached the bottom. All the economic 

indicators are heading the right way. 

We still have a lot of work and 

adjustment to do but there seems to be 

light at the end of the tunnel. 

Alan Murphy (Eversheds): We believe 

the austerity measures have helped to 

restore international confidence in 

the Irish economy. The perception of 

Ireland abroad is very positive and 

international clients respect the efforts 

Ireland is making in dealing with its 

problems. There is definitely a 

perception internationally that Ireland 

is starting to recover and is the 

standout achieving economy among 

the bailout countries. Lending 

conditions remain tight, though we are 

seeing movement in credit facilities by 

lending institutions to trading 

companies in food, manufacturing and 

technology sectors. Other forms of 

investment, such as private equity, 

funds and private investors, are taking 

precedent. 

Michael Lavelle (Lavelle Coleman): 

Credit conditions have shown some 

improvement. In the past year, we have 

seen an increase in property purchases 

and there is evidence of more stability. 

Clients seem to be more likely to look 

at business and investment 

opportunities. There are fewer job 

losses, less instructions in redundancy 

related employment issues and 

evidence of some clients creating jobs. 

Clients are looking forward rather than 

standing still. Ireland remains a 

destination of choice for foreign 

investors and Ireland Inc is still very 

much open for business. Lavelle 

Coleman is seeing increased activity in 

the technology sector in particular and 

is advising companies on establishing 

businesses in Ireland. 

David Phelan (Hayes Solicitors): 

Based on what we hear from clients, 

credit conditions haven’t significantly 

improved over the past year and good, 

strong businesses continue to have 

difficulty in having the banks engage 

with them as they would want. 

However, there definitely seems to 

be more of a feeling of optimism now 

that we have turned a corner than any 

other time over the last couple of 

years. The strong retail sector 

performance in December, an upturn 

in levels of merger and acquisition 

activity and increasing activity (and in 

some cases values) in the residential 

property market all appear 

encouraging. 


BP SURVEY 


Hugh Garvey (LK Shields): The fact 

that Ireland is once more seen as a 

location in which there is value to be 

had is a very welcome development. 

That perception, combined with an 

environment where there is less 

uncertainty internationally, has led to 

greater levels of commercial activity 

and a greater sense of optimism. 

However, it is no secret that the 

domestic economy remains challenging. 

Conditions for the availability of credit 

have improved for those (often foreignbased) 

seeking to invest in the Irish 

economy compared with credit 

availability for those conducting business 

in the economy. 

Emer Gilvarry (Mason Hayes & 

Curran): There is greater confidence in 

Ireland at the moment. Conditions seem 

to have stabilised and businesses can 

plan more efficiently. We are unlikely to 

see hockey stick growth in the near 

future but many organisations are just 

happy to have stability. The international 

perception is very different to the local 

view, as Ireland is seen as a land of 

opportunity at the moment by global 

investors. Ireland still has the same 

great benefits of an educated work force, 

good corporate tax rate and strong 

business culture, but now has a reduced 

cost base, which makes it extremely 

attractive for investment. Investors are 

seeing real value now in Irish assets and 

recent sales such as the Gasworks 

building and Bank of Ireland HQ 

demonstrate that people are willing to 

invest if the price is right. 

‘The international 

perception is very 

different to the 

local view’ 

John Cronin (McCann FitzGerald): For 

small companies and businesses it 

continues to be difficult to raise finance. 

For large PLCs the refinancing of 

facilities is difficult but such deals are 

being completed. For such PLCs and 

certain state/semi-state organisations the 

US private placement market is open. 

Orlaith O’Brien (McEvoy Partners): The 

ability to obtain credit remains difficult 

for our clients and we haven’t seen any 

major change over the last year. One 

would think that there is a lot of good 

value to be had for property investors 

but we haven’t really seen too many 

foreign investors coming in to snap up 

bargains. Perhaps there is a perception 

among such investors that even a modest 

rise in interest rates could have a 

material impact on borrowers’ ability to 

cope. In such circumstances, property 

prices could drop even further. Having 

said that, there are some positive signs. 

Peter Walsh (Orpen Franks): Our 

traditional industries of food and 

tourism show great potential for growth 

and I believe producers and providers in 

this area are becoming very attuned to 

this. Recent concerns over food safety 

and provenance heightens the 

importance of this area and creates 

opportunity for native producers. 

Transactional activity in the nonproperty 

arena is okay but it is primarily 

operating in circumstances where there 

are no funding requirements from 

domestic banks. I would not be planning 

our own business around the likelihood 

of an increase in transactional activity. 

Myra Garrett (William Fry): There are 

welcome signs that the Irish economy 

has turned a corner with employment 

and house prices stabilising and Irish 

medium-term bond yields rallying from 

over 8% in early 2012 to under 4% 

currently. The inroads made by the 

government in restructuring our 

sovereign debt repayments are very 

positive and the international 

community has been impressed by the 

Irish reaction to the crisis. There is 

definite increase in transactional activity 

as well as more interest from 

international investors in Irish property 

assets and in acquisitions of Irish 

corporates. 

There has been a steady increase in 

the provision of new or refinanced credit 

facilities for cash-generative corporate 

business. We have seen both Irish pillar 

banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, as well 

as foreign banks such as Barclays and 

Rabobank providing finance facilities, 

including acquisition finance. 


COMPANY PROFILE 

ROCHFORD BRADY GROUP 

Information As You Need it 

Supported by a vastly experienced searching team, Rochford Brady 

offers a comprehensive package for your legal information requirements 

At Rochford Brady we provide our clients with evolving solutions to 

enable access to complex and technical property data relating to 

specific sites for use in Commercial Development, Infrastructure 

Projects and Renewable Energy. 

When investigating sites for development, 

our clients must access a range of data 

on the site for feasibility, scoping, 

planning and acquisition. Traditionally 

this data is accessible although often 

from diverse sources and our clients 

must then undertake the timeconsuming 

and cumbersome task of 

appraising the data and manually 

assembling titles and reports. 

At Rochford Brady, we have innovated 

the way that our clients order and 

assemble this information by 

developing a new land-referencing 

mapping tool. It’s easily navigated, and 

layers of information can be turned on 

and off to allow clear interpretation 

of the data in the context of the site. 

Detailed reports are linked to the map 

as PDF documents and are available by 

simply selecting a location on the map. 

Land referencing brings together a 

comprehensive suite of property data 

from diverse sources and combines 

them behind an interactive GIS map 

providing a powerful tool that improves 

the efficiency and effectiveness of 

interpreting the site data, and enhances 

information governance and data 

management. 

Rochford Brady can carry out 

planning and licensing searches 

in all counties, and search in all 

registries, including: 

Companies Registration Office 

Registry of friendly societies 

Closing searches 

Copy folio/file plans 

Folio inspections 

Registry of deeds 

Licensing 

Planning 

Probate 

Sheriffs' offices 

Title registration 

Birth, marriage & death certificates 

Mapping searches 

Town agency 

Judgments Office 

Bankruptcy 

Credit reports 

UK Companies House 

Worldwide company searches 

Fitness and probity searches 

CONTACT DETAILS 

For more information, contact 

our sales team on 01 707 6200. 


BP SURVEY 


LISTING DATA 

Partner and solicitor numbers 

are for Ireland only and are 

sourced from the Law Society 

Directory 2012. Practice 

descriptions are drawn from 

the law firms’ websites and 

submissions. 

Law Firms 

Who’s Who 

Arthur Cox 

www.arthurcox.com 

Partners/Solicitors: 232 

Managing Partner: Brian 

O’Gorman 

Arthur Cox is all-island firm, with 

offices in Dublin and Belfast. The 

firm also has offices in London, 

New York and Silicon Valley. 

Ciarán Bolger is taking over 

from Eugene McCague as 

chairman of Arthur Cox 

this May 

Recent awards include Legal 

Adviser of the Year for Ireland 

2012, for the sixth consecutive year 

(FT/Mergermarket), and Republic of 

Ireland Law Firm of the Year 2012 

at the Lawyer European Awards. In 

2012, Arthur Cox established a 

presence in Silicon Valley. The firm 

recently announced that Ciarán 

Bolger has been appointed 

chairman with effect from 1 May. 

He succeeds Eugene McCague, 

who returns to full-time client work 

having served for two terms as 

chairman. 

Matheson 

www.matheson.com 


Managing Partner: Liam Quirke 

Matheson has offices in Dublin, 

London, New York and Palo Alto. 

The primary focus of Matheson is 

to serve the Irish legal needs of 

international companies and 

financial institutions doing business 

in and through Ireland. Clients 

include 27 of the world’s 50 largest 

banks and more than half of the 

Fortune 100 companies. The firm is 

headquartered in Dublin and also 

has offices in London, New York 

and Palo Alto. It recently won the 

‘Client Choice’ award for Ireland 

2013, International Law Office, for 

the seventh time. Matheson was 

the first law firm to be recognised 

as one of the ‘50 Best Workplaces 

in Ireland’. 

A&L Goodbody 

www.algoodbody.com 


Managing Partner: Julian Yarr 

Headquartered in Dublin, with 

offices in Belfast, London, New 

York and Palo Alto, A&L Goodbody 

has a total staff of 580. The firm 

advises domestic and global 

corporations, financial institutions, 

intermediaries and government. 

The focus on the international 

market is evident by the level of 

instructions from a number of 

jurisdictions across the globe. In 

2012 the firm was awarded Irish 

Law Firm of the Year (Chambers 

Europe); No.1 Irish M&A Law Firm 

(Mergermarket, Bloomberg, 

Thomson Reuters) and it is the 

only Irish law firm to be ranked in 

Tier 1 in all practice areas by the 

International Financial Law 

Review. Nine new partners were 

announced by the firm in the past 

12 months. 

McCann FitzGerald 

www.mccannfitzgerald.ie 


Chairman: John Cronin 

McCann FitzGerald’s recent 

awards include Law Firm of the 

Year 2012 (International Financial 

Law Review); Ireland Client 

Service Law Firm of the Year 2012 

(Chambers Europe); and Ireland’s 

Most Innovative Law Firm 2012 

(FT Innovative European Lawyers 

report). Notable deals involving 

the firm over the past year include 

Pepper Home Loans acquisition of 

GE Money’s Irish mortgage 

business; joint venture between

BP SURVEY 


Vodafone Ireland and Three 

Ireland; Petroceltic’s merger with 

Melrose Resources; separation of 

Shannon Airport from the Dublin 

Airport Authority; €1.1bn bond 

issue by ESB; examinership of 

eircom; and acquisition of Cooper 

Industries by New Eaton Ltd. 

The firm has funded the new 

position of McCann FitzGerald 

Chair of Corporate Law at Trinity 

College Dublin. “This reflects our 

commitment to the culture of 

learning and continuous 

improvement,” says Chairman 

John Cronin. McCanns also funds 

early learning and legal aid 

programmes in the Docklands 

area where it is based. Inside the 

firm, five new partners were 

appointed while all 48 new 

qualifiers have been retained. 

William Fry 

www.williamfry.ie 


Managing Partner: Myra Garrett 

William Fry is one of Ireland’s 

largest corporate law firms and 

has been firmly established in the 

top tier for many decades. Clients 

include many of the leading 

global and domestic companies 

operating in Ireland, government 

bodies, financial institutions and 

entrepreneurs. Recent awards 

include Law Firm of the Year 2012 

(Irish Law Awards); Best Firm for 

Women in Business 2012 

(Euromoney Law Awards); Most 

Innovative Deal for the financial 

restructuring of the Quinn Group 

and sale of Quinn Insurance 

(Finance Dublin Awards). In the 

past six months the firm has 

created 46 new positions, ranging 

from partner level through to 25 

new entrants into the Trainee 

Programme. In September 2012, 

the firm opened an office in 

London headed by senior 

corporate partner, Stephen Keogh. 

“We are client focused, results 

driven and consistently deliver an 

excellent service,” says Managing 

Partner Myra Garrett. 

Mason Hayes & Curran 

ww.mhc.ie 


Managing Partner: Emer 

Gilvarry 

Mason Hayes & Curran says it is 

the fastest-growing full-service law 

firm in Ireland with personnel 

numbers and revenues doubling in 

the last decade. The firm’s buoyant 

practice areas span technology, 

financial services, energy, 

healthcare, employment, insolvency 

and litigation. “At the very core of 

our firm is a deep and intuitive 

understanding of the technology 

sector and this spreads across a 

variety of practice areas, from 

strategic commercial agreements 

to tax structures for large blue chip 

organisations,” explains Managing 

Partner, Emer Gilvarry. “Technology 

is a competency that we have 

developed over many decades both 

in our work practices and legal 

services. We see ourselves at the 

heart of the new economy, where 

business and technology connect.” 

ByrneWallace 

www.byrnewallace.com 


Managing Partner: Catherine 

Guy 

The firm positions itself as a 

partner of choice for privately 

owned indigenous firms. “We have 

an extensive understanding of this 

market and the conditions in which 

it operates,” says Managing 

Partner Catherine Guy. “We have 

worked with many companies 

since their inception and some of 

our clients have been with us for 

over 20 years, a strong testament 

to the quality and adaptability of 

our service offering.” In the past 

year, ByrneWallace has taken on a 

number of junior and senior 

solicitors to meet the increased 

levels of activity. “We continue to 

be very active in both general 

business advisory work and in the 

smart economy sector,” says Guy. 

“Understanding what clients want 

and need has never been more 

continued on page 84 

Hughes & Associates 

Solicitors 

● 

● 

● 

● 

● 

Commercial Litigation & Insolvency 

Debt Recovery & Litigation 

Corporate & Commercial 

Bankruptcy Law 

Employment Law 

DAC Beachcroft Dublin 

An International Law Firm in Dublin 

Insurance, professional indemnity, defendant personal injury, 

health, commercial litigation and employment. 

DAC Beachcroft Dublin is part of the DAC Beachcroft Group, 

a leading international law firm with coverage across the UK, 

Europe, Asia- Pacific, North and Latin America. 

T: +353 1 231 9600 

www.dacbeachcroft.com/dublin 

Hughes & Associates Solicitors 

Meeting House Square 

13 Eustace Street 

Dublin 2 

Tel: 01 891 0020 

Fax: 01 891 0021 

Web: www.hughessolicitors.ie 

Email: info@hughessolicitors.ie 

Auckland · Birmingham · Bristol · Dublin · Edinburgh · Glasgow · Leeds · London · Madrid · Manchester 

Mexico City · Newcastle · Newport · Santiago · Singapore · Wellington · Winchester

BP SURVEY 


A new trend in law firms is Of Counsel, i.e. lawyers who are 

employed but who are not partners or associates. At 

Beauchamps, Felix McTiernan (right) has been appointed 

Of Counsel in the firm’s litigation practice. Also pictured is 

Managing Partner John White 

important. Focusing on quality, 

efficiency and experience is a key 

part of our service.” 

Eversheds 

www.eversheds.ie 


Managing Partner: Alan Murphy 

A full-service international law 

firm, Eversheds offers a range of 

multi-jurisdictional offerings across 

26 countries with a single point of 

contact. Practice areas include 

corporate and commercial, life 

sciences, banking, healthcare, 

employment, pensions, litigation, 

energy and funds. Firm-specific 

global products span company 

secretarial services, international 

real estate management services, 

and international data protection 

management services. In the past 

year the firm has appointed three 

new partners: Darragh Blake 

(banking and finance); Pamela 

O’Neill (commercial litigation); and 

Ian Devlin (financial services and 

pensions). The firm has also 

formalised its data protection team 

headed by Kate Colleary. 

Beauchamps 

www.beauchamps.ie 


Managing Partner: John White 

John White became managing 

partner in September 2011. A few 

months later the firm acquired 

Landwell Solicitors, the Irish 

branch of the international 

network of corporate law firms 

connected to PwC. This year the 

firm has acquired the practice of 

Felix McTiernan Solicitors. The firm 

is in growth mode and over the 

past two years the number of 

solicitors in Beauchamps has 

increased from 50 to 70. 

Dillon Eustace 

www.dilloneustace.ie 

Partners/ Solicitors: 68 

Managing Partner: Mark Thorne 

The firm’s key practice areas 

include financial services, banking, 

capital markets, corporate M&A, 

litigation, dispute resolution, real 

estate and taxation. The firm has a 

global outlook and reach with 

offices in Dublin, Tokyo, Hong 

Kong and New York. The firm has 

also established an office in the 

Cayman Islands, providing 

Cayman law financial services and 

litigation advice to its extensive 

financial services client base. The 

firm has been heavily involved in 

the acquisition and financing of 

very significant non-performing 

loan and distressed loan portfolios 

in the past 12 months and 

advising numerous international 

clients in relation to acquisitions 

of Irish corporates, real estate and 

financial assets. 

Maples and Calder 

www.maplesandcalder.com 


Managing Partner: Andrew 

Doyle 

Maples and Calder is the first 

international law firm to seriously 

target the full-service offerings of 

the large domestic firms. Maples 

in Dublin now comprises over 

200 people and notable 

developments in 2012 included 

the hiring of insurance litigator 

Peter Lennon and the 

establishment of an Advocacy 

Service, offering clients the option 

of bypassing junior counsel in 

court litigation. Says Managing 

Partner Andrew Doyle: “Our 

objective in Ireland is not to be 

the largest law firm; it is to be, 

and to be known as, the law firm 

of excellence in our chosen areas 

of expertise and we believe we 

deliver on this objective. “ 

Ronan Daly Jermyn 

www.rdj.ie 


Managing Partner: Richard 

Martin 

Ronan Daly Jermyn has total 

personnel of 150. It is the largest 

regional law firm in Ireland with 

offices in Cork and Galway. RDJ 

firm represents local, national 

and international clients engaged 

in a wide range of activities, as 

well as public sector bodies and 

governmental agencies. The main 

areas of commercial practice 

include corporate, M&A, inward 

investment, IT and e-commerce, 

tax, intellectual property, 

employment, insolvency and debt 

recovery, banking and finance, 

media, construction and 

procurement, commercial property, 

litigation, insurance and 

professional indemnity. The firm 

received the Chambers Europe 

Client Service Award for Ireland 

and was named Irish Insurance 

Law Firm of the Year 2012 by 

Acquisition International.

BP SURVEY 


Eugene F Collins 

www.efc.ie 


Managing Partner: Sean Twomey 

Two recent important partner 

appointments at Eugene F Collins 

have been Joanne Finn, head of the 

EU, Competition and Regulated 

Markets group, and Sharon 

McCaffrey, who specialises in 

corporate work. “These strategic 

appointments add to our capacity 

to provide first-class advice to our 

clients and reflects the increase in 

corporate activity,” says Managing 

Partner Sean Twomey. “We 

continue to be involved in a 

number of high-profile litigation 

cases. We have acted for virtually 

all accountants that take insolvency 

appointments and we have been 

involved in every significant 

insolvency case this year.” 

LK Shields 

www.lkshields.ie 


Managing Partner: Hugh Garvey 

The firm provides legal advice on all 

aspects of commercial-related 

ventures and disputes. The work of 

the business, litigation and dispute 

resolution, and commercial property 

departments are complemented by 

dedicated units in disciplines 

including banking and financial 

services; corporate restructuring 

and insolvency; employment, 

pensions and employee benefits; 

EU, competition and regulated 

markets; intellectual property; and 

technology. Says Managing Partner 

Hugh Garvey: “Over the past year 

our expertise, experience and focus 

on the provision of a high-quality 

service has served us well and 

assisted us to achieve some 

significant business wins. This year 

we celebrate 25 years in business.” 

Hayes solicitors 

www.hayes-solicitors.ie 


Managing Partner: David Phelan 

Hayes solicitors is a corporate and 

commercial law firm, dealing also 

in the areas of employment, 

media law, healthcare, property 

and family law. Managing Partner 

David Phelan is a member of the 

Business Law Committee of the 

Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, 

tutors in commercial law, is a 

registered trade mark agent and a 

member of the Business 

Opportunities Task Force of Dublin 

Chamber of Commerce. 

Holmes O’Malley Sexton 

www.homs.ie 


Managing Partner: Harry Fehily 

The firm is based in Limerick and 

has an office in Dublin, where the 

firm is focused on expanding. 

WhitneyMoore 

www.whitneymoore.ie 


Managing Partner: Stephen 

Walker 

WhitneyMoore is a wellestablished 

Dublin law firm with a 

culture of providing consistently 

high-quality legal advice promptly, 

efficiently and cost effectively. The 

firm has particular expertise in 

corporate and commercial advice, 

employment, insolvency and 

corporate recovery, intellectual 

property, litigation, private client 

and property. WM is particularly 

recognised for its work in the 

automotive, aviation, medical 

devices, pharmaceutical, renewable 

energy, natural resources and 

technology sectors. 

DAC Beachcroft 

www.dacbeachcroft.com 


Managing Partner: Katie da 

Gama 

The Dublin office of international 

law firm DAC Beachcroft opened 

in March 2009 and has grown to 

its current size of 39 people, 

including 12 partners. The firm 

specialises in insurance law, 

professional indemnity claims, 

injury matters, healthcare and 


BP SURVEY 


clinical risk, commercial litigation 

and employment law. 

Lavelle Coleman 

www.lavellecoleman.ie 


Managing Partner: Michael 

Lavelle 

The firm is renowned for its 

litigation expertise, particularly class 

actions, covering various areas of 

general, professional negligence 

and commercial litigation. 

Employment law is another 

specialty, and general commercial 

work. According to managing 

partner Michael Lavelle: “The firm 

is receiving more and more 

instructions from banks and other 

financial institutions. The firm’s 

litigation practice is continuing to 

grow and the firm has specialised 

in many multi-party actions in 

recent years.” 

McDowell Purcell 

www.mcdowellpurcell.ie 


Managing Partner: Thomas 

O’Malley 

The firm acts for financial 

institutions, professional regulatory 

bodies, public and privately owned 

companies, property developers, 

renewable energy developers, 

liquidators, receivers and private 

clients. 

Walkers Ireland 

www.walkersglobal.com 


Managing Partner: Garry 

Ferguson 

Walkers was established in Dublin 

in 2010 and is part of a global law 

firm that has a presence in the 

British Virgin Islands, Delaware, 

Dubai, Hong Kong, Jersey, London 

and Singapore, with over 500 staff 

employed. In Dublin, the primary 

focus is funds and financial services, 

including capital markets and 

aviation finance and related 

taxation issues. The Dublin office 

has eight partners, five Of Counsel 

and 17 other fee earners. 

Callan Tansey 

www.callantansey.ie 


Managing Partner: Brian Gill 

Callan Tansey is the largest law 

firm in Connacht, employing 55 

people at its offices in Sligo and 

Boyle. Brian Gill has been 

Managing Partner since October 

2011 and he says that the 

changing face of the legal market 

means that law firms have to 

radically evaluate the traditional 

business model that sustained 

them in times gone by. “Today’s 

client is a more discerning 

customer and law firms must 

adapt or face the consequences,” 

says Gill. 

Orpen Franks 

www.orpenfranks.ie 


Managing Partner: Peter Walsh 

The firm’s activities centre on the 

litigation, commercial and 

insolvency arenas. It operates on a 

full-service basis and has 

expanded its services in the area 

of insolvency and recovery, and 

security enforcement. Managing 

Partner Peter Walsh says the firm’s 

key attributes are capacity, 

responsiveness, accessibility, 

results and value. 

O’Connor Solicitors 

www.oclegal.ie 


Managing Partner: John C. 

O’Connor 

O’Connor Solicitors advises 

numerous professional bodies and 

also has a broad range of 

commercial clients. The firm has a 

Regulatory Law department and 

increased staff numbers to deal 

with rising demand in the 

regulatory and employment law 

practice areas. 

Kilroys 

www.kilroys.ie 


Managing Partner: Joanne 

Griffin 

Kilroys is the Irish member firm of 

the International Alliance of Law 

Firms, an international association 

of medium-sized commercial law 

firms. “It has continued to be 

advantageous to our clients doing 

business outside Ireland in that 

we are able to refer them quickly 

to colleagues in the Alliance,” says 

the firm’s new Managing Partner, 

Joanne Griffin. “It has also been 

beneficial for inward referrals 

from Alliance clients wishing to do 

business in Ireland.” 

McEvoy Partners 

www.mcevoypartners.ie 


Managing Partners: Orlaith 

O’Brien, June Hynes 

Niche commercial practice with 

expertise in M&A, capital markets, 

insolvency, corporate restructuring 

and commercial litigation, 

particularly in banking and 

property-related matters. 

Kane Tuohy 

www.kanetuohy.ie 


Managing Partner: Cómhnall 

Tuohy 

The firm says it is benefiting from 

a general appetite from the 

business sector to resolve or 

deal with individual issues, which 

is providing some momentum in 

the market and more business 

positivity. According to Managing 

Partner Cómhnall Tuohy: “We 

have joined an international legal 

network which has led to an 

expansion in commercial enquiries 

and activity. We have increased 

turnover on a year-on-year basis 

while staff size has also 

increased.” 

Leman 

www.leman.ie 


Managing Partner: Larry 

Fenelon 

Leman was established in 2007. 

The firm has corporate and 

commercial, commercial property, 

dispute resolution and 

employment teams. It focuses on 

ICT, data, sport, retail, education, 

professional services, land 

development and inward 

investment. The firm has added 

one partner, three solicitors 

and one trainee in the last 12

BP SURVEY 


months. It received the ‘Q’ Mark 

in 2012 and received the ILO 

‘International Client Choice’ 

award in 2013. 

LKG Ballagh 

www.lkgballagh.ie 


Managing Partner: James Flynn 

LKG Ballagh was created in 

2012 by the merger of LKG 

Solicitors with partners in KMB 

Solicitors. The firm has acted on 

complex, high-value corporate 

transactions and in 2012 advised 

Mainstream Renewable Power on 

various corporate transactions, 

including a €60m fundraise from 

Macquarie Capital. “The firm 

punches above its weight in the 

calibre of its clients and the 

transactions which it has 

handled,” says corporate partner 

Neil Keenan. 

Hughes & Associates 

www.hughessolicitors.ie 


Managing Partner: Daniel 

Hughes 

Principal Daniel Hughes is a 

litigation expert, particularly in the 

insolvency arena. The practice 

recently relocated to new offices 

close to the Four Courts and has 

upgraded its IT system. Hughes 

has been shortlisted for the ‘Sole 

Practitioner of the Year’ award at 

the forthcoming Danske Bank Irish 

Law Awards 2013. 

Clerkin Lynch 

www.clerkinlynch.com 

Partners: 2 

Partners: Niall Clerkin, Kevin 

Lynch 

The firm is now in its fifth year 

and reports another year of 

growth. The firm has been 

involved in a number of Supreme 

Court Appeals this year in 

addition to its continued growth 

in the commercial law aspect of 

the practice, which focuses on 

owner-led and family-owned 

businesses. 

Other Law Firms With Commercial Focus 

Crowley Millar 

www.crowleymillar.com 

Doherty Ryan 

www.dohertyryan.com 

Eames Solicitors 

www.eames.ie 

Flynn O’Driscoll 

www.fod.ie 

Gartlan Furey 

www.gartlanfurey.ie 

Gleeson McGrath Baldwin 

www.gmgb.ie 

Gore & Grimes 

www.goregrimes.ie 

Hayes McGrath 

www.hayesmcgrath.ie 

Holohan Solicitors 

www.holohanlaw.com 

Holme Roberts & Owen 

www.hro.ie 

Ivor Fitzpatrick & Co. 

www.ivorfitzpatrick.ie 

McGuire Desmond 

www.mcguiredesmond.com 

McKeever Rowan 

www.mckr.ie 

Murray Flynn Maguire 

www.murrayflynn.ie 

Noel Smyth & Partners 

www.nspartners.ie 

O’Rourke Reid 

www.orourkereid.com 

Philip Lee 

www.philiplee.ie 

Reddy Charlton McKnight 

www.rcmck.com 

Vincent Beatty & Co 

www.vblaw.ie 

Waters & Associates 

www.watersandassociates.ie 

William J Brennan & Co. 

www.williamjbrennan.com 

INNOVATIVE 

COST EFFECTIVE 

SPECIALISTS 

● International Business 

● ICT 

● Retail 

● Sport 

● Professional Services 

● Education 

● Land Development 

SERVICES 

● Business 

● Property 

● Disputes 

● Employment 

WHY US? 

Leman Solicitors, 8-34 Percy Place, Dublin 4 

Tel: +353 1 639 3000 www.leman.ie 

Your 

Business 

is 

Our 

Business 

Corporate & Commercial 

Corporate Recovery 

Commercial Disputes 

& Litigation 

Intellectual Property 

Employment Law 

Private Client 

Property 

Contact: Stephen Walker, Therese Rochford or Mark Ryan 

Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland 

T: +353 1 611 0000 F: +353 1 611 0090 

E: ecomms@whitneymoore.ie W: www.whitneymoore.ie

Law Firms Who's Who - Business Plus Online

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?