LAW FIRMS WHO’S WHO
LISTING DATA
Solicitor numbers are for Ireland only and are sourced from the Law Society, effective December 2021, and some of the firms themselves.
MATHESON
Solicitors: 308
Mng. Partner: Michael Jackson
Matheson is Ireland’s largest law firm by solicitor numbers. The firm has six offices in Ireland and abroad employing c.775 people, including 105 partners and tax principals and over 530 legal, tax and digital services professionals. Matheson services the legal needs of internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland.
ARTHUR COX
Solicitors: 304
Mng. Partner: Geoff Moore
Arthur Cox has offices in Dublin, Belfast, London, New York and Silicon Valley. The practice encompasses all aspects of corporate and business law, and the firm has 530 legal staff and a total headcount of 740 people. The firm recently appointed Darragh Geraghty to head up the New York office, while Conor McCarthy is taking charge of the London office.
A&L GOODBODY
Solicitors: 299
Mng. Partner: David Widger
Yarr, who was managing partner for 12 years. Widger was head of ALG’s corporate department and joined the firm as a trainee. The firm has announced plans to redevelop its existing offices at North Wall Quay in Dublin.
MASON HAYES & CURRAN
Solicitors: 278
Mng. Partner: Declan Black
The firm was formed through a merger in 1970 and has offices in Dublin, London, New York and San Francisco. Lawyer numbers grew by 7% in 2021 and six new partners joined from other domestic and international firms. MHC has total staff in excess of 500 and is now the fourth largest in Ireland by lawyer numbers. Key focus areas are energy, technology, financial services, built environment, healthcare and life sciences.
McCANN FITZGERALD
Solicitors: 273
Mng. Partner: Stephen Holst
The firm has over 600 employees across offices in Dublin, London, New York and Brussels, and M&A is a pillar of the firm’s expertise. New managing partner Stephen Holst has specialist skills in whistleblowing and investigations into protected disclosures and white-collar crime. The firm advised Fulfil Nutrition on its recent sale to Ferrero Group, and advised AIB on its acquisition of the Ulster Bank commercial banking division. In 2021 the firm counselled AerCap on the purchase of GECAS, and Beauparc on its sale to Macquarie.
WILLIAM FRY
Solicitors: 188
Mng. Partner: Owen O’Sullivan As well as offices in Dublin, Cork and London, the firm has a presence in New York, Silicon Valley and San Francisco. William Fry employs c.320 legal and tax professionals and has over 460 staff. Recent M&A deals include advising on the disposal of Davy, advising on the acquisition of UDG Healthcare by CD&R, and advising the Department of Finance on the sale of its Bank of Ireland shares. M&A specialist Liam Arthur has joined as a partner from London firm Proskauer.
BYRNEWALLACE
Solicitors: 150
Mng. Partner: Feargal Brennan
Mason Hayes & Curran in 2021, and strengthened the leadership team with the promotion of eight new partners. The firm recently outlined plans to recruit 100 mainly professional staff over the next two years to cope with expanding demand in areas such as information and data management, cybercrime, tax, and infrastructural development. “I expect our current headcount of c.300 to increase to over 600 in the next five years,” says Feargal Brennan.
MAPLES AND CALDER
Solicitors: 112
Mng. Partner: Peter Stapleton
The firm provides legal, fund and fiduciary services across five legal jurisdictions and has 18 global locations. Maples Group globally has c.350 lawyers and 2,100 staff, and in Dublin the firm has c.430 employees. New managing partner Peter Stapleton was previously head of the firm’s Funds & Investment Management group. He has specific expertise relating to financial services law, including ESG matters and sustainable finance initiatives, and advises some of the world’s largest managers, funds and financial institutions in that space.
EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND
Solicitors: 111
Mng. Partner: Alan Connell
Eversheds Sutherland is the largest and most established global law firm in Ireland, and employs c.280 people in Dublin and c.20 people in Belfast. The firm has 75 offices in 35 countries, including eight offices in the US. The strategy is to be ‘a one-stop-shop’ for clients expanding their operations in and from Ireland. The firm recently appointed five senior associates and four associates to its lawyer group at its Dublin and Belfast offices, while Deborah Archer was appointed Banking and Finance partner in the Belfast office.
RONAN DALY JERMYN
Solicitors: 104
Mng. Partner: Richard Martin
RDJ has a team of over 250 people and has offices in Cork, Dublin, Galway and London. It represent clients across a number of sectors, including scaling and established Irish companies, multinationals, financial institutions and global insurance companies. RDJ is affiliated with Lawyers Associated Worldwide, an international network of more than 100 independent law firms. The firm effected five partnership promotions in 2021.
DILLON EUSTACE
Solicitors: 89
Mng. Partner: Donnacha O’Connor
The firm has a focus on asset management and investment funds, banking and capital markets, corporate and M&A, employment, financial services, insurance, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and taxation. Headquartered in Dublin, the firm also has offices in Tokyo, New York and the Cayman Islands. In February 2022, the firm announced nine new solicitor appointments, while last year Conor Kiernan was appointed partner in the Banking and Capital Markets team.
BEAUCHAMPS
Solicitors: 86
Mng. Partner: John White
Beauchamps has been part of the fabric of Irish business for over 200 years, and clients include multinational companies, owner-managed businesses, government and public bodies, and regulatory authorities. The firm employs 200 professional staff and has 30 practice and sector areas. Experian MarketIQ ranked the firm among Ireland’s top six legal advisers for M&A for 2021, and five new partners were announced in January 2022.
PHILIP LEE
Solicitors: 72
Mng. Partner: Jonathan Kelly
The practice in Dublin is complemented by offices in London, Brussels and San Francisco. The firm’s legal specialties span competition, construction, data, employment, energy, environmental, EU, intellectual property, PPP, procurement, real estate and tax. Six new partners have been appointed in the past year and the firm recently relocated its London office to a larger space in the Leadenhall Building, also in central London.
HAYES SOLICITORS
Solicitors: 66
Mng. Partner: Joe O’Malley
The firm offers expertise in business, employment, property, media, healthcare, banking, and insolvency law. It provides a comprehensive range of services to corporate, public and private clients in Ireland and internationally, especially in the UK. “We have earned a strong reputation for handling complex mandates, providing strategic advice and representing clients in high value litigation,” says the firm.
FIELDFISHER
Solicitors: 63
Mng. Partner: JP McDowell
UK law firm Fieldfisher has over 1,700 people working across 26 offices in 11 countries. It’s a fullservice firm with practices in technology, financial services, energy and natural resources and life sciences.
LK SHIELDS
Solicitors: 63
Mng. Partner: David Williams
The firm draws its clients from enterprising Irish and international businesses, financial institutions and public bodies. Renowned for its M&A expertise, the firm is consistently highly ranked in legal publications such as Chambers, IFLR 1000, Who’s Who Legal, and The Legal 500.
ADDLESHAW GODDARD
Solicitors: 60
Mng. Partner: Mark Walsh
Addleshaw Goddard is the new name for storied Irish law firm Eugene F Collins, which merged with the international law firm (see also p70). The firm’s main practice areas are corporate, banking, dispute resolution and property, and it recently announced three new partner appointments.
WALKERS IRELAND
Solicitors: 58
Mng. Partner: Jonathan Sheehan
Walkers is a global financial services law firm with c1,000 staff. In Ireland the firm provides Irish legal, tax, listing and professional services advice to domestic and international financial institutions, investment managers, private equity groups and corporations. Walkers Professional Services is a leading provider of corporate administration and fiduciary services. The Dublin office, with 19 partners and over 130 staff, is led by new managing partner Jonathan Sheehan, who advises across tax heads on financial, corporate and real estate transactions. The firm’s tax expertise was boosted recently with the recruitment of Padhraic Mulpeter as tax consultant.
FLYNN O’DRISCOLL
Solicitors: 49
Mng. Partner: James Duggan
Established by Pat Flynn in 2002, business lawyers Flynn O’Driscoll has grown from beyond its boutique M&A niche to a sizeable mid-tier firm. Laura Myles, Head of IP and IT in the firm, joined when her Galway IP venture Trade Secrets was acquired in 2014. Pat Flynn became firm chairman in 2019 when James Duggan was appointed managing partner. “We encourage regular dialogue with clients over the phone and in person rather than overly relying on email to communicate,” says the firm.
PINSENT MASONS
Solicitors: 49
Head of Office: Ann Lalor
The international law firm has a full-service offering, with a strategic sector focus on energy, financial services, infrastructure, real estate and technology, science and industry. The Dublin office boosted the partner number to 12 with the addition of Gerry Beausang and Neil Keenan, and the internal promotion of Oisín McLoughlin, to strengthen the Transactional Services group. The firm recently appointed Niall Campbell to Legal Director in its Insurance & Reinsurance practice.
DAC BEACHCROFT
Solicitors: 49
Mng. Partner: Lisa Broderick
The international law firm’s focus is healthcare, injury risk and professional indemnity insurance, and related commercial litigation, employment and regulatory matters. The firm has adopted ‘Flex Forward and Glide Your Time’ approaches to work in Dublin, which allows staff considerable autonomy and flexibility in relation to where and how they work. “This is definitely a significant advantage over many of our competitors in the recruitment market,” says the firm.
DLA PIPER
Solicitors: 46
Mng. Partner: David Carthy
The international law firm has a focus on life sciences, technology and financial
services. The firm recently announced that Edel O’Kelly has made partner, the first partner promotion within DLA Piper in Ireland. Lateral hire Declan Lavelle was recently appointed as partner in the firm’s Tax practice, while seven new hires were announced at legal director level.
DWF
Solicitors: 30 Managing Partner: Eimear Collins
The firm, based in London, had net revenue of £338m in 2020/21. The firm has c.4,000 staff and became the first main market premium listed legal business on the London Stock Exchange in March 2019. Lateral hire Órlaith Molloy was recently appointed partner on the real estate team and follows the recent promotion of insurance lawyer Sinéad Ryan to partner.
HOLMES
Solicitors: 40
Mng. Partner: Harry Fehily
HOMS Solicitors, formerly Holmes O’Malley Sexton, recently rebranded as Holmes. From its Limerick base, Holmes has grown to a team of 140 people in Limerick, Cork, Dublin and London. “The driver for change has been our increasingly strong corporate client base harnessed from our depth of knowledge and experience advising clients within the financial services, insurance, construction, pharma and technology sectors,” says Harry Fehily.
WHITNEY MOORE
Solicitors: 26
Mng. Partner: John Lynch
The firm, established in 1882, is a market leader in intellectual property expertise. Other practice areas are corporate, dispute resolution, employment, corporate restructuring, privacy and data protection, private client, public sector and real estate. Whitney Moore is the sole Irish member of the Meritas global network of independent law firms, and is also a member of the European American Lawyers Group, which comprises over 400 lawyers working in 28 different jurisdictions.
LEMAN
Solicitors: 27
Mng. Partner: John Hogan
In 2022 Leman merged with offshore law firm Ogier, and from June the Dublin office will become Ogier Leman. Ogier is active in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and Luxembourg, and its legal teams and corporate administration service serve private equity companies, their advisers and intermediary law firms.
BHSM
Solicitors: 24
Mng. Partner: Mark Homan
The seven-partner firm’s key practice areas are corporate, banking and finance, real estate, litigation and dispute resolution, insolvency and corporate restructuring, and employment. Lateral hire David Sheehan recently joined the Construction & Engineering team, while corporate lawyer Eimear Grealy was promoted to partner in 2021.
LAVELLE PARTNERS
Solicitors: 21
Mng. Partner: Michael Lavelle
The firm provides legal advice across the business sector, from financial institutions to SMEs, and also has a strong medical negligence litigation practice. “Practical legal advice and first-rate service delivery are the twin engines that drive our firm-client relationships and ensure that we consistently deliver client satisfaction and maintain it,” says the firm.
GORE & GRIMES
Solicitors: 17
Mng. Partner: Brian O’Neill
The firm delivers partner-driven legal services tailored to companies and individuals for all their business and personal needs. “We focus on building in-depth relationships with our clients and pride ourselves on creating business solutions in a practical, commercial and costeffective way,” says the firm. In the past year, Gore & Grimes has hired four new associates, Robert Scanlon, Niamh Cullen, Niamh Walsh, and Harry Caulfield.
EY LAW:
Solicitors: 12
Head of Law: Alan Murphy
EY Law is the new law practice of accountancy firm Ernst & Young (see also p60). Its focus areas are digital, tech and commercial, corporate M&A, employment and real estate. Practice lead Alan Murphy used to run Eversheds Sutherland while associate partners Mairead Finlay, Deirdre Malone and Adam Synnott have over 50 years’ collective legal experience.
OBH PARTNERS
Solicitors: 11 Founding Partners: Orlaith O’Brien & June Hynes
The firm works with a wide range of corporate and private clients, and services span real estate, M&A, corporate governance, insolvency and restructuring, IT and media, and capital markets.
O’CONNOR
Solicitors: 10
Mng. Partner: John C. O’Connor
The firm’s clients include some of Ireland’s bestknown companies and over the years it has worked on a range of projects that span large commercial litigation, employment and trade union law, protecting business ideas, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, clinical negligence, insurance and commercial agreements, competition law and commercial leases and property transactions.
SWEENEY McGANN
Solicitors: 10
Mng, Partner: Gearóid McGann
A leading Limerick law firm, Sweeney McGann has been in operation since 1995 and the practice now has 28 employees. Gearóid McGann advises clients in different industry sectors on a broad range of corporate and commercial legal matters. Partner Shane O’Neill specialises in complex commercial property transactions, and is recognised as the leading expert in sports law.
OCWM LAW
Solicitors: 7
Mng. Partner: Philip O’Connor
All the firm’s solicitors have worked in international law firms, and OCWM says it offers the ‘big firm’ experience in a more flexible and personable style. Philip O’Connor is a commercial property specialist, with specific expertise in linking the various aspects to a property development and management project.
CLERKIN LYNCH
Solicitors: 4
Mng. Partner: Kevin Lynch
The firm specialises in financial and commercial law and has been growing investment funds and asset management legal work with the arrival of funds specialist Mark Browne.
HUGHES & ASSOCIATES
Solicitors: 3
Principal Solicitor: Daniel Hughes
The practice has a focus on commercial litigation relating to shareholder disputes, medical negligence and divorce and separation proceedings.