‘Ireland is viewed as a platform jurisdiction’
ACTIVITY Our firm is experiencing an enduring period of growth. Our internationally focused client base is expanding, with clients continuing to choose our firm as their local and global advisers, as they require not just local but multi-jurisdictional legal and tax services and solutions.
Both of our Irish offices have performed at record levels over the past year from strong growth across our multidisciplinary service offerings and activities spanning multiple sectors. These include TMT, Financial Services, Energy and Infrastructure, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Education and Real Estate. Also key for us as a firm throughout 2023 has been adjusting quickly to focus our efforts in new areas such as ESG, AI and emerging technologies.
We have seen an increase in activity across the entire TMT sector, including large scale data centre projects, and our technology practice in Ireland is seen as a centre of excellence internationally. Our global and multidisciplinary ESG team helps clients craft forward-looking ESG strategies that maximise opportunities and support sustainable growth. Closely related to ESG, the energy sector is particularly vibrant, and we have worked with several providers on energy financing projects.
Our M&A practice remains very active. Tech and FS M&A has held up more strongly than many other sectors and is likely to lead the way this year, and we are encouraged to see more competitive valuations, as inflation and interest rates begin to settle. Corporate insolvencies and restructurings have begun to pick up in recent months too.
AI We have a global generative AI skills development programme for all our people. We also have a Global AI Task Force and we continuously scan the horizon to ensure our clients’ use of AI systems is legally compliant. Partner and Head of IP, Technology & DP, Marie McGinley, from our Dublin office, was appointed to our Global
AI leadership team last year. This is a great acknowledgement of Ireland’s position at the heart of the wider technology sector ecosystem.
OUTLOOK There is cautious optimism out there. There is a sense of a more realistic pricing and valuation environment emerging, which will help stimulate activity levels. Having joined the Eversheds Sutherland European Executive Committee at the beginning of this year, I am certainly seeing that Ireland is viewed as a platform jurisdiction internationally.
Our growth mirrors Ireland’s position in the global market as an economic powerhouse and strategic gateway jurisdiction to the European marketplace and beyond something which we see continuing in the coming years.