The Legal 500

A&L Goodbody’s team is ‘trusted for the most sensitive and high-profile matters’, and is ‘a go-to firm for issues of Irish law’. It is a prominent transactional practice and advised the purchasers on the two stellar deals of the year: representing Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation on its $7.2bn acquisition of RBS Aerospace; and ‘rainmaker’ John Given acting for Eaton Corporation on its $11.8bn acquisition of Cooper Industries. David Widger heads the practice.

Arthur Cox remains hard to beat for depth of team, deal résumé, and client base. It advised Aer Lingus on all three unsolicited bids by Ryanair; eircom on its restructuring and acquisition by senior lenders; and Cooper Industries during its $11.8bn acquisition by Eaton Corporation. Ciarán Bolger is ‘formidable when negotiating transaction documentation’, and Eugene McCague, Stephen Hegarty and department head Colm Duggan are also recommended.

Corporate law is a key practice area at Mason Hayes & Curran, which is noted for ‘giving useful, practical and direct advice on complex issues’. Head of corporate David O’Donnell, who gives ‘amazing insights’, led advice to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) on its €488m acquisition of Endesa Ireland and acted for PolarLake during its sale to Bloomberg. Philip Nolan heads the commercial team, which acts for Facebook.

Matheson’s international focus helped to secure a role on Eaton Corporation’s $11.8bn acquisition of Cooper Industries; Beam Global Wine and Spirits’ $95m purchase of Cooley Distillery; and Endesa’s €488m sale of Endesa Ireland to SSE. The team, which ‘matches any UK Magic Circle firm’, includes ‘truly exceptional lawyer’ Patrick Spicer; Robert Heron, who is ‘very level-headed with great commercial awareness’; and the ‘approachable and pragmatic’ Alan Chiswick.

McCann FitzGerald shows ‘superb expertise, first-class responsiveness and great commercial acumen’. The team advised Vodafone Ireland on its strategic partnership with 3 Ireland, and acted for RBS on the $7.2bn sale of RBS Aerospace to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. This ‘deeply talented team’ includes standout partners David Lydon, David Byers, Barry Devereux, and Ben Gaffikin.

William Fry will ‘stay at the table for as long as it takes to close the deal’ and its lawyers are ‘very strong negotiators’. The team acted for investors including Fairfax Financial Holdings and WL Ross on the consortium’s €1.1bn acquisition of a 34.9% stake in Bank of Ireland, and advised State Street on its $550m purchase of Goldman Sachs’ hedge fund administration business. Bryan Bourke and David Cullen head the corporate and commercial practices, respectively.

In 2012, Beauchamps Solicitors acquired Landwell, the Irish legal arm of PwC, thereby doubling its corporate transactions team and boosting its international experience. Practice head Shaun O’Shea and Máire Cunningham led advice to AGI Therapeutics on its public takeover by Aravis Therapeutics. Enterprise Ireland is a new panel appointment.

Eversheds, which stands out for its ‘depth of team and good advice’, advised Venn Life Sciences on the multi-jurisdictional merger of its clinical research operations with Encorium Group. New clients include United Drug and G4S Secure Solutions. Tony McGovern and ‘excellent corporate lawyer’ David O’Beirne are recommended.

LK Shields Solicitors’ ‘very committed and creative’ team enjoys strong links with UK and US firms, and acted for the vendors of AEP Networks during its sale to UK-based Ultra Electronics. Gerry Halpenny is ‘a very strong individual’, Richard Curran is ‘an unfailing professional’, and team head Emmet Scully is also recommended.

Maples and Calder has ‘a reputation for excellence in corporate work’, and Edward Miller and Colm Rafferty are ‘both very experienced and capable’. The firm acted for Hilco Capital on the high-profile restructuring and disposal of leading Irish retail chain A-Wear Group. Food and pharmaceuticals regulatory expert Maree Gallagher is now a consultant for the firm, while maintaining her own practice, Maree Gallagher Associates.

ByrneWallace acted for Azur Pharm on its merger with US life sciences company Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which was a noteworthy foreign direct investment (FDI) deal for Ireland, and has represented private equity fund Broadlake Capital on several transactions recently. Feargal Brennan heads the seven-partner practice, which includes Dennis Agnew, who shows ‘excellent commercial understanding’.

Eugene F. Collins recently acted for Sage Pay Europe on its €20m acquisition of Integral Computers. Other clients include Marks and Spencer plc, Vodafone and BMW Ireland. Gerard Coll and John Olden give ‘expert advice’.

WhitneyMoore’s ‘top-class’ practice has maintained impressive activity in a depressed market, and acted for ClearStream Technologies on the €50m cash sale of its share capital to US-based medical equipment manufacturer CR Bard. Thérèse Rochford is ‘fantastic to deal with’, and Stephen Walker is ‘energetic, calm, focused, and commercial’.

Lorcan Tiernan heads Dillon Eustace’s corporate practice, which acted for certain mutual funds in the headline €1.1bn acquisition of a stake in Bank of Ireland, in which Fairfax Financial Holdings and WL Ross were also investors. Adrian Benson and Tom Carney are also key figures in the practice.

Hayes Solicitors ‘stands out in terms of performance and excellence’, and handles commercial advisory work for household-name companies, such as Unilever, DHL and Primark, including advising the latter on its expansion in Ireland. Managing partner David Phelan represents The Irish Times.

Philip Lee continues to gain market share under the leadership of Andreas McConnell and Jonathan Kelly, and acted for Corrib Oil on the restructuring of its supply arrangements to Topaz Energy.

Ronan Daly Jermyn has the largest team outside Dublin. The firm’s location in the university cities of Cork and Galway, both of which are hubs for technology, attracts high-growth IT companies to the practice, while other clients include Carbery Food Group.

Walkers launched its new corporate team in 2012 with the hire of experienced partner Dominic Conlon from A&L Goodbody. The firm’s range of expertise and international resources mean it is well placed to act for clients in the FDI sector.

Adrian Burke & Associates, which provides ‘first class, excellent service’, represents international manufacturers and energy companies. Adrian Burke, Peter O’Neill and Barry Lee show ‘outstanding understanding of clients’ businesses’.

Doherty Ryan & Associates’ Randal Doherty and Robert Ryan advise on corporate and commercial matters, and assisted a Korean technology company with the restructuring of its European distribution arrangements.

Holmes O’Malley Sexton is in demand for distressed asset sales and restructurings, and acted for the BDO receiver during the sale of Kilkenny Limestone Manufacturing to Kilkenny Limestone Quarry, a matter which was led by the ‘technically strong’ Siobhán Buckley.

Ivor Fitzpatrick & Company’s Ivor Fitzpatrick has a high profile in the market and advises a broad range of businesses from the finance, entertainment and technology sectors, as well as the public sector.

Lavelle Coleman is on the panels for the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and NAMA, and its private sector clients include security company Netwatch Ireland. Michael Lavelle, Paul McMahon and the rest of the team are ‘very professional’ and responsive.

Feilim O’Caoimh heads McDowell Purcell’s practice, which advises SMEs and some large companies on transactions, restructuring and general commercial advice.

Two-partner firm McEvoy Partners is acting for Sea Fibre Networks on corporate and funding aspects of the construction of an undersea cable to connect Ireland to the UK, and is advising Connemara Mining on its joint ventures with Teck Cominco. The firm also acts for Anglo African Minerals.

Paul Keane heads Reddy Charlton McKnight’s practice, which provides comprehensive commercial and business advice to domestic and international companies.