The Legal 500

A&L Goodbody has an extensive roster of major insurer and reinsurer clients such as Zurich, Prudential, Legal & General, and Barclays Reinsurance, for which it handles regulatory, corporate, policy, and dispute resolution matters. The team acted for Irish Life & Permanent during its restructuring, including the transfer of Irish Life Assurance to the state. Practice head James Grennan is highly regarded.

Matheson is ‘comfortably the best firm in Ireland for complex insurance claims’, and Sharon Daly is ‘extremely professional in all aspects of her work’. The firm advised Aviva on the restructuring of its non-life business in Ireland, a matter which was led by corporate insurance partner Darren Maher.

William Fry has ‘high industry knowledge and interaction’ and is the firm of choice for many transactions. The team acted for SunLife Assurance of Canada on the sale of its Irish reinsurance business to Berkshire Hathaway. On the contentious side, the firm is acting for Deutsche Bank and Davy, Ireland’s largest stockbroking firm. John Larkin is noted for his regulatory expertise.

Experienced corporate partner Elizabeth Bothwell at Arthur Cox succeeded Carl O’Sullivan as head of the insurance and reinsurance practice, which acts for numerous insurers including RSA Insurance Ireland, Aviva Europe, Chartis, and Travelers. The team is representing the latter in a prosecution brought by the Data Protection Commissioner.

Eversheds acts for several well-known insurers and reinsurers. Jim Trueick heads the contentious practice, while ‘expert in his field’ Peter Fahy leads the non-contentious practice. ‘Solution-seeker’ Aisling Gannon recently led representation of Allianz in a Supreme Court test case on damages caps, limitation periods and other issues.

Mason Hayes & Curran’s clients include Liberty Mutual, Mitsui Sumitomo and the Clinical Indemnity Scheme; the firm acted for the latter in defending clinical negligence claims on behalf of major hospitals. Healthcare specialists John Gleeson and Gemma Coady are ‘outstanding performers’, and Lorcan Buckley and the team ‘have superior people-handling skills when meeting with policyholders’.

McCann FitzGerald’s expanding client base includes Allianz, AXA and Chartis, and it continues to act for the Voluntary Health Insurance Board (VHI) on both contentious and non-contentious matters. Roddy Bourke heads the insurance disputes team, which includes Tim Bouchier-Hayes, who is ‘excellent at foreseeing the outcome of claims and managing strategy’.

HBK is the dedicated claims-handling department of Beauchamps Solicitors, which defends professional indemnity, catastrophic injury and large-loss liability claims. John Savage, former head of legal at AXA Ireland, heads the 13-lawyer team, which includes the professional indemnity experts Gary Rice and Emma Keegan. Clients include Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance, Travelers and Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund.

DAC Beachcroft Dublin is going from strength to strength under regional senior partner Katie da Gama, who focuses primarily on professional negligence, healthcare risk and personal injury. Clients include W R Berkley, Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo and Allianz. Noreen Howard joined from Matheson.

Dillon Eustace’s multidisciplinary insurance group advises on contentious and non-contentious matters. Recent work includes advising well-known insurers on regulatory issues as well as on the establishment of operations in Ireland.

Eugene F. Collins’ dedicated regulatory insurance unit is led by overall insurance head Garrett Miller, who is praised for his ‘technical expertise’ and customer service. The ‘excellent’ Rachel Shanley, who was recently promoted to the partnership, and the ‘pragmatic’ Donal Dunne are recommended for claims work. Clients include New Ireland Assurance, BMW Financial Services and Invesco.

Beale and Company Solicitors continues to add Irish insurers such as Liberty Mutual, QBE Ireland and RSA to its large London-based client roster. Stephen Chessher, Tara Cosgrove and Niamh Loughran have ‘an excellent depth of knowledge’ in professional indemnity and coverage matters.

Litigation partner Gerard Butler heads ByrneWallace’s contentious-oriented insurance practice, which acts for Dublin Airport Authority on personal injury liability cases, including a recent €125,000 claim in the High Court. Other clients include Chartis and ARB Underwriting.

Corrigan & Corrigan Solicitors is ‘an excellent boutique’ which is recommended for its contentious work for underwriters. Michael Corrigan heads the practice.

Denise O’Connor at Fishburns LLP is recommended for ‘mental agility, energy and freshness coupled with very pragmatic advice’. Clients include Hiscox, QBE and XL Insurance company.

Hayes Solicitors has Ireland’s largest healthcare team, which is headed by Ciaran O’Rorke and includes 15 solicitors dedicated to medical defence litigation. Clients include the Clinical Indemnity Scheme (CIS) and the Medical Protection Society.

LK Shields Solicitors has ‘a strong, focused team with an excellent knowledgebase’. It is noted for its professional indemnity defence practice, where it handles multimillion-euro claims. Clients include Liberty Mutual, Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund and QBE.

Maples and Calder joins the ranking following the recruitment of ‘excellent strategist’ and ‘expert is his field’ Peter Lennon and a three-lawyer team from Lennon Heather Solicitors. The firm is acting for Chartis Europe in a professional indemnity case in the Supreme Court.

Ronan Daly Jermyn’s John Buckley heads the firm’s specialist insurance defence group, which acts for clients such as Travelers, Allianz and Hiscox. Galway-based Padraic Brennan advises Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance on all claims in the west of Ireland.

Duncan Grehan & Partners acts for several major insurers, including Zurich, HDI-Gerling, Allianz and AXA. Duncan Grehan and the team are best known for their product liability defence practice and German-language skills.

Holmes O’Malley Sexton’s Donal Creaton and Robert Kennedy have ‘extensive knowledge and expertise in defence litigation’. Professional indemnity and personal injury defence are the main areas of focus for this busy practice.