The Legal 500

A&L Goodbody is ‘very responsive to its clients’ needs and provides high-quality advice’. The firm advised Avestus on the sale of a Four Seasons Hotel and London and Regional on the purchase and leaseback of eircom’s premises at Citywest. The widely touted Mairead Sherlock leads the practice and is one of the standout partners, with Stephen O’Riordan also recommended.

Clients appreciate the breadth of commercial experience in Arthur Cox’s six-partner team, which has attracted substantial work from NAMA and Ernst & Young. David Foley is advising Lloyds Banking Group in the disposal of a portfolio of retail bank properties. Deirdre Barrett, John Walsh and practice head Mark Barr are also recommended.

McCann FitzGerald’s ‘excellent team’ includes some of the market’s most recognisable names including Jim Murphy and Donal O’Raghallaigh. Additionally, Shane Fahy is ‘an excellent property lawyer with sound commercial sense’, and Lonan McDowell is ‘highly experienced and pleasant to work with’. The firm is advising Dairygold Co-Operative on acquiring a portfolio of properties in Cork. Quinn Insurance and Burlington Co-Ownership are also clients.

Clients say that William Fry’s team is at ‘a different level to other firms’. Practice head Andrew Muckian is widely praised for his ‘overall knowledge and attention to detail’, and Edward Spain is also recommended. The firm advised NAMA on its first direct commercial property sale: that of the Smurfit Kappa Group headquarters in Dublin 4.

Maitiú Ó Dónaill heads Beauchamps Solicitors’ five-partner team, which also includes Gerry Gallen. The team was appointed as sole adviser to the National Stadium Campus Development Authority and is advising the regeneration agencies on the proposed €3bn regeneration of Limerick City centre.

ByrneWallace has seen a good flow of work from NAMA on the property side and also has a strong developer client base. It has also picked up work for Dunnes Stores and Lidl, advising the latter on all property and construction matters. Catherine Guy heads the practice.

Eversheds is advising NAMA on a number of matters and has closed deals for PJ Walls and Earlsfort Group. The team includes the ‘hugely knowledgeable and very commercial’ Sean Greene and Joe Stanley, who is ‘very calm under pressure’.

Cara O’Hagan led Matheson Ormsby Prentice’s advice to Google on its acquisition of the Montevetro Building from Treasury Holdings, the loan on which had been transferred to NAMA. Practice head Patrick Sweetman advised receiver Grant Thornton on the disposal of a portfolio of pharmacies.

Eugene F. Collins represents a number of retailers including Inditex Group, which it advises on certain of its Irish operations. The team advised Treasury Holdings on the disposal of the Montevetro Building via NAMA. Mark Walsh heads the team.

Hayes Solicitors’ ‘grounded’ team acted for Lipton Soft Drinks on an acquisition in Cork, and G4S on leases pertaining to its acquisition of an alarm monitoring business. Practical thinker Jackie Buckley ‘comes up with imaginative solutions’.

Mason Hayes & Curran advises the IDA on property matters and is acting for the Grangegorman Development Agency on the redevelopment of a 30-hectare site in Dublin. Practice head Kevin Hoy is ‘responsive and efficient’.

LK Shields Solicitors undertook due diligence on Chevron Group’s Irish properties in Ireland and acted on the sale of part of its property portfolio. Gerard O’Hanlon leads the team.

Ronan Daly Jermyn advised OCP as lessor on a significant lease of Cork city centre office space to Apple.

Michael Doran leads the team at WhitneyMoore, which provides ‘solid advice that is commercial and balanced’. It advised the co-owners of Ilac Centre on leasing a department store unit to Iceland.

Led by Paul Eustace, Dillon Eustace’s team advised Home Store and More on expansion of its Irish retail business.

Donegans Solicitors advised the receiver of a property development company on the sale, development and completion of a 600-unit residential site.

Holmes O’Malley Sexton’s ‘professional and supportive’ group advises numerous developers and state bodies on planning and development.

Lavelle Coleman’s team is led by the ‘very knowledgeable’ Giles Smyth. The firm acts for property developers, retailers, local authorities and estate agents.

McDowell Purcell sits on the Bank of Ireland’s panel of preferred solicitors and features on NAMA’s enforcement and refinancing panel. Thomas O’Malley is recommended.

O’Flynn Exhams’ team is ‘top class’ and has a broad practice that features Frank O’Flynn. The team has particular strength in advising on all aspects of commercial and agricultural property, including investor work.

Reddy Charlton McKnight is particularly well known for its landlord and tenant work.