Ms Kate McKenna > Matheson LLP > Dublin, Ireland > Lawyer Profile

Matheson LLP houses a wide-ranging public law practice which counts a broad array of state and semi-state bodies, government departments and private sector companies among its clients. The team has significant expertise in contentious matters, including judicial reviews and statutory investigations and appeals, and also stands out for its strengths in energy regulatory issues, the procurement and development of public infrastructure projects, and freedom of information law. The practice is led by litigation-focused Michael Byrne, Nicola Dunleavy, whose extensive practice includes planning and environmental law, Garret Farrelly, a key name in the energy sector, and state aid and public procurement specialist Kate McKenna.

Matheson LLP has a fully rounded EU and competition practice, driven by a fervent pipeline of merger control matters, competition investigations, state aid cases, and competition litigation, including the headline trucks case. The team has worked on a series of Phase 2 merger assessments by the CCPC and is especially noted for media sector merger cases. It has landed key roles in all recent CCPC market investigations, including motor insurance, ticketing and fuel price. The team features three experienced partners including department head Niall Collins, an experienced figure in merger control, having practised in both London and Dublin. Kate McKenna and Calum Warren are also highly rated partners, with extensive experience in and outside Ireland. Simon Shinkwin is a rising star.

Matheson LLP continues to maintain a strong presence in the telecommunications sector, advising a multitude of established and new telecom companies on regulations, investigations, and transactions in Ireland. Kate McKenna has extensive experience of assisting regulated companies with regulations brought by ComReg and jointly heads the practice with Niall Collins, Anne-Marie Bohan, and Carlo Salizzo. Simon Shinkwin is another key member of the team.

Matheson LLP is a major force in life sciences transactions, including M&A and restructurings, along with healthcare litigation and regulatory matters. It has advised clients on some of the largest life sciences deals of recent years, such as representing Horizon Therapeutics in the proposed $28bn acquisition by Pillartree (a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen), implemented as an Irish High Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. It has defended clients in a series of cases linked to the CervicalCheck scandal, along with other headline healthcare cases. Rebecca Ryan is head of healthcare, specialising in medical negligence and clinical malpractice. Kate McKenna is noted for life sciences regulatory matters and David Fitzgibbon is a leader in life sciences M&A. Emma Doherty is key for corporate governance in both life sciences and healthcare. John Coary was recently promoted to partner.