KPMG in Ireland > Dublin, Ireland > Firm Profile
KPMG in Ireland Offices
1 STOKES PLACE
ST STEPHENS GREEN
DUBLIN D02 DE03
Ireland
- Go to...
- Firm Profile
- Main Contacts
- Lawyer Profiles
- Solicitor Profiles
- Client Testimonials
- Diversity
- Interviews
KPMG in Ireland > Firm Profile
KPMG Law LLP advises on the full range of international business reorganisation matters and has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border mergers, investment arrangements and separation exercises and integrations. KPMG Law LLP also assists with tax structuring issues, legal entity simplifications and provides corporate immigration and employment law advice. John Given heads the team, which, within KPMG’s multi-disciplinary offering, works seamlessly through tax, legal, accounting and regulatory issues to find solutions and efficiencies for our clients.
KPMG legal services was established in 2014 and while KPMG legal services is new, our experience is not. Our legal team has joined us from leading Irish and international firms and corporates with extensive experience and credentials in their areas of practice. Our offering is underpinned by top quality lawyers and KPMG’s global footprint with over 2,800 legal professionals across 81 countries globally. Through collaboration and innovation, we combine expertise in law with business insight and technology-enabled solutions.
Structuring
As part of Ireland’s leading tax practice, our legal services structuring team works every day with preeminent Irish and international clients to implement and evolve complex group and capital arrangements, documenting and implementing domestic cross-border transactions and restructures in Ireland and as part of the international group structuring projects.
Michael Moore specialises in corporate and debt structuring and commercial contracting. Aisling Garry, responsible for research, implementation and roll out of technology initiatives, also focuses on corporate restructuring and investment arrangements.
Deals
As part of an international legal services network, we are committed to and focused on our clients’ aims, the delivery of effective solutions and pre-empting legal issues and obstacles in transactions. The team has particular skill in advising on domestic and cross-border corporate acquisitions, business sales and founder exits, shareholder agreements and joint ventures, capital raising and funding arrangements and management buy-outs and buy-ins.
KPMG Law head, John Given, is a key figure. Jacob Gray and Colm O’Connell also stand out for their M&A work.
Commercial and Regulatory
We work with leading Irish and international businesses, providing commercial legal and regulatory advice in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The advice and services we offer in the commercial arena are client-driven and are often provided in conjunction with other KPMG services such as transaction services, corporate finance, tax advice and the provision of advice for the financial services sector. We offer strategic and pragmatic advise on financial services regulatory legal requirements, information technology and software agreements and business structures and trading arrangements. Aisling Garry and Gillian Morrissey are both experienced in banking and financial services regulatory law.
Employment and Immigration
Led by Aoife Newton, KPMG’s Corporate Immigration and Employment Law team is a dedicated division within Legal Services, covering the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. We offer practical legal advice on all aspects of Irish and European employment and immigration law and assist with the management of the human resource aspects of domestic and international restructuring. The team includes employment lawyers specialising in all aspects of the employment cycle – from recruitment to terminations, and immigration law specialists who manage and advise on all aspects of corporate immigration and co-ordinate clients’ global mobility matters.
Legal Company Secretarial
As your trusted company secretarial service provider and the largest provider of company secretarial services of any professional firm in Ireland, we can work with you to ensure your entities are best placed to meet the constantly increasing governance, company law and regulatory compliance burden. Outsourcing your Company Secretarial function to KPMG will give you direct access to highly experienced Chartered Secretaries who will provide guidance on the Companies Act, all related statutory instruments and EU directives. The team is managed by Salvador Nash who has particular experience in advising clients on share capital structure, share registration and implementation of share re-organisations. Salvador is a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute, he is President of the Institute in Ireland and a member of its Governance & Nomination Committee. Salvador also represents the Institute on the Company Law Review Group, the statutory advisory expert body charged with advising the Irish Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation on the review and development of company law in Ireland. He is also Chair of its Corporate Governance Committee.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate M&A | John Given | john.given@kpmglaw.ie | +35314101298 |
| Corporate Restructuring | Michael Moore | michael.moore@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504486 |
| Employment & Corporate Immigration | Aoife Newton | aoife.newton@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504285 |
| Banking & Finance, Commercial | Aisling Garry | aisling.garry@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504173 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Salvador Nash | salvador.nash@kpmglaw.ie | +353877441226 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Ciara O' Donoghue | ciara.odonoghue@kpmglaw.ie | +353877442239 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Aoife Kernan | aoife.kernan@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504212 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Andrea Sherlock | andrea.sherlock@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504847 |
| Corporate, Banking & Finance | Gillian Morrissey | gillian.m.morrissey@kpmglaw.ie | +353871115900 |
| Corporate Immigration | Phillip McNally | philip.mcnally@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504322 |
| Corporate Restructuring, Corporate M&A | Killian O' Sullivan | killian.osullivan@kpmglaw.ie | +353877441308 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Sinead Humphreys | sinead.humphreys@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504448 |
| Legal Company Secretarial | Ronan Rock | ronan.rock@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504005 |
| Corporate Immigration | Elaine Norton | elaine.norton@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504037 |
| Corporate Restructuring, Corporate M&A, Commercial | Colm O’ Connell | colm.oconnell@kpmglaw.ie | +353861039503 |
| Employment & Corporate Immigration | Philip Gray | philip.gray@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504446 |
| Corporate Restructuring, Corporate M&A, Commercial | Alison Kenny | alison.kenny@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504065 |
| Corporate Restructuring, Corporate M&A | Jack Lehane | jack.lehane@kpmglaw.ie | +353870504617 |
| Corporate Restructuring, Commercial | Daragh Connolly | daragh.connolly@kpmglaw.ie | +353873296647 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alan Browning | Associate Director | View Profile |
|
Jacob Gray | Associate Director | View Profile |
|
Gillian Morrissey | Associate Director | View Profile |
|
Elaine Norton | Associate Director | View Profile |
|
Ronan Rock | Director | View Profile |
Solicitor Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Jack Lehane | Manager | View Profile |
Languages
English FrenchMemberships
KPMG Global Legal Services (KPMG GLS) Law Society of Ireland European Employment Lawyers AssociationClient Testimonials
CLIENT: Eileen Treanor, Chief Financial Officer
COMPANY/FIRM: LeoLabs
TESTIMONIAL: “LeoLabs engaged KPMG Legal Services to provide legal support on our global footprint. A key determining factor in choosing KPMG was the breadth of its global footprint and the one-stop integrated service it can provide across legal, tax and other disciplines. The service provided was exceptional and delivered a solution that best supported our trading business and commercial objectives. I have no hesitation in recommending KPMG Legal Services as a trusted legal advisor.”
CLIENT: Mark O’Neill, Chief Financial Officer
COMPANY/FIRM: Boylesports
TESTIMONIAL: “Boylesports engaged KPMG Legal Services to provide legal support on a significant group reorganisation. The service provided was exceptional, expertly integrating the complex legal, tax and accounting requirements of the project to deliver a solution that best supported our trading business and commercial objectives. Engaging KPMG Legal Services on this business-critical project was no gamble – I have no hesitation in recommending KPMG Legal Services as a safe bet for trusted legal advisor.”
CLIENT: Seamus Keenan, Company Secretary
COMPANY/FIRM: Fyffes Limited
TESTIMONIAL: “KPMG Legal Services provides annual company law compliance services to Fyffes Limited and its Irish subsidiaries. We are provided with a tailored, efficient and user-friendly process delivered by a highly experienced and dedicated team of qualified professionals. KPMG Legal Services provide a comprehensive service in conjunction with the KPMG audit and tax teams, all of which allows us to focus on our core business functions and gives us the peace of mind that the Group’s compliance obligations are in excellent hands.”
CLIENT: Roy Zakka, CEO & Founder
COMPANY/FIRM: Layer
TESTIMONIAL: “Layer Digital Solutions have engaged KPMG Legal Services to assist with a variety of corporate and commercial issues. As a growing company we were impressed with the efficiency and drive of the KPMG Legal team who are highly responsive and focused on the practicalities to achieve our commercial goals. We would be happy to recommend KPMG to other entrepreneurial companies as a great way of combining legal, audit and compliance knowledge all under one roof”
CLIENT: Eoin O’Carroll, Head of Legal
COMPANY/FIRM: Tesco Ireland
TESTIMONIAL: “Tesco Ireland have engaged KPMG Legal Services to provide legal advice and assistance with regard to a corporate restructuring. We found them to be highly focused, practical and responsive. They combine great legal skill with commercial expertise, offering an integrated and dynamic client service platform that distinguishes them from traditional law firms. We have no hesitation in recommending KPMG Legal Services as a competent corporate law advisor.”
Diversity
LGBT+
- Our LGBT+ agenda helps to create an inclusive work environment for all.
We proudly celebrate Pride Week in our Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway offices. - We host regular guest speaker events with hosts from the LGBT+ community. Speakers include Margot Slattery, Country President of Sodexo Ireland, Nigel Owens, Welsh International Rugby Union Referee and Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland.
- We’re are a member of the INVOLVE network who work directly with LGBT+ and ally leaders to promote inclusion, authenticity and drive cultural change and our people take part in the INVOLVE mentoring programme.
- We are proud supporters of BelongTo, a youth LGBT+ organisation and our people have volunteered on BelongTo programmes, offering help, advice and support for young LGBT+ people in Ireland
- We host regular LGBTQ+ events including in person and virtual movie nights
Gender parity
We’re proud to lead and support a wide range of women’s initiatives which advocate for gender parity and support the next generation of women leaders.
- Amy Huberman was a guest speaker at our exclusive hybrid International Women’s Day event on 8 March 2022 as part of a number of firm wide initiatives for International Women’s Day.
- KPMG Ireland recently announced a 2-year partnership with leading Irish jockey, Rachael Blackmore. This partnership will see Rachael come on board as a KPMG brand ambassador complementing our existing partnership with leading golf professional Leona Maguire as they both look to build on their great achievements over the past 18 months.
- We run a programme of internal events to promote female leadership including our Executive Speaker Series. Guest speakers include Former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Samantha Barry, Editor in Chief of Glamour Magazine (US Edition), Lady Chanelle McCoy, co-founder of Chanelle Medical; Marissa Carter, founder of Cocoa Brown, Olympian and Entrepreneur, Derval O’Rourke and broadcasters Miriam O’Callaghan and Kathryn Thomas.
- We host ‘Role Model Lunch’ events where female colleagues get a chance to have an in-camera chat with senior female KPMG partners.
- We suppport the ‘Going for Growth’ programme which is designed to support women grow their business.
- We are a founding member of the 30% Club in Ireland, an initiative focused on achieving a minimum of 30% female participation at board level.
Ethnicity
- We are proud to have 48 different nationalities of people working in KPMG Ireland.
- We are committed to being rigorous about fairness and removing unconscious bias in our firm. We provide unconscious bias training for our people.
- In light of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, our people participated in a KPMG global forum, ‘Courageous Conversations’ it focused on actionable steps we can all take towards racism
- We mark ‘International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’ by participating in KPMG global events
- Our people volunteer with Business in the Community on their Career Buddy and EPIC (Employment for People from Immigrant Communities) programmes, helping marginalised immigrant jobseekers secure employment and education.
Disability
- We work with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) which promotes the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in education and society. We have and continue to hire placements from this programme
- We have a long-standing partnership with St. Michaels’s House who provide a range of services to adults and children with intellectual disabilities in the greater Dublin area
- Each year, hundreds of KPMG people volunteer for a range of activities with St. Michael’s House including organising sports days, painting murals and working on educational projects
- We celebrate International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD). Last year, we hosted an Executive Speaker Series event with Ailbhe and Izzy Keane of Izzy Wheels to mark the day.
Interviews
Head of KPMG Legal Services, Francis Hackett
What do you see as the main points that differentiate KPMG Legal Services from your competitors?
KPMG Legal Services was established in 2014 and while KPMG Legal Services is new, our experience is not. We collaborate closely with our colleagues from Tax, Advisory and Audit to leverage wider KPMG expertise to provide business-oriented legal solutions that tackle complex client issues. We provide our clients with all-in-one solutions to help them solve their legal, accounting, tax and commercial issues at one time. Our legal team has joined us from leading Irish and international firms with extensive experience and credentials in their areas of practice. Our offering is underpinned by top quality lawyers and KPMG’s global footprint.
Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?
A key area that could be set for growth in the next 12 months is Employment/Immigration. With increasing globalisation around the world and the emergence from Covid, firms are seeing an increase in their mobile labour force, which puts an increased demand on our services in employment and immigration law. Firms need our advice on different taxation regulations for their employees who travel around the world, as well as advice on immigration regulations.
We expect to see continued growth in firms establishing a presence in Ireland as the only English speaking jurisdiction in the EU following the UK’s departure. Therefore, legal issues and advice surrounding market entry can be expected to grow in the next 12 months. Continued interest from foreign investors may drive up the demand for M&A services and corporate reorganization. The driver for this being the continued low corporate tax that Ireland offers, and the strong, dynamic labour force that Ireland continues to offer.
In the aftermath of COVID-19 we could also expect to face an increase in labour law issues such as unfair dismissal and vaccination requirements advice. Advice concerning GDPR is likely to remain strong surrounding these issues.
In addition to this, we expect to see strong demand for corporate and commercial services. Our experienced team of dedicated solicitors will continue to work closely with our clients in these areas as part of multi-disciplinary teams created from all of KPMG’s tax and advisory teams.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine will have profound and far-reaching effects. Increased energy costs due to economic sanctions against Russia will re-double the focus on the ESG agenda and the ability of business to operate in a environmentally sustainable way. Also, corporate compliance will come into ever sharper focus. Being able to demonstrate full corporate compliance and clearly demonstrate ultimate beneficial ownership will become an increasingly important part of being able to do business in many parts of the world.
What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?
To provide the best service you have to have the best people. We have invested in attracting and nurturing the best lawyers and enabling them to serve clients effectively on a multidisciplinary basis. We have recently welcomed a number of new lawyers to the practice and will continue to do so. We are always seeking lawyers who can embrace the advantage that operating in a multi-disciplinary environment can bring, whilst operating under one of the world’s leading and most respected professional services brands.
Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?
Technology has changed how we perform, how we work and, most importantly, how we meet our clients’ needs. Within KPMG Legal Services, we have a dedicated Legal Technology Team. Our resources and expertise in this area combined with the team’s technology-focused approach is transforming how we serve our clients. As a relatively new entrant to the Legal market KPMG Legal is well placed to embrace technology to improve our services.
Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?
In the past year we have worked closely with an early stage, high potential, fast growing US owned multinational to help it create and expand a global corporate structure and footprint. This has involved the establishment of companies (and a related financing and commercial contracting framework) across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania to support the growth of its market leading infrastructure and technology business.
As part of a global multi-disciplinary professional services firm with an international legal service offering, we are uniquely equipped to help the client navigate diverse and often complex local rules and regulations to establish infrastructural and sales operations in multiple jurisdictions.
This has ensured that the client has achieved the optimal outcome for its business from a legal, tax, accounting and commercial perspective and can continue to grow its business based on robust corporate structure foundations. At KPMG we are uniquely capable of providing this integrated legal, tax and accounting solution.
Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?
Digitisation may bring automation potential and software-based tools that can answer certain legal questions for the client. However, our clients may want advice beyond the mere clarification of legal issues and continue to want human interaction and specified advice to their position as an individual client. With collaboration between the different departments in KPMG, the client can gain well-rounded detailed advice on a variety of issues.
KPMG legal department is still young and growing, and we will continue to grow in size, expertise, and in terms of clientele basis in the coming years, with a greater demand by clients on the services we offer as a legal and commercial firm. In three years’, time, KPMG will continue to be a leading firm in Ireland, offering complete solutions to our clients to keep their businesses operating and thriving in this fast-paced, ever-changing world. From collaboration with other departments such as tax and deal advisory, we provide a wider prospective and insight to our clients that only a multi-departmental firm like KPMG can achieve.