Firm Profile > ByrneWallace LLP > Dublin, Ireland

‘We work with Emmet Whelan in this firm and he is very responsive, always adopts a practical common sense approach and is very adept at measuring risk and dealing with it appropriately. I find him very thoughtful, flexible and balanced.’

‘The team is very adept at focusing the client on the key challenges and opportunities that arise when we seek their support. I think this is very important in helping us to arrive at satisfactory outcomes whilst keeping fee levels reasonable. They understand our strategic values and goals and are able to help us support and attain these through the approach they bring when advising us. ’

‘Top flight lawyers across the whole spectrum of employment law. The firm is constantly refreshing and renewing itself by adding to the employment law team with a range of excellent new hires from a variety of backgrounds. There are very few firms who have a comparable range of skills across immigration, employment practices, advisory and contentious employment law.’

‘Elaine Kelly is an outstanding and tough litigator. Always on top of her brief, always ahead of the issues and the other side. Not afraid to tell clients what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear. Elaine has a sabre-like ability to cut to the real issues straight away and see the path through to the end game. Michelle Ni Longain is a pre-eminent practitioner who is at the cutting edge of many aspects of employment law and is hugely knowledgeable about where the law is heading and what the key underlying policy drivers are.’

‘BW is one of the better firm I’ve worked with. The tasks at hand get delivered on time and to the required standard.  I don’t ever hear any complaints about the service provided. I don’t ever feel that there is any “padding” of the work (this is an issue I’ve experienced with other firms). Staff are professional and welcoming.’

‘My primary contacts are Elaine Kelly and Loughlin Deegan. Though the individuals are different in style, I always feel I’m getting the advice I need, with sufficient challenge to ensure that my thinking is challenged positively and that I have a better plan post-meeting. I’m confident in the advice given, know they understand the problem at hand and solutions offered are pragmatic and implementable. Once a course of action is agreed, I know it will be followed up and executed really well.’

‘The ByrneWallace employment team is fast, pragmatic and solutions oriented. Exceptional combination of practical knowledge, deep experience of employment law, litigation, and strategic understanding. It was a pleasure working with them on a complex range of employment matters.’

‘Deirdre Lynch is highly experienced and competent. She delivers appropriate advice in a manner that makes it accessible to the non-expert. She kept our firm informed of all developments throughout or case and was excellent in expressing what she needed from us and any timeframes. Deirdre remained very accessible throughout the process and displayed attention to detail, client care and knowledge.’

‘This practice adopts a non-adversarial and solution-based approach to legal problems. Sinéad Kearney stands out because of her innovative use of alternative dispute resolution techniques.’

‘They provide a focused, deep level of knowledge in a very specialised area efficiently, working as a seamless team, so that immediate support is always quickly available. Olive Doyle provides outstanding leadership of this excellent team. Patrick McClean has been consistently helpful and timely in his response.’

‘Byrne Wallace is unique in its overall approach. It is one of the few law firms that truly takes a fully holistic approach to the practice of law and integrates legal solutions with practical, workable business solutions to make implementation and operation effective, efficient and compliant.’

‘Colin Sainsbury has impressed me with his client dedication. He approaches the attorney-client relationship like a business/legal partner and not just a lawyer. He is dedicated to overall client success and it shows in every interaction.’

‘Olive Doyle is a strong and experienced partner. She displays great confidence under pressure and achieves consistently good results for her clients. She is widely respected in court by colleagues, the bar and the bench. She is trusted and reliable. Her considerable experience comes through when she instructs or addresses the court.’

‘My experience with the healthcare and life sciences practice at ByrneWallace is that they provide a first-class service in their specialist area in concert with good attention to and understanding of a client’s broader legal requirements, all of which is backed up by a well-resourced, full-service firm with an ethos of attention to client needs. In short, specialist expertise, broad capability and attention to client circumstances combine for an excellent service. I find the team members consistently very competent, responsive, attentive to understanding and responding the client’s requirements, and, critically, they are a pleasure to work with.’

‘I particularly value Colin Sainsbury as a contact partner – I find him very approachable and his depth of expertise, perspective on the life sciences field, and openness to discuss specific needs as well as general concerns, together, give me confidence.’

‘Laura Greene is a top-class senior associate – very experienced, smart, highly skilled, a good communicator, affable, diligent, detailed, practical, responsive, and attentive to the client’s circumstances and needs. I greatly value Laura’s availability and the skill set she brings to the engagement.’

‘My experience of ByrneWallace has been of outstanding expertise in their specific field. This along with their attention to the client requirements and quality on case management has led to a loyal client base.’

‘Their key strength is their ability to put pension legal knowledge to use in a practical way. We work with Liam Connellan who is particularly responsive and collaborative.’

‘We worked with Liam Connellan. It is rare to find the combination of such attention to detail and exceptional customer focus in the same individual. Liam personifies this. Loughlin Deegan has very strong technical knowledge, providing clear and concise advice with a practical understanding of our needs.’

‘ByrneWallace are very much customer service oriented, they are knowledgeable and pragmatic and provide timely feedback.’

‘Liam Connellan is our go-to lawyer for pensions. His in-depth knowledge of the industry and all relevant players means he gets the best results for us.’

‘The pensions and employee benefits team has provided succinct and comprehensive advice every time I have dealt with them. The team is highly credible, professional, commercial and has great business acumen. A trusted adviser. Their attentiveness, commerciality and availability is outstanding. The quality of the team is of a very high standard and the depth of knowledge and experience in dealing with complex pensions matters is clearly evident.’

‘Liam Connellan is extremely personable and is very available to clients. He manages all interactions in a professional and commercial manner. He is responsive, very strong at business development and understands its importance to his business clients.’

‘It is an excellent practice in devising innovative solutions for clients.’

‘Sinéad Kearney is very client focused and effective.’

‘The staff at ByrneWallace are competent, capable and extremely well informed. I have not only used them for their expert legal knowledge, but also as a sounding board for concepts or ideas we may be proposing. The scope of knowledge that each member of the ByrneWallace team brings to every meeting is unrivalled.’

‘Their accessibility is second to none. They always deliver on our expectations and the work is always carried out in a pleasant, polite and efficient manner. I rate the individuals I work with extremely highly and trust them with the reputation of our organisation, which is of utmost importance to us.’

‘Readily available for consultation, provide sound advice using their experts in the particular field so the strength and depth of the various teams is impressive.’

‘Sean O’Donnell is a safe pair of hands. Valerie Hourigan is very thorough.’

‘The team has exceptional abilities in relation to public procurement. They also are extremely affable which makes them a perfect match. I work with two individuals who are exceptional at their work, Martin Cooney and Fergal Ruane. They work late into the night to get documents ready to meet our deadlines also.’

‘Sean O’Donnell is approachable and responsive.’

‘The team can offer multi-sectorial expertise. It demonstrates excellent communication skills with clients and provides timely response to clients’ instructions.’

‘Michael Walsh, Fergal Ruane and Sheena Beale all showed attention to detail and excellent knowledge of their respective fields. They have demonstrated that they are capable of providing an in-depth analysis of the subject combined with appropriate solutions and complemented by a thorough explanation to the client who might not be familiar with the Irish legal context. ’

‘Exceptional level of service.’

‘Always provide honest solid advice.’

‘Michael Walsh is one the finest real estate lawyers in Ireland and he has built a team of dedicated professionals that are, quite literally, always on-call to deliver. We work with 5 large law firms in Ireland and easily place the real estate team in Byrne Wallace as number one.’

‘Aoife Hearne is an outstanding lawyer, dedicated and hard working, she never misses deadlines and is always available to her clients. A future star.’

‘Aside from their deep technical knowledge and practical experience they have a very responsive and can-do attitude. Dealing with a combination of lawyers and banks can sometimes make it seem impossible to make progress but the team here are very focused on the end result.’

‘Paraic O’Kennedy has previously worked in-house in the financial sector and this knowledge of both sides of a transaction is invaluable in understanding how far any particular issues can be pushed and challenged. He will always return calls in a timely fashion, even at some times if this is very late in the evening. This type of service and responsiveness is hugely important.’

‘The team I have worked with has been ultra-flexible and available during a protracted negotiation. They have been accessible and instilled confidence in the advice received.’

‘Commercial, responsive, results driven, value for money.’

‘Mark Kavanagh is a very personable lawyer who is always available to help progress a deal. Mark is also very well respected in the banking community in Dublin and is a person that can get things done.’

‘Laura Fitzpatrick is very competent and highly efficient in what are often very time-critical transactions. Laura’s service level is also remarkable.’

‘I have always found Byrne Wallace and their team to have such a wide range of knowledge to cover any aspect we have ever requested support with and the support has been exceptional. What I feel sets them apart from other firms is their generosity with time and support for clients for any queries at all, never feeling rushed and always feeling supported.’

‘Gerry Beausang is a top-quality lawyer who brings great experience to deals.’

‘There was a very strong team working with us. There were experts involved from all the relevant fields. The team were readily available and endeavoured at all times to close out issues as they arose.’

‘Neil Keenan is a standout practitioner in this team. His knowledge of company law is second to none and he goes the extra mile to ensure that the client’s needs are met.’

‘I have worked with many law firms over the years but Byrne Wallace are by far and away the most professional and reliable of all. They have a remarkable and admirable team, highly knowledgeable and experts in their areas of specialty. With Byrne Wallace there is no doubt you are treated as a priority. As a client you are never left waiting for their assistance and they will work tirelessly to ensure your legal requirements are met.’

‘I have been working with Neil Keenan for many years and he never fails to provide sound and comprehensive legal advice. Our company relies greatly on Neil’s advice and he is the first port of call for us when legal expertise is required. Not only is Neil a wealth of legal knowledge, he is a pleasure to deal with and will always make himself available to us regardless of how busy he is. Neil’s approach augments the fact that he values our company as a client and we appreciate him greatly.’

‘Colin Sainsbury is hugely knowledgeable, experienced, gracious and most importantly responsive.’

‘Catherine Dowling provides exceptional service. Always on top of the project.’

‘This practice is practical, commercial and their final fees matched their original quotes.’

‘Martin Cooney is a stand out partner. He is very personable, commercial, direct, practical and his fee quotes match his final invoice.’

‘Martin Cooney’s team gets to grips with the critical issues at an early stage and develops the most appropriate strategies in response to those issues. Their understanding of the realities and constraints of construction/engineering project disputes is especially commendable. What sets them apart is the ability to develop the appropriate strategy in order to achieve the most favourable outcome for their party. ’

‘Martin’s leadership and all round knowledge and experience of the full spectrum of the construction process provides his team of highly motivated and commercially astute lawyers with the confidence to develop and pursue the chosen strategy with clarity and confidence. He is ably supported by the excellent Deirdre Hennessy and Lisa Maloney amongst others.’

‘The construction team in ByrneWallace combine their knowledge of construction contracts and law with their exceptional technical knowledge of construction methods and practice. The combination of these skills enormously enhances their clients’ chances of achieving the best possible outcome. ’

‘The qualities I value are their work ethic, approachability and friendliness. This includes out of hours discussions, which I’ve had on a few occasion at times close to and after midnight, with Martin Cooney, the partner in charge of their construction team. Martin was always available to help, guide and advise.’

‘The expertise of Martin Cooney and the support provided by his colleagues was highly valued.’

‘What stood out was the management and involvement of Martin Cooney, and the quality of both Lisa Maloney and Deirdre Hennessy. ’

‘Friendly and very knowledgeable’

‘Mark O’Shaughnessy is smart, emotionally committed and very inspiring.’

‘Gavin Blake’s expertise in energy and infrastructure is critical when structuring green energy SPVs. It is his understanding of the linkages between materials supply, energy production and waste stream, and associated value chain, that enables the required wraps to support the delivery of these interlinked SPV developments.’

‘Very easy to work alongside. Gavin Blake in particular is fantastic to work with, perceptive, detailed and excellent at explaining complex legal issues in layman’s terms.’

‘The ByrneWallace energy team combines strong technical legal capabilities with outstanding market intelligence and insight. They are constantly attuned to market developments and will often provide an invaluable prompt as to potential opportunities in Ireland. They really have their finger on the pulse of the Irish renewable energy market.’

‘Gavin Blake is a “go-to” adviser on Irish onshore wind and energy regulation matters. He is a mine of information on potential secondary transactions in the market.’

‘Neil Keenan is a corporate heavyweight in energy and provides real gravitas to M&A and corporate finance transactions in the sector. ’

‘ByrneWallace provides us with an excellent external legal function with access across a broad range of competences most specifically natural resource, capital market, corporate and M&A advice. Being able to call on a “one-stop shop” is invaluable.’

‘Their personnel have experience of the wind industry (offshore and onshore) and know the mindset of participants therein.’

‘I trust Gavin Blake to watch my back in all legal matters and to give me a heads up on industry-related matters. Gavin is thorough, thoughtful and efficient. He knows how to close out a tight deadline deal and will work tirelessly in this regard.’

‘Prompt and efficient service. Always available whenever required.’

‘Very pragmatic and commercial advice.’

‘John Fitzgerald is a top insolvency solicitor who provides excellent commercial and value for money advice across a range of insolvency and restructuring matters.’

‘ByrneWallace provide a comprehensive, professional legal service for our organisation. They respond promptly to requests for advice and offer clear communication re pricing and response times.’

‘Fergal Ruane has provided advice to our organisation on a major commercial development opportunity. Fergal has offered considerable advice, expertise and guidance to us in this matter, showing a clear understanding of any new relevant developments in this area which may have impacted on our own development proposals and talking us through similar projects – which was invaluable given our inexperience in that field. Fergal is professional yet very personable and has always been available at short notice to discuss any issues and concerns we have had and we look forward to his continued advice on this project.’

‘I only use ByrneWallace in Dublin for our capital markets needs. Gerry Beausang and his team have provided good sound commercial advice to us at a lower cost.’

‘Gerry Beausang is a very good adviser to have in your corner, and is very easy to work with.’

‘ByrneWallace has a number of outstanding individuals to support specific projects. The key partner is Gerry Beausang, whose advice is always clear and relevant to our situation. Gerry provides us with an excellent legal basis to make well-informed commercial decisions.’

‘I value being able to have confidential peer to peer discussions and learning about other organisations’ best practice to efficiently implement GDPR.

‘We met a number of members within the team, managed by Senior Associate Zelda Deasy, and they sought a through understanding of our business in order to deal with our requirements effectively. There was a practical approach taken by the team and their knowledge of their individual work areas was exceptional. Their response times to our queries were quick and concise and overall the team was a pleasure to deal with. ’

‘Senior Associate Zelda Deasy was in charge of the team engaged for our Data Protection requirements. Zelda demonstrated strong leadership throughout. She applied an organised approach to the work requirements and the results were delivered in a professional and practical manner and clearly reflected the needs of our business. Her knowledge in this area came across as exceptional.’

‘The team that I dealt with were very personable. It felt like our issue was their issue. They really cared about getting the matter resolved in the best way possible for us. The team were understanding, prompt in their responses to us and patient with the complications that arose. ’

‘ByrneWallace have been our company’s solicitors for many years and they are by far and away the best legal firm in my opinion. The level of expertise of their partners, solicitors and associates is second to none and we are always made feel like we are the top priority and their only client.’

‘I would like to highlight Senior Associate Zelda Deasy at ByrneWallace for her outstanding work on data protection. The project that Zelda took on to manage for us was not straight-forward or indeed easy but Zelda was able to get to grips with it immediately and bring order to a lot of disorder very quickly! Zelda is thorough and will critically examine the matter at hand. Zelda is an expert on data protection matters and is also one of the nicest and most genuine people you will meet.’

‘ByrneWallace have always been very supportive of our needs. They recognise that we are not legal experts and give their opinions very clearly and with minimal jargon. This is very refreshing for an SME. Some firms try to dazzle with terminology and obfuscate, ByrneWallace do not.’

‘The team has a very deep knowledge of financial regulations, privacy & compliance which make them the ideal partner for anyone that is seeking to set up shop in Ireland to offer any type of financial service.’

‘Dedicated solicitors who know my client’s business extremely well, which helps to build a relationship with all parties.’

‘Louise Holmes is very professional, experienced, efficient and very good with dealing with my client. She has a way of delivering bad news in a good way and this helps to put my client’s mind at ease.’

‘Referred to the Intellectual team we were delighted to meet Mark O’Shaughnessy and his team and were comforted by their grasping of the matter, their ability to communicate complex legal concepts and their ability to clearly strategise the most efficient path to manage the threat. I would commend their capacity to communicate the complex in a clear and productive style.’

‘I found Mark O’Shaughnessy to be excellent in all respects. I felt he was exceedingly engaged and energised by the matter and was wholly committed to our interests. I found this level of commitment to be quite different from other legal engagements where the client is sometimes made to feel to be nuisance in a busy day of other, more important matters.’

‘Very experienced in licensing agreements. Creative in identifying solutions.’

‘Colin Sainsbury brings tremendous depth of experience in life sciences and pharmaceutical. Thorough and creative.’

‘The team are very strong technically and provide a high quality service and value for money. The customer service in unrivalled. They tailor solutions to complex legal challenges for our business.’

‘We are involved in a number of cases to protect the the business and to manage reputational risk. These are being litigated in the High Court currently. We are using the services of Mark O’Shaughnessy, who has an excellent legal mind and who is highly responsive to client needs in the area of defamation. This is a new area of litigation for the business and Mark is very strong at ensuring complex legal matters are explained in clear and concise language so that the business can make informed decisions in terms of strategy and tactics.’

‘The partners and solicitors working within the Media and Entertainment department of Byrne Wallace are all highly specialised and leaders in their field. They are extremely knowledgeable in this area of law and can be relied upon to provide expert guidance and advice in a very prompt and timely manner.’

‘I have also worked with Mark O’Shaughnessy who is top-class in the area of copyright law.’