Philip Lee LLP > Dublin, Ireland > Firm Profile

‘The team stand out for their knowledge and availability. The individuals within the team are very approachable and understanding of the matters at hand. I have never had a bad experience or felt an issue wasn’t being dealt with. Brian Gormley and Aoife McBennett are standout members of the department. Both Brian and Aoife bring a calmness and trust to the production. You know you’re in good hands.’

‘Philip Lee’s knowledge and experience of the Irish film and television sector is unrivalled.’

‘Brian Gormley’s industry knowledge is exceptional and his attention to detail on each matter from minor to more complex is excellent. He communicates clearly and is a fantastic problem solver.’

‘Specialist knowledge across the film and TV team. In particular, Jonathan Kelly is very experienced in all aspects of media finance and takes a practical and commercial approach to problem solving.’

‘Market leaders in film and TV finance with the ability to advise and service Hollywood-based studios, streamers and TV companies. Expert knowledge and deep experience with a commercial approach.’

‘From senior partner down to associate their advice always comes from a place of experience and you can take comfort from the fact that they are so heavily involved in the industry. Jonathan Kelly and Brian Gormley are industry-leading lawyers. Jessica Gorman and Aoife McBennett are highly experienced and reliable.’

‘My experience of Philip Lee has been consistent over many years: first-class legal work underpinned by sound commercial instincts. I am not aware of any other law firm in Ireland that comes close to serving the needs of film and television producers and distributors.’

‘In my career spanning 40 years, Jonathan Kelly is the most outstanding media lawyer I have come across anywhere in Europe or North America: able, immensely knowledgeable and quick to react – great work always delivered calmly and courteously. He and Brian Gormley currently head up an excellent team of emerging third-generation talent.’

‘Rachel Minch not only has professional knowledge in her specific field but will also always offer solutions in other disciplines.’

‘The firm has excellent experience in this area.’

‘Alice Whittaker would be my go-to person for wind project planning work – her experience in this area means that she can advise not only on the legal aspects, but also on the wording nuances that will help an application to succeed. I have absolute confidence in Alice’s advice, and find her to be responsive and proactive and her work to be transparently and fairly priced.’

‘Philip Lee have been keeping me informed with what is going on with the case behind the scenes and have involved me with all the correspondence going back and forth. They have arranged meetings with experts on the subject for us to discuss how to move forward and been open and friendly.’

‘A very strong, specialised team, providing clear, practical advice.’

‘Alice Whittaker is an expert in her field. Very knowledgeable, efficient and responsive.’

‘Philip Lee have a comprehensive understanding of planning and environmental law. They effectively inform our risk management processes as a trusted adviser.’

‘Alice Whittaker has a comprehensive understanding of planning and environmental law.’

‘The people are extremely grounded and pleasant to work with. I feel confident that I am receiving the best counsel from people who understand the business and where it intends to move towards.’

‘The individuals provide excellent pragmatic advice and think creatively to support business challenges from a legal standpoint.’

‘The people are what sets Philip Lee apart from other legal firms, particularly the level of partner availability, engagement and input at all stages of a transaction.’

‘The Philip Lee firm appears to be an expanding firm with significant areas of expertise however it has retained its personal focus and reacts very well to our needs and requirements.’

‘Eoghan Doyle is hugely proactive in pursuing our interests, always delivers on time and is one of the most commercially minded lawyers that we have worked with.’

‘Our primary contact is Eoghan Doyle. He is very much the point person for us in the firm. The accessibility of Eoghan at all stages of our recent transactions was very important to our team. He understands us very well and is the voice of reason when matters are sometimes quite difficult.’

‘I have nothing but the highest respect for my main points of contact in Philip Lee. Eoin Brereton – advice, service and attention to detail on a wide range of areas has been very invaluable to me and my organisation.’

‘Kerri Crossen is very invested in her clients and as such provides a highly personalised service designed to fully meet her client’s needs. Kerri has significant knowledge and expertise and is aware of developments in the construction sector that may need to be factored into the advice provided. She brought a common-sense approach to her advice, which was particularly invaluable during a time when the rule book was changing due to operating in a pandemic. She is responsive and always available, providing thoughtful, well-considered advice that she is sure her clients understand the implications of.’

‘There is direct contact with the principles of the practice at all times, and they manage relationships very well. On top of that they are able to react to situations as they evolve. They have a strength and depth in their partners and the expert services they can provide to react to any given situation that is second to none.’

‘Very competent, each lawyer has their own unique area of expertise and the practice allocates the partners depending on the detail of any given situation, sometimes even allocating two or more different partners to various aspects of the same case if that is the best way of achieving a result.’

‘Hugh Cummins is an excellent lawyer who provides a great service. He has huge knowledge and commercial pragmatism and will spare no effort to get the right solution.’

‘Angelyn Rowan is highly knowledgeable and provides top-class strategic advice on complex construction matters.’

‘Angelyn Rowan is a very capable practitioner.’

‘The firm provides full contentious and non-contentious legal services delivered by a diverse team. When faced with multiple complex legal arguments on a major dispute, the firm was able to mobilise a team of experienced lawyers at short notice to prepare and successfully present rebuttals.’

‘In addition to being competent and confident lawyers, the individuals were approachable and personable and provided us with confidence.’

‘Phillip Lee is easy to recommend. They very quickly understood the complicated relationship that exists between our company and our parent company and clearly understood what needed to be done to ensure that we are GDPR compliant. They were very responsive to our requirements in a particularly unambiguous way that is easily understood.’

‘The values that Philip Lee bring to data protection matters are providing the explanation behind the advice (i.e. what are the rules, guidance and regulations that have shaped the advice), providing the advice in a clearly understandable manner, particularly for the non-legally trained recipient, and being practical and pragmatic and advising that “this is what we would do if we were in your shoes”, while being reflective of the identified risks.’

‘The appointment of a dedicated partner to the dispute in question, with a separate senior partner on hand to offer guidance, and to review/second guess the legal strategies being developed. Like most other practices, Philip Lee has made good use of virtual meetings using technologies such as Zoom conferencing.’

‘The partner I am working with has experience of working in at least two quite different regulatory environments, which adds a breath of perspective that is helpful and reassuring.’

‘The team provide full support and huge attention to detail. They guide you through the practice and advise you of all options available.’

‘Confident, clear, supportive and makes a difficult process easy to navigate.’

‘Philip Lee are very client focused and when you engage Philip Lee you get a team approach rather than an individual however it is partner led and the partners are fully engaged with the client. Philip Lee invest in their clients and demonstrate this through their understanding of not just the clients’ legal issues but the clients’ business which in turn means they understand the particular objectives and sensitivities that prevail. In terms of providing value for money Philip Lee are always mindful of client costs, are transparent and ensure the client is fully aware of where costs sit at all times.’

‘Clare Cashin – Clare is insightful and reviews issues with a view to providing clients with a clear strategy and plan for dealing with a dispute. Clare has a wealth of knowledge and experience of dispute law and procedures and is very skillful in guiding clients through difficult disputes which can be very pressurised and stressful. Clare leads her own team ensuring they are meaningfully involved so the client has the benefit of a full team delivering its requirements.’

‘Angelyn Rowan – Angelyn is very knowledgeable and experienced in terms of both the project and procurement sectors, she has a detailed understanding of this area of law and practice and therefore provides clear advice that takes into account the full impact of an issue rather than simply the limited scope of what she might be asked to consider. Angelyn has been invaluable in providing services to us in both the contentious and non-contentious areas.’

‘Siobhan McCabe presents extensive knowledge of the energy market, provides great guidance and service, and is very responsive and accessible. Very good communication skills combined with great legal skills.’

‘The team is dynamic in that it quickly understands the client’s issues in a legal and commercial context. It tailors its advice accordingly and ensures a consistent approach is taken from the outset. The team is nimble and always able to call in specialist advisers when needed in complex matters. The diversity and collaboration evident in the team sets the bar for others to follow.’

‘Siobhan McCabe has grown this team year on year. A well-known name in the market, she attracts talent and blue-chip clients. Leading from the top, she affords all her clients her attention throughout a transaction. The entire team are standout.’

‘I always use Siobhan McCabe as my legal adviser for all renewable work. Siobhan is the best I’ve come across in 30 years of renewable energy work. Siobhan also has the most in-depth knowledge of the new community renewable model.’

‘They have a deep history in the renewables sector. Their work with community-scale projects really distinguishes them in the market.’

‘Siobhan McCabe in particular manifests applied expertise and a client-centric approach. Siobhan is solution oriented and I trust that she has our interests at heart in representing us. She is also a skilled communicator, adept at engaging wider variety of stakeholders.’

‘Phillip Lee have built a strong energy team. Their planning and environmental expertise supports and supplements their energy team, which is invaluable to clients as they seek to deliver new renewable projects.’

‘Siobhan McCabe has expertise and experience across both thermal and renewable projects, and therefore brings greater insights and solutions to dealing with issues across the table. She has a great reputation in the solar and battery storage sector. She has great sectoral knowledge and a sophisticated pragmatism that helps get the deal done.’

‘The team at Philip Lee have been exceptional while guiding us through some difficult situations in our industry as it was not clearly regulated so we needed the expertise of Philip Lee’s legal and legislative team in order to help us navigate our own industry. We simply could not praise them enough for their attention to detail and even an out of hours service was made available to us when needed. We really did feel that Philip Lee went the extra mile while advising us in a very tricky regulatory industry that we are in and felt supported by them during this time.’

‘Philip Lee is different to other legal firms that we have dealt with in the past as previously mentioned the attention to detail and extra backup services where 2nd to none. The people who really stood out to us was Philip himself who originally attended the meetings and then Ronan Dunne who was the main lead for all regulatory issues. We have always recommended Philip Lee as a legal service to anybody in the industry and will continue to do so because of the professionalism of this firm.’

‘Strong knowledgeable team, detailed and considered responses and advise, very proactive and responsive.’

‘Angelyn Rowan, experienced and knowledgeable. Very proactive and response on matters’

‘Philip Lee are very client focused and when you engage Philip Lee you get a team rather than an individual. The work is partner-led and the partners are fully engaged with the client. Philip Lee invest in their clients and demonstrate this through their understanding of not just the client’s legal issues but the client’s business, which in turn means they understand their particular objectives and sensitivities. In terms of providing value for money, Philip Lee are always mindful of client costs, are transparent and ensure the client is fully aware of where costs sit at all times.’

‘Kerri Crossen is very invested in her clients and as such provides a highly personalised service designed to fully meet her clients’ needs. Kerri has significant knowledge and expertise and is aware of developments in the wider projects and PPP sector that may need to be factored into the advice provided. She is responsive and always available, providing thoughtful, well-considered advice.’

‘Angelyn Rowan is very knowledgeable and experienced in terms of the PPP sector and she has a detailed understanding of this area of law and practice. She therefore provides clear advice that takes into account the full impact of an issue rather than simply the limited scope of what she might be asked to consider. Angelyn is very responsive and client focused.’

‘A very responsive team. Always looking to employ the common-sense approach to a problem. Very knowledgeable on the law but also very focused on the commercial realities.’

‘I’ve dealt extensively with John O’Donoghue and I’ve found him very responsive, easy to talk to, very practical in his approach to solving problems and very reliable in meeting deadlines. I’ve built up a high level of trust in John and I believe the professional relationship we have built up saves my organisation time and money in meeting our real estate objectives.’

‘Incredibly proactive and problem solving. They field a multi-disciplinary team, each with their own skillsets, which as a collective combines to focus on achieving the objective. Equally, individual team members remain connected to the issues outside of their specific remit so that questions can be addressed throughout a project. Refreshingly honest yet very commercial.’

‘Unlike others, they actively drive a project towards completion, are always available and offer extensive experience across all areas. On complex projects requiring different inputs, they have a strong and dedicated team.’

‘What sets Philip Lee apart is their proactive approach. Once they are given a brief they chase both the lawyers representing the other party and us as the client to resolve issues. This gives us quick turnaround on all our property purchase and lease issues and allows us to do better deals with vendors and landlords. They achieve this by bringing the expertise needed within the firm onto team calls with the client, so that decisions can be made. They are very good at documenting next steps for the client.’

‘Thomas O’Malley has spent considerable time coming to understand our business and its future needs. He is an expert in this real estate market, with a strong reputation within the legal profession. This has allowed him to negotiate on behalf of and guide our organisation. He is superb at one-to-one negotiation with third parties, a responsibility many practices pass back to the client. His speed of delivery has been a major factor in the speed of growth the business has achieved in recent years.’

‘The offices of Philip Lee in Dublin kept us in constant communication regarding the entire process of our transaction. They guided us at all times and where necessary intervened on our behalf with third parties.’

‘Tom Conway was methodical in his work on our behalf and available at all times, during and outside work hours, from day one of the project. His tacit knowledge of the legalities was essential in the final closing of our deal.’

‘They managed the fee quote process well and managed their WIP well. They did not suprise us with requests for a fee increase prior to billing; they stuck to the agreed fee quote and kept us informed where any out-of-scope services became necessary.’

‘I find the Philip Lee team responsive and straightforward to deal with. Our organisation is new to the banking field and the Philip Lee team have been extremely good at holding our hands as we chart our way through new territory.’

‘What makes Philip Lee special is their hands-on mentality. When things get hectic, they keep a calm head and deliver – on time, in top quality and reliably. It’s also great that Philip Lee provides our clients who have parts of their operation in Ireland with a carefree package.’

‘I worked with Jonathan Kelly and his team. Jonathan took a hands-on role on our transaction, and was always on top of the detail.’

‘Primarily, we work with Jonathan Kelly and Simon O’Neill. Both deliver top work.’

‘Simon O’Neill, in particular, has already made some of our clients happy with his creative ideas, which also work great, and his pragmatic approach.’

‘I’ve dealt with Simon O’Neill quite extensively and have found Simon to be responsive, easy to deal with, good at explaining the legal landscape of a new area to me and my internal team. Simon has been generally good at meeting deadlines. In terms of the quality and clarity of advice and legal drafting I am very impressed with Simon. ‘

‘They pay attention to details, go above and beyond to get the problem solved, know all the right people to talk to, and have excellent written communication. Most importantly, I know I can trust them with all the legal matters that are important to me.’

‘The key attribute of this practice that I value is personal service by senior experienced lawyers.’

‘Patrick Walshe is an insightful and strategically astute lawyer who helped me to navigate an extremely complex employment law challenge.’

‘Excellent service with a focus on commercial solutions rather than parroting the textbooks.’

‘Patrick Walshe is an excellent practitioner, who can quickly get to the nub of an issue and devise a practical solution which achieves our aims.’

‘Engaging and dynamic.’

‘Flexibility and availability.’

‘Very reactive to emergency requirements during the pandemic. Were willing to go the extra mile and ignore normal working hours to deliver results.’

‘Philip Lee – creative solution finder. Ronan Dunne – hard working and effective solicitor with substantial public procurement experience.’