EY Law Ireland > Dublin, Ireland > Firm Profile
EY Law Ireland Offices
Harcourt Centre
Harcourt Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
EY Law Ireland > The Legal 500 Rankings
Ireland > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3
EY Law Ireland continued its expansion in 2024 with the hire of senior corporate and M&A specialists, Aidan Lawlor and Conor O’Dwyer, from McCann FitzGerald LLP. The enlarged team has landed a series of headline instructions, including numerous cross-border and multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions, along with a growing pipeline of private equity deals. The team is also noted for corporate reorganisations. Adam Synnott heads the corporate, M&A and structuring team in Ireland.Practice head(s):
Adam Synnott
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
AM Technical Solutions
Hightech Payment Systems
Legrand
Constellation Software
Fly4 Airlines
Signature Aviation
Guaranzuay Consulting
Work highlights
- Advised AM Technical Solutions on the acquisition of Kyron Innovative Technologies.
- Advised Hightech Payment Systems on its acquisition of CR2.
- Advised Legrand on its acquisition of Davenham Switchgear.
Ireland > Intellectual property Tier 4
EY Law Ireland manages a broad spectrum of domestic and international IP matters, offering expertise in the creation, management, enforcement, and commercialisation of intellectual property. Peter Bolger heads the group and is well-versed in handling contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters.Practice head(s):
Peter Bolger
Ireland > Employment Tier 5
EY Law Ireland assists clients across the technology, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and marine industries. The team is proficient in drafting employment contracts, restructuring matters, and discriminatory dismissals. The head of the department, Deirdre Malone, has deep expertise in whistleblowing, employee relations matters, and dual contracts of employment. The team is further strengthened by the arrival of Aoife Gallagher-Watson, who joined as a director in the employment law practice.Practice head(s):
Deirdre Malone
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Overall, the firm has consistently demonstrated their competence and professionalism in addressing our employment-related concerns. Their comprehensive services, international presence, and detailed billing have greatly contributed to our satisfaction with their assistance.’
‘I confidently recommend this legal firm for their expertise in employment issues and their ability to handle a variety of legal matters.’
‘Overall, I highly recommend Deirdre Malone as our outside employment legal counsel. Her practical approach, willingness to communicate, availability, reliability, knowledge of the latest legal topics, and understanding of our organization make her an invaluable asset to our team.’
‘Deirdre Malone is excellent. Very practical in her approach and understands the business.’
Key clients
EY Ireland
Hightech Payments Systems
LeGrand
ACCM
Salsa Jeans
Keeper Security
Fly4 Airlines
Turner Construction Company
Work highlights
- Advised Hightech Payment Systems on its acquisition of CR2, a digital banking software company headquartered in Ireland.
- Advised LeGrand on the employment law aspects of the acquisition of Davenham Switchgear.
- Advised Turner Construction Company on its acquisition of an Irish headquartered engineering group.
Ireland > Capital markets
Ireland > Data privacy and data protection
Ireland > Information technology
EY Law Ireland > Firm Profile
At EY Law Ireland, we align with the wider EY global purpose of shaping the future with confidence. We are a stand-alone law firm, regulated by the Law Society of Ireland and offer a full array of legal services. We are a member firm of a wider global network of EY law firms. Our team of Irish lawyers work with our clients locally and internationally to meet their ongoing legal and commercial objectives for their businesses.
We listen to our clients and understand their needs. Our advice and strategies for clients is bespoke to our clients’ needs.
We work collaboratively with clients to offer client-focused efficiencies with the ability to seek all professional services from EY and EY Law Ireland.
Our unique, end-to-end legal services offering helps clients navigate a rapidly evolving legal and regulatory landscape in Ireland, which is enhanced by direct access to 3,400+ EY Law professionals across over 90 jurisdictions. Our lawyers understand the critical interplay between law, finance and tax in today’s economy. By partnering with other EY experts across the EY network, we offer a multidisciplinary, one-stop-shop, integrated approach. This help clients navigate complex commercial and legal issues quickly, efficiently and helps reduce the gap between business advisors and legal counsel to increase efficiency and speed to market.
In Ireland and globally, we disrupt conventional siloed professional services and offer sophisticated clients a compelling alternative. We attract ambitious talent who partner with our growing client base to deliver long-term sustainable value. EY Law invests heavily in our people and in technology as we shape the future of the provision of professional services, and together with our clients build a better working world.
As a market disruptor, we have strategically developed our key legal practice areas, leveraging the expertise of our partners at EY Ireland. This strategic alignment empowers our lawyers to deliver bespoke, market-leading legal advice that factors in the crucial interplay between law, finance, and tax in today’s dynamic economy. By seamlessly integrating with EY experts across our global network, we offer an unparalleled, multidisciplinary one-stop-shop solution. This ensures our clients can adeptly navigate complex commercial and legal landscapes with exceptional speed, efficiency, and precision.
At our core, we are a disruptive full-service legal services provider supported by the scale, technology and expertise of a global Big4 firm. We are able to creatively apply our resources, methods and technologies beyond traditional law firms to more extensively and fundamentally alter the way in which legal services are delivered to our clients.
As a recent entrant to the Irish market, EY Law Ireland is undergoing significant growth and expansion, driven by our commitment to delivering exceptional legal services. This growth is further bolstered by our ability to leverage the extensive expertise of the team within EY Law UK. By collaborating closely with our UK counterparts, we are able to offer a broader range of specialised legal knowledge and innovative solutions, ensuring that clients benefit from a truly integrated and comprehensive service offering.
EY Law Ireland’s practice areas are:
M&A and Transactions
- Mergers and Acquisitions – domestic and cross-border, including legal due diligence, deal negotiation and execution
- Guiding our clients from deal ‘design’ stage, through negotiation to implementation and integration
- Joint ventures and shareholders Agreements
- Private equity and venture capital
- Analysing corporate group structures
- Streamlining or rationalising groups to facilitate pre-sale planning and optimise tax and other efficiencies
- Providing strategic advice and corporate governance support to boards
- Post-deal integration
- Corporate Advisory including Company Law, Commercial Law, Shareholder controversy, corporate governance, insolvency and restructuring and EU competition law and merger control
Employment Law
- Advising on investigations/disciplinary processes
- Discrimination/equality queries
- Whistleblower investigations
- Litigation arising from employment (Workplace Relations Commission, Labour Court)
- Employment due diligence for asset and share deals
- Managing consultation requirements
- Advising on industrial relations engagement issues
- Post-deal workforce integration
- Collective redundancies
- Advising on communication strategy
- Supporting with selection process, managing appeals and subsequent litigation
- Post re-organisation integration and managing people issues
Technology and Commercial Law
- Technology – ICT contracts, software licensing and services, SaaS, software partner arrangements, reseller arrangements, managed services, licensing
- Outsourcing arrangements
- Commercial joint ventures
- Cyber security and operational resilience
- Data Protection and Privacy
- Artificial intelligence
- Intellectual Property and Digital Assets
- Contracts and Supply Chain
- Platform and Content Regulation
- Consumer Regulation
Corporate Governance and Compliance
- Incorporations and dissolutions of corporate entities and registrations and de-registrations of branches
- Annual compliance support
- Board and Officer changes
- Company name or registered office changes
- Arranging approval of powers of attorney or other delegated authorities
- Updating company constitutions
- Assisting with changes to share capital
- Internal capital contributions/share issuances/declaring dividends
- Providing director duty training to boards of Irish companies
- Provide Board and Committees support in relation to their meetings
Real Estate and Development Law
- Acquisitions and Disposals – acting for purchaser and vendor in respect of properties such as office blocks, wind farms, renewal projects, shopping centres, development sites, social housing, private residential schemes, nursing homes, hospitals, multi-use developments, standalone retail units, hotels and leisure facilities and private residential schemes
- Commercial Leasing – Our advice extends to advising on agreements for lease, occupational leases, side letters, deeds of variation, assignments, underleases, surrenders and/or supplemental leases.
- Development of commercial and/or residential schemes – Acting for developers and property owners in setting up and implementing commercial developments and schemes, residential, mixed-use, retail, office, industrial, logistics and hospitality
- Advisory -All real estate aspects of large-scale infrastructure and other capital investment projects
Private Client Law
- Wills
- Estate and succession planning
- Establishment and administration of trusts
- Probate and administration of estates
- Capacity issues – including advising on Enduring Powers of Attorney
- Contentious trust and estate matters
- Charity law, the establishment & administration of charities
Tax Strategy and Disputes
- Providing objective insights into the full range of tax issues
- Advising on all categories of disputes with the Revenue Commissioners
- Preparation of submissions and representation at the Tax Appeals Commission and the Courts
- Providing tax and legal opinions
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of Law | Alan Murphy | [email protected] | |
| Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions and Structuring | Aidan Lawlor | [email protected] | |
| Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions and Structuring | Conor O'Dwyer | [email protected] | |
| Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions and Structuring | Adam Synnott | [email protected] | |
| Technology and Commercial | Peter Bolger | [email protected] | |
| Technology and Commercial | Robert Haniver | [email protected] | |
| Employment | Deirdre Malone | [email protected] | |
| Private Client | Andrea McNamara | [email protected] | |
| Tax Strategy & Disputes | Conor Kennedy | [email protected] | |
| Corporate Governance | Gavin Clare | [email protected] |
Lawyer Profiles
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Mr Peter Bolger | Peter leads the technology and commercial law practice at EY Law Ireland,… | View Profile |
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Mrs Aoife Gallagher-Watson | Aoife is a senior lawyer specialising in employment law who draws on… | View Profile |
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Mrs Gráinne Garvão | Gráinne is a Director within our Corporate, M&A and Structuring team with… | View Profile |
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Mr Robert Haniver | Rob is a Partner in EY Law Ireland’s Technology and Commercial team.… | View Profile |
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Mr Conor Kennedy | Prior to joining EY Law, Conor was a Tax Appeals Commissioner having… | View Profile |
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Mr Aidan Lawlor | Aidan is a corporate transactional lawyer with over 20 years of experience… | View Profile |
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Ms Deirdre Malone | Deirdre leads EY Law Ireland’s employment law team, bringing a wealth of experience from… | View Profile |
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Ms Andrea McNamara | Andrea advises Irish and international individuals, families and family businesses in relation… | View Profile |
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Mrs Maeve Murphy | Maeve is a Director within our Corporate, M&A and Structuring team, with… | View Profile |
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Mr Conor O'Dwyer | Conor is a corporate transactional lawyer for over 20 years and has… | View Profile |
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Mr Adam Synnott | Adam is a corporate transactional lawyer with over 20 years of experience… | View Profile |
Solicitor Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Mr Alan Murphy | Alan joined EY Law Ireland to build a world class law firm… | View Profile |
Diversity
EY Law Ireland: A Commitment to Excellence and Inclusivity
At EY Law Ireland, we are dedicated to building and fostering the leading people culture in our profession. Central to this culture are our principles of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DE&I), which empower us to deliver a team of outstanding professionals with a rich tapestry of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. This diversity not only enhances our creativity and innovation but also enables us to provide our clients with the most forward-thinking approaches available, ensuring that we can effectively support them in tackling their most pressing challenges.
Our DE&I Journey
With the backing of our partners at EY Ireland, we have embarked on a DE&I journey that spans decades. While we have made significant strides, our commitment to enhancing DE&I throughout the organisation remains unwavering under our global NextWave strategy. We believe that investing deeply in our people through learning, experiences, and coaching is essential to helping them achieve their professional and personal potential. This investment not only benefits our individuals but also strengthens our collective capability as a firm.
A Distinct Competitive Advantage
Our people culture is distinct and serves as a significant competitive advantage. It’s about creating an environment underpinned by values that our partners and all our people commit to, fostering mutual accountability and execution. We believe that everything starts with attracting the best talent, and we set the bar high, whether recruiting on campus or hiring experienced partners. Our rigorous selection process ensures that we bring in individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with our values and culture.
Commitment to Community and Social Responsibility
A society where people feel culturally and socially accepted and are paid and treated equally is our vision. This year, we have continued our commitment to people and communities through investment in creating employment opportunities and enabling individuals to realise their potential. We have invested €6 million in learning and development programmes and supported community initiatives through fundraising and pro bono work.
Collaborating with EY Ireland, we are committed to supporting them in their ambitious efforts to enhance the EY4AII employment programme, which aims to reduce barriers to entry. As a standalone law firm, we are proud to support our colleagues at EY Ireland who employ 11 graduates from the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID), as well as 50 individuals who participated in their Refugee Access Programme (RAP) and 47 benefiting from the mentoring partnership with the Open Doors Initiative. Additionally, we have expanded our Transition Year initiative and Summer Internship Programme to provide more support for underserved communities.
Innovative Solutions Through Diversity
Our diverse teams are equipped to offer innovative problem-solving and original ideas that can help your business grow and succeed. We understand that varied perspectives lead to more comprehensive solutions, and we actively encourage collaboration across different backgrounds and experiences. This collaborative spirit is embedded in our culture and is essential for driving the best outcomes for our clients.
Global Integration and Responsiveness
As a member of the global EY Law and EY family, we are recognised as the most globally integrated professional services organisation — in our mindset, actions, and structure. This integration allows us to respond more quickly than our competitors and assemble broad, experienced teams around the world, regardless of where you do business. By acting globally, we can deliver better, more consistent quality, ensuring that our clients receive the highest standard of service no matter where they are located.
Commitment to Employee Development
We dedicate considerable time and resources to making EY Law Ireland a great firm to work for. This commitment is reflected in our comprehensive training programmes, mentorship opportunities, and supportive work environment. By harnessing the best talent, we create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This advantage is echoed by our people, our competitors, and increasingly, our clients, who recognise the value of our inclusive, game-changing and dynamic culture.
Making a Positive Impact on Society
Inclusion means making a positive impact on wider society. We continue to do this by supporting our global and local EY networks through the longstanding EY Ripples programme, which gives our people opportunities to work with emerging businesses, young people, and marginalised groups. With our strong alliance with EY Ireland, we have also expanded our sponsorship programme for sports and the arts and supported a range of charities, raising over €109,000 for our charity of the year, the Irish Cancer Society. Overall, EY has contributed €570,000 to charities during FY24.
Continuous Improvement in DE&I
As we continue to evolve, we remain steadfast in our commitment to DE&I, recognising that it is not just a moral imperative but a business necessity. We understand that an inclusive workplace fosters creativity, drives innovation, and ultimately leads to better business outcomes. Our goal is to ensure that every individual feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute to their fullest potential.
EY Global and EY Ireland’s DE&I teams continue to support EY Law Ireland in tracking progress towards our representation goals. EY’s Gender Projection Tool is now being used by recruitment and strategic talent partners to gain insights into gender dynamics within our firm, aiding our journey towards gender parity. We collaborate closely with our colleagues at EY Ireland to ensure a diverse and vibrant culture at EY Law Ireland that is welcoming, equitable, and just.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
Closing the gender pay gap is a top priority of this collaboration, and we are committed to making continuous improvements to achieve this goal. By fostering a supportive and fair environment, we aim to empower all our employees to reach their full potential and contribute to the ongoing success and innovation of our firm. We are committed to ensuring our firm policies promote gender balance. In this regard, we have special leave policies supporting fertility treatment and will introduce additional policies in 2025 to enhance our flexible working culture.