Firm Profile > Eversheds Sutherland > Dublin, Ireland

Eversheds Sutherland
ONE EARLSFORT CENTRE
EARLSFORT TERRACE
DUBLIN 2
Ireland

Email firm Visit website 353 1 664 4200 353 1 664 4300

Pensions and employee benefits Tier 1

Eversheds Sutherland has been involved in some major trustee work for new clients, but also long-standing ones, with practice head Peter Fahy advising the trustees of the Friends First pension scheme on their response to Aviva Ireland's acquisition of Friends First Life Assurance. Fahy also advised 2 Sisters Food Group on the pension aspects of the sale of its Green Isle pizza business to Nomad Foods, and together with senior consultant Fiona Thornton advised the Construction Workers Pension Scheme on the introduction of mandatory pension benefits in the construction sector in Ireland. Ian Devlin joined William Fry in October 2018.

Projects and PPP Tier 1

Eversheds Sutherland is praised for its ‘very strong understanding of the relevant law and its practical application in this area’, as well as its ‘excellent level of service’. Peter Curran has particular expertise in public procurement matters; his recent highlights include acting as lead procurement law adviser to EirGrid after a successful tender, advising on all the procurement aspects of the proposed joint procurement with RTE pertaining to the Celtic Interconnector, an electrical link between Ireland and France. On the PPP front, Angelyn Rowan is advising the National Development Finance Agency on the procurement of its higher education PPP valued at €200m.

Leading individuals

Peter Curran - Eversheds Sutherland

Real estate Tier 1

Apart from its expertise in landlord and tenant work, Eversheds Sutherland also has strength in the residential development sector, with major clients such as Cairn Homes. In one recent example, practice head Joe Stanley acted for McGarrell Reilly on the sale of four residential development sites to Glenveagh Homes. Terry O’Malley and Marie O’Riordan received partner promotions. Other names to note are managing partner Alan Murphy and Cian MacGinley.

Leading individuals

Joe Stanley - Eversheds Sutherland

Next Generation Partners

Marie O'Riordan - Eversheds Sutherland

Banking and finance Tier 2

Real estate and project finance are areas of focus for the team at Eversheds Sutherland. Recent highlights include Steve Rodgers acting for Finance Ireland Credit Solutions on its securitisation of commercial mortgage loans; Darragh Blake advising Avestus Capital Partners on the acquisition and development of a number of properties in Dublin; and practice head Piaras Power (who is 'top class across the board') assisting a financial institution with the €15m funding provided to a housing association for the acquisition of 190 homes throughout Ireland. Deborah Hutton joined from an in-house role.

Leading individuals

Piaras Power - Eversheds Sutherland

Capital markets Tier 2

The 'highly experienced' ECM team at Eversheds Sutherland 'understands and delivers what is required'. The team's high-profile client base includes Kingspan, Cairn Homes and Hibernia REIT. Lee Murphy, who 'provides clear, concise advice in a timely manner', heads the practice; he acted for Irish AIM-listed company Escher Group Holdings on the recommended takeover offer made by Hanover Active Equity Fund, and advised Investec Bank as nomad on the IPO of Yew Grove REIT. Gavin O’Flaherty is 'outstanding'.

Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2

The members of Eversheds Sutherland's team 'make it their business to understand their clients and the industry in which they work'; clients include international companies such as Virtus Health and Irish businesses such as Clanwilliam and Cairn Homes. Lee Murphy acted for Pimco Funds Ireland on the sale of its interests in Citywest Properties, and Gavin O’Flaherty assisted Blue Insurance with the sale of the majority of its share capital to Covermore Insurance. Gerard Ryan heads the practice; he is described as 'a different class of solicitor, a down-to-earth genius'. Sean Ryan is also noted.

Construction Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland impresses with major instructions in the contentious and non-contentious space. Dermot McEvoy’s varied caseload included defending Earlsfort Centre Developments in breach of contract proceedings over an alleged failure to make a top-up payment relating to an agreement entered into following the acquisition of a residential development site in Raheny, County Dublin. Angelyn Rowan is acting for Ardale Property Group on several residential and commercial developments, and is also advising Nama-appointed receiver Duff & Phelps on work being carried out on an existing large apartment complex.

Dispute resolution Tier 2

'Unstinting attention to detail sets the team apart' at Eversheds Sutherland; it focuses on professional negligence and public sector litigation in particular. Norman Fitzgerald and Stephen Barry are defending EY against an €80m auditors professional negligence claim stemming from the financial crisis. Dermot McEvoy specialises in construction and property disputes; Aisling Gannon and Jim Trueick have healthcare and insurance expertise; and Pamela O’Neill is noted for regulatory work.

Employment Tier 2

Advising international and national clients in industry sectors such as technology, retail and energy, Eversheds Sutherland is valued for its ‘strong insights into industry trends and best practice’. ‘Excellent’ team head Joanne Hyde, who is considered ‘a real expert in employment law’, delivers ‘pragmatic advice’. Margaret Gorman focuses on the education sector, but also acts for public sector bodies and advised the Health Service Executive, a new client, on day-to-day employment law issues such as bullying and harassment claims.

Leading individuals

Joanne Hyde - Eversheds Sutherland

Energy and natural resources Tier 2

In addition to regulatory work, Eversheds Sutherland advises clients in the conventional and renewable energy sectors, particularly in the transactional sphere, and has the ability to provide cross-border advice on Irish, Northern Irish and English law. Practice head Mark Varian handled the acquisitions and sales of several wind farms, and advised First Trust Bank on the financing of two wind farms in Northern Ireland. Kevin Collins together with Lee Murphy advised on Sojitz’s €350M purchase of a 60% stake in the Project Emerald portfolio, which has a capacity of 223MW.

Healthcare and life sciences Tier 2

Tony McGovern heads the life sciences practice at Eversheds Sutherland; he advised on a number of high-profile transactions in the sector, including acting for an inhaled treatments developer on the acquisition of the nebuliser division business and assets of a German company. The team also handles matters including development agreements and clinical trials. Aisling Gannon leads the healthcare side of the practice, advising private hospitals, nursing homes, primary care centres and public sector bodies on contentious and non-contentious matters.

Leading individuals

Aisling Gannon - Eversheds Sutherland

Information technology Tier 2

Marie McGinley leads the practice at Eversheds Sutherland, which covers data protection, technology transactions and outsourcing, and technology development, among other areas. Recent highlights include advising a leading media organisation on the development of a cloud software package and assisting consumer payments network Payzone with the development of a new system. The team is also active in the data centre space. Solicitor Ciara Geraghty is also recommended.

Insolvency and corporate restructuring Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland is applauded for its ‘the good teamwork between partner and non-partner staff’, and is made up of practice head Norman Fitzgerald, Neil O’Mahony and senior associate Barbara Galvin. The firm counts domestic and international banks and financial institutions such as Nama and AIB among its clients for restructuring and loan portfolio enforcement work, and acts for accountancy practices concerning their appointment as receivers or liquidators.

Next Generation Partners

Barbara Galvin - Eversheds Sutherland

Insurance Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland has a strong contentious practice with expertise across a number of areas including the healthcare insurance space, where Aisling Gannon excels in defending medical negligence claims. Stephen Barry defends insurers and insured in the construction sector, while Jim Trueick specialises in professional indemnity matters relating to solicitors, accountants and architects.

Next Generation Partners

Stephen Barry - Eversheds Sutherland

Planning and environment Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland handles a good mix of contentious and non-contentious planning and environment work. Litigator Stephen Barry defended Spencer Place Development in relation to the alleged disposal of hazardous waste at a waste facility owned by the plaintiff. He is also acting in planning injunction proceedings for the owner of a protected structure who fears that his historic property will be damaged as a result of the redevelopment of an adjacent hotel, which is allegedly not compliant with planning permission.

Next Generation Partners

Stephen Barry - Eversheds Sutherland

Public sector Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland's practice is noted for its advice in the healthcare, infrastructure projects, education and financial services sectors; the 'partners' procurement knowledge and expertise in this area' is also a key strength. Peter Curran and Angelyn Rowan are advising the Grangegorman Development Agency on the procurement of major contracts for the development of student accommodation on the Dublin Institute of Technology campus, and Pamela O’Neill is assisting the Residential Tenancies Board with a new procedure for issuing its determination orders. Norman Fitzgerald heads the team.

Tax Tier 2

Eversheds Sutherland focuses on advising domestic and international corporates and financial institutions, particularly in the structured finance, funds, aviation, real estate and renewable energy areas. Alan Connell, who leads the practice, advised Pimco Europe on the sale of its interest in the Citywest Hotel complex in Dublin to Tetrarch Capital and consultant Niamh Caffrey acted for EY on the restructuring and acquisition of DKM Advisory Practice. Other clients include AIB, Kraft Heinz and HSBC. Solicitor Robert Dever is also noted.

Telecoms Tier 2

Peter Curran and Sean Ryan lead the practice at Eversheds Sutherland, which counts ComReg and Persona among its clients. Highlights included advising enet, the lead member of a consortium, on its bid for the National Broadband Plan and assisting electronic payments company Payzone with the reseller terms and end-user licence terms for a new system. IP and data protection specialist Marie McGinley is also noted.

EU and competition Tier 3

Eversheds Sutherland is particularly strong in merger control, dawn raids, state aid and competition law compliance. Highlights included practice head Sean Ryan advising Sojitz Corporation on its EU merger notification to the EU Commission and Blue Insurance on the merger control aspects of its acquisition by Zurich. Senior associate Lisa Devanny is also noted.

Intellectual property Tier 3

Eversheds Sutherland’s wide-ranging offering includes work on patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and domain names in the contentious and non-contentious sphere across the food and beverage, manufacturing, media, retail and technology industries. Practice head Marie McGinley has been particularly active in the non-contentious field, advising Wärtsilä on the IP aspects of its acquisition of Transas, and also assisting a number of clients with licensing agreements relating to trade marks, patents and copyrights.

Eversheds Sutherland is one of the world’s leading international law firms We have 5,000 people, including 700 partners and more than 2,800 legal advisors, working across 67 offices in 32 jurisdictions spanning Europe, the United States, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We are the only full service international law firm with an all-Ireland and UK presence, providing a full range of business legal services to commercial and public sector clients alike. On the island of Ireland, we have almost 300 people working in our Dublin and Belfast offices.

As an international full service law firm we partner with our clients to support their business growth and expansion plans. Whether you are an ambitious local company targeting international expansion or a potential investor exploring opportunities in Ireland, we have the local knowledge and global reach to help you make it happen.

In Ireland, we advise indigenous owner-managed companies as well as international and multinational companies, banks, financial institutions and public organisations. Our firm is managed on the basis of establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with our clients and we have always prided ourselves on our broad service offering.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Managing Partner	Alan Murphy
Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Stephen Barry
Banking & Finance	Darragh Blake
Tax	Alan Connell
Corporate & Commercial	Enda Cullivan
Corporate & Commercial	Peter Curran
Head of Pensions & Employee Benefits	Peter Fahy
Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Norman Fitzgerald
Head of Healthcare	Aisling Gannon
Education	Margaret Gorman
Real Estate	Sean Greene
Asset Management & Regulation	Deborah Hutton
Head of Employment Law	Joanne Hyde
Pensions & Employee Benefits	Lorcan Keenan
Real Estate	Cian MacGinley
Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Dermot McEvoy
Head of Intellectual Property, Technology and Data Protection	Marie McGinley
Corporate & Commercial	Tony McGovern
Corporate & Commercial	Lee Murphy
Corporate & Commercial	David O'Beirne
Corporate & Commercial	Gavin O'Flaherty
Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Neil O'Mahony
Real Estate	Terry O'Malley
Head of Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Pamela O'Neill
Real Estate	Marie O'Riordan
Banking & Finance	Piaras Power
Banking & Finance	Steve Rodgers
Corporate & Commercial	Angelyn Rowan
Corporate & Commercial	Gerard Ryan
Corporate & Commercial	Sean Ryan
Head of Real Estate	Joseph Stanley
Dispute Resolution & Litigation	Jim Trueick
Corporate & Commercial	Mark Varian
Tax	Niamh Caffrey

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	David Beattie		View Profile
	Darragh Blake		View Profile
	Anna Broderick		View Profile
	Kevin Collins		View Profile
	Mr Peter Curran		View Profile
	Lisa Devanny		View Profile
	Ian Devlin		View Profile
	Peter Fahy		View Profile
	Aisling Gannon		View Profile
	Margaret Gorman		View Profile
	Sean Greene		View Profile
	Patricia Heffernan		View Profile
	Joanne Hyde		View Profile
	Cian MacGinley		View Profile
	Fiona Mahon		View Profile
	Siobhan Marry		View Profile
	Dermot McEvoy		View Profile
	Justin McGettigan		View Profile
	Marie McGinley		View Profile
	Tony McGovern		View Profile
	Alan Murphy		View Profile
	Lee Murphy		View Profile
	David O’Beirne		View Profile
	Kevin O’Connor		View Profile
	Rory O’Donnell		View Profile
	Gavin O’Flaherty		View Profile
	Neil O’Mahony		View Profile
	Piaras Power		View Profile
	Steve Rodgers		View Profile
	Angelyn Rowan		View Profile
	Gerard Ryan		View Profile
	Sean Ryan		View Profile
	Joe Stanley		View Profile
	Fiona Thornton		View Profile
	Jim Trueick		View Profile
	Mark Varian		View Profile