Showcasing extensive cross-sector capabilities – with focuses including healthcare, energy and financial services – the ‘fantastic, straightforward’ team at William Fry LLP regularly acts for major banks and private equity houses. The firm showcases strong multi-jurisdictional expertise- especially with North American and European markets- alongside displaying in-depth knowledge in handling enforcement claims before the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The ’very intelligent and precise’ Ivor Banim heads the outfit, specialising in M&A and private equity transactions, while Aisling O’Gorman focuses on the real estate sphere. Gerard James is an arbitration expert, while Trish McGrath is well-versed in reorganisations and restructurings.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team is large, experienced and very collaborative (bringing in tax, IP, competition expertise from the firm where needed). They handle big ticket mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings, and general company law matters. They’re also great at cross-border work, especially between Ireland, the UK, and the US.’
‘Ivor Banim is my go-to Irish corporate lawyer. It is very helpful that he is based in London. He is very intelligent and precise. He is very tuned in to the Irish market for legal services in London and brings in experts and support from the Dublin office as necessary to provide a seamless service.’
‘The team is fantastic, straightforward and extremely efficient. Most importantly though is there business sense and strategy to concluding matters with our mutual clients.’
‘The firm understands our niche and has a lot of experience across multiple lenders in our space. They know how to advise us, and our parameters on what is acceptable ricks in documents our deals.’
‘Very cohesive team. No duplication or redundancy in work flow. Without exception very personable and easy to work with. Very strong on project management and clear lines of communication - succinct emails at every level within the team.’
‘Ivor Banim is a straight shooter no-nonsense lawyer which I find very effective in large, complicated transactions. He is very bright but equally pragmatic and not frightened to make the unpopular decision if it is the best move for his client.’
Key clients
- Amgen
- SoftBank
- AIB
- Tesco
- DCC plc
- Edwards Lifesciences plc
- Glanbia
- York Capital Management
- Lazard Asset Management
- Mayfair Equity Partners
- Value Retail
- Phoenix Group
Work highlights
Acted as lead Irish counsel to Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and New Mountain Capital on an agreement to combine Grant Thornton Advisors with Grant Thornton Ireland’s advisory and tax businesses.
Advised EQT Private Equity, one of the world's largest private equity investors, on its acquisition of a majority stake in AMCS, the global market leader and supplier of cloud-based and AI-enabled planning, performance, and sustainability focused software for waste management, recycling and other resource-intensive industries headquartered in Limerick, Ireland.
Acting as the lead legal adviser to the Irish Department of Finance on the sell-down of the State's shareholding in AIB Group plc, one of Ireland's pillar banks, through a range of innovative sale structures not seen in the Irish market before.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Ivor Banim
Other key lawyers
Aisling O'Gorman; Gerard James; Trish McGrath