LK Shields Solicitors LLP

Aoife is Head of the Employment and Pensions Team. Aoife’s practice is primarily focused on contentious employment law matters and commercial litigation. Aoife is an experienced practitioner in the area of employment related disputes involving senior executives and pension and employee benefit related disputes. She has considerable experience in the area of unfair dismissal, employment injunctions, discrimination, redundancy, bullying and harassment and stress related matters, disciplinary investigations and proceedings. As part of her practice, Aoife regularly assists clients in developing risk management strategies in respect of employment and litigation issues. She also provides ongoing support to a range of domestic and multi-national clients on non-contentious employment law matters. Her approach is to provide practical advice and solutions that work for clients. Aoife also has considerable experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution to include contractual disputes, commercial disputes and professional negligence claims defending solicitors, architects and engineers. Aoife is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences on employment issues and has had articles published on a wide range of topical employment law related matters.

Ciara O’Kennedy

Ciara is a Partner is our Employment, Pensions and Employee Benefits team. She acts in a broad range of employment, commercial, contractual and tortious disputes. Ciara advises on both contentious and non-contentious employment issues with significant experience in contentious employment matters and in particular resolving complex and sensitive disputes involving the senior executives and employee shareholders, to include the negotiation and drafting of severance packages relating to senior management exits and advising on all aspects of corporate governance issues associated with such exits. Ciara advises on all legal issues arising out of the employment relationship including employment contracts, TUPE disciplinary issues, dismissal, together with partnering with clients to implement remote working and hybrid working policies, tailored to the specific industry needs. Ciara is the Chair of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association Employment Committee and is a regular speaker at employment events.

Clair Cassidy

Clair is Head of the Commercial Property Department at LK Shields. Clair has extensive experience in advising on all aspects of commercial property including acquisition and disposal of development land, property aspects of corporate and M&A transactions, sale and acquisition of multi-property investments and commercial landlord and tenant. Clair acts for a number of Irish and international clients, developers, real estate funds, family investment houses and oil companies.

Clare Dowling

Clare practises in commercial litigation, specialising in corporate insolvency and restructuring and commercial disputes. Clare trained with LK Shields Solicitors, qualifying in 2008. Clare has acted in large scale commercial disputes across a range of areas including shareholder disputes, property disputes and contractual claims. Clare advises on all aspects of debt recovery and enforcement issues. Clare has particular expertise in advising on liquidations, examinerships and receiverships as well as formal and informal restructurings and reorganisations. Clare also has wide experience of insolvency related litigation, acting for both insolvency office-holders and secured and unsecured creditors in disputes.

David Naughton

David specialises in financial services law. He primarily advises on the authorisation, launch and ongoing operation of all types of investment funds across the liquidity spectrum. David regularly advises asset managers on the laws and regulations applicable to both UCITS and AIF investment funds domiciled in Ireland, with a particular focus on the application of AIFMD, the use of the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) and the regulation of fund management companies in Ireland. He also provides general investment management support and advice on the regulatory obligations that asset managers contend with. His notable achievements include the delivery of the first ICAV authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as both an alternative investment fund and as an internally-managed alternative investment fund manager.

Eamon Jones

Eamon became a Partner in LK Shields following the merger between Kilroys and LK Shields in December 2018. Prior to the merger, Eamon joined Kilroys in 1982, becoming a Partner in 1989 and served as Managing Partner from 2005 to 2012. Eamon’s practice area is commercial litigation and dispute resolution. He has a wide range of experience in litigating commercial matters including, dealing with commercial disputes before the Commercial Court, appeals to the Court of Appeal and ultimately to the Supreme Court. Eamon has crisis-managed multi-disciplinary teams dealing with complex and time-critical statutory and regulatory tribunals and proceedings. He has represented clients in actions taken by and against regulators and advisors on all aspects of “white collar crime”. Eamon has a particular expertise in export credit insurance matters, having specialised in this area of insurance over a considerable number of years.

Elaine O’Connor

Elaine specialises in commercial property and property finance and has experience in all areas of property and property finance law including the sale, purchase and lease of commercial, mixed-use and residential property, in addition to acting for developers and funders on real estate projects.

Emmet Scully

Emmet practices in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and corporate structuring. Emmet is experienced in advising a broad range of clients across different business sectors and has a strong track record in advising on investments into and trade sales of technology businesses. Emmet also advises on corporate structuring/restructuring and on venture capital and private equity investments and structuring. Emmet is the co-author of "The Law and Practice of Irish Stamp Duty" published by the Irish Taxation Institute and has published numerous articles on stamp duty issues.

Ian Lavelle

Ian is a partner in our Litigation and Dispute Resolution department. He advises domestic and international businesses in complex litigation and regulatory investigations and inquires. He is accustomed to acting in strategically important cases before the higher courts in Ireland and England, having practised in London for seven years prior to re-joining LK Shields. Ian also advises clients in mediation, adjudication and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. He is a strong advocate of these often more business-friendly means of disposing of disputes.

Jamie Ritchie

Jamie Ritchie is a key member of our Projects’ team and plays a central role in advising some of our largest domestic and international clients on their infrastructure, construction, energy and commercial legal requirements. Jamie joined LK Shields from a leading international firm and has built a reputation in the marketplace as being one of the "go-to" resources within the firm on construction and procurement law issues. Clients appreciate his extremely commercial approach to complex technical issues both contentious and non-contentious. Prior to embarking on a career in the law, Jamie worked in the construction sector and has first-hand experience of working with primary stakeholders to coordinate successful project delivery. Jamie’s previous industry experience means he brings a unique skill set, flair and understanding of the larger commercial picture whilst working with clients and instructing counsel alike. Jamie is regularly asked to speak at industry events and conferences.

Jane O’Grady

Jane is dual qualified as a solicitor and a trade mark and design attorney, with many years’ experience advising on commercial contracts, intellectual property, commercial agency and all aspects of technology law. Jane’s practice focuses on intellectual property and data protection and she has particular expertise in advising on the intellectual property and data protection aspects of acquisitions and sales. She is also proficient in advising on pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply agreements in addition to the legal requirements for medical devices and diagnostic technologies. Jane regularly advises on protection, commercialisation and infringement of intellectual property. She also advises on all aspects of privacy law including GDPR compliance projects, data subject access requests and cross-border transfers of personal data. Jane is a registered trade mark and design attorney in Ireland and the European Union. Jane has extensive experience acting for businesses on high value, complex contracts including cross-border agreements. She works closely with domestic and multinational clients in multiple sectors to deliver commercially focused solutions in their contractual arrangements. Jane’s work covers drafting and negotiating outsourcing agreements, software licences, service level agreements, website and app terms of use and end-user licence agreements. She also has expertise advising on a broad range of other commercial agreements including advising on distribution and supply agreements, and consultancy agreements for major pharmaceutical companies. Jane has published articles on her specialist areas in the Irish media and is the co-author of the Ireland chapter in the ICLG 2019 and 2020 editions of Trade Mark Laws and Regulations.

Jennifer Clarke

Jennifer is highly experienced in commercial litigation and dispute resolution and has particular expertise litigating high value commercial disputes before the High Court (including its Commercial Court division) and in appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Jennifer acts for domestic and international companies in the commercial, banking, non-bank lending, construction and hospitality sectors. Through the processes of mediation, arbitration and negotiated terms of settlement, Jennifer has successfully resolved disputes on behalf of clients.

Jennifer McGuire

Jennifer advises leading Irish and international public and private companies and private shareholders on all aspects of corporate and commercial law. Jennifer is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial Department and has been with LK Shields Solicitors since she began her traineeship. Jennifer has worked on several large, high profile and complex transactions in Ireland, the UK, central and eastern Europe, the Caribbean/Central America, Pacific Rim area, the Middle East and China. Jennifer has gained considerable experience in corporate and commercial law and particularly in transactional work both in Ireland and abroad. Jennifer also regularly advises on private fund raisings, shareholders/joint venture agreements, start-ups, corporate finance, management buy-outs, corporate reorganisations and commercial law.

Jennifer O'Neill

Jennifer is a Consultant in the Employment, Pensions and Employee Benefits Unit. Jennifer is an experienced practitioner in the area of employment law and has considerable expertise advising clients on employment issues arising on the acquisition or sale of a business or corporate entity. This includes conducting in depth due diligence and risk analysis exercises and negotiating warranty and indemnity protection in asset and share purchase agreements. Jennifer regularly advises clients on the implications of the transfer of undertakings regulations whether on the outsourcing of services or the lease or sale of a business and assists employers with the related consultation and employee benefit issues. Jennifer provides both domestic and international clients with ongoing employment law support to include compliance with legal requirements on working time, leave arrangements, incapacity and disability issues, employment permits, compromise agreements, redundancies and drafting and/or reviewing contracts of employment, handbooks, policies and arrangements with independent contractors Jennifer has published employment law articles on a wide range of issues.

Jenny Ahern

Jenny is Head of Banking and Finance. She is a corporate banking specialist and has extensive experience in dealing with domestic and cross-border transactions involving multi-jurisdictional finance arrangements. Jenny advises both lender and borrower clients on notable acquisition and leveraged finance transactions as well as a range of corporate lending, commercial real estate, development finance and fund finance transactions. Her wealth of experience also includes advising on high profile debt restructurings and significant portfolio acquisitions and disposals.

Jill Callanan

Jill is Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. She advises on all aspects of commercial litigation and dispute resolution. She has extensive experience in all aspects of litigation dispute resolution, in particular, commercial, contract, shareholder and property disputes. While an experienced litigator, Jill takes a constructive commercial approach where possible. Jill has also extensive experience representing parties before tribunals of enquiry established by the Irish Parliament. Jill is also a leading member of the corporate restructuring and insolvency unit of the firm and has acted in some of the most high-profile insolvencies in recent years. Jill has vast experience of advising in restructuring, examinerships, receiverships and liquidations on behalf of all stakeholders including companies, directors, officeholders, insolvency practitioners, financial institutions, shareholders and other creditors.

Marco Hickey

Marco is a senior corporate partner who has advised on many significant transactions including complex restructurings, tax-driven transactions and mergers and acquisitions. He has acted for many large corporations, both domestic and international, private equity firms, entrepreneurs, investment managers and management teams (MBOs and MBIs). He is the head of EU, Competition and Regulated Markets Team at LK Shields. He has considerable experience in EU and Irish competition law (antitrust) including merger control and State aid. Marco is also experienced in EU customs and trade law matters. Marco has advised extensively on various EU Block Exemptions Regulations including those applicable to the motor vehicle sector. Marco is an acknowledged expert on Irish competition law and has acted in some of the most significant complaints and merger reviews conducted under the Irish Competition Act. Marco has written extensively in the topic of EU, Competition and Regulated Markets and is the author of "Merger Control" which was published by the Thomson Reuters group in May, 2013. This book is the first book exclusively devoted to the competition law implications of mergers and acquisitions in Ireland.

Muireann Granville

Muireann is a Senior Associate in our Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. Muireann advises on a wide variety of general and commercial litigation disputes including contract disputes, construction disputes and property litigation, disputes in relation to complex financial structures, professional negligence claims and intellectual property disputes. Muireann has worked on a number of complex high-value disputes before the Commercial Court and has particular expertise in the area of discovery, having managed several large-scale e-discovery projects. She regularly presents and publishes on the issue of legal professional privilege. Muireann has also advised in several mediations.

Patrick Ryan

Patrick practices in the areas of commercial property law (with a particular focus on industrial property), succession planning and trust law, and administration of estates law and practice. Patrick has expertise in all aspects of commercial property law with specific reference to purchase and sale transactions, the negotiation and conclusion of commercial transactions and advising on succession planning and trusts, will drafting and the administration of estates.

Peter O’Reilly

Peter has extensive experience acting for financial institutions in secured lending transactions and advising on loan restructures and enforcement. Peter is a Partner in the Commercial Property team. Peter joined LK Shields having worked in-house for one of the country’s main financial institutions. Peter also previously worked with the Banking and Property Finance team in another Dublin firm.

Philip Daly

Philip's practice is primarily in the areas of M&A, Corporate, Energy and Finance law. He acts for a wide range of businesses with a particular number involved in the area of energy and natural resources. In corporate matters, Philip has acted for both buyers and sellers in Mergers and Acquisitions transactions across all sectors as well as advising on private equity funding rounds, shareholders agreements and corporate restructurings. In commercial matters, he advises clients regularly on complex contractual issues including advising on procurement law. In finance matters, Philip has assisted many clients in raising project finance for large scale projects and also negotiated facility arrangements for a number of household names. Philip also advises a number of trade associations on their regulatory and corporate law needs. Given his significant experience and focus on the energy sector, Philip is the lead partner in the firm’s successful Energy and Natural Resources Unit. He advises a number of household names in the energy sector on all their legal, contractual and regulatory needs.

Richard Curran

Richard is Head of the Corporate and Commercial Department, having joined the firm as a Partner in 2005. Richard practices in the areas of corporate finance and projects. In corporate finance transactions, Richard has acted for both buyers and sellers in M&A transactions across all sectors as well as advising in private equity transactions and shareholder arrangements. He also advises clients on the Takeover Rules. In project finance transactions, Richard has experience of public private partnership (PPP) and other PFI-type transactions across several sectors, including healthcare (hospitals and primary care facilities), education (schools) and transport (rail and roads). Richard began his career at another leading Dublin firm and recently spent five years working in London and Berlin with Hammonds, a leading UK law firm (now part of Squire Patton Boggs).

Ruairi Mulrean

Ruairí practises in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and insolvency. Ruairí also practices in the areas of company and commercial law advising both international and domestic clients. In particular he focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and insolvency. Ruairí advises both domestic and international clients in a wide range of sectors including energy, waste and manufacturing. Ruairí has a particular interest in taxation being a member of the Irish Taxation Institute and has advised on various tax driven group reorganisations and the implementation of other tax driven structures.

Seanna Mulrean

Seanna practises in corporate and commercial law and is also a member of the firm’s Construction and Projects team. She has expertise in a wide range of corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions (in particular cross-border transactions) and advises on commercial contracts. Seanna has acted for both buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions and advised on joint ventures and corporate restructurings. In Construction and Projects Seanna has experience advising on all stages of projects within the waste and wastewater, healthcare, telecommunications, energy and natural resources and transport sectors. Seanna advises on the key types of contracts and agreements most used during the projects and construction lifecycle. She has advised on public procurement, supply agreements and the drafting and negotiation of construction contracts including those based on industry standards such as RIAI, FIDIC, and LOGIC. This experience in construction and projects means Seanna is well equipped to support clients in navigating the challenges associated with corporate transactions and commercial contracts in the Projects and Construction space.

Shane Neville

Shane acts for national and international companies operating in the insurance, technology and professional sectors in a wide variety of commercial disputes. Shane has acted in a wide range of commercial disputes, including insurance/policyholder disputes, professional-indemnity disputes, insolvency/receivership disputes and energy/oil industry disputes. He advises on many aspects of general and commercial litigation and dispute resolution. He is a member of the Commercial Litigation Association of Ireland, the Law Society of Ireland’s Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee, the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association and the Professional Negligence Lawyers’ Association (PNLA). Shane’s practice has a particular focus on advising insurers and defending insured businesses in professional indemnity and other financial lines matters. Niche areas of expertise of his include solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance regulatory law and partnership law.

Simon Mahon

Simon specialises in the area of corporate banking, representing international and domestic banks, alternative lenders and borrowers on a wide range of financing transactions. Simon specialises in the areas of corporate and commercial banking, representing international and domestic banks, alternative lenders and borrowers on a wide range of financing transactions. He has extensive experience in all forms of secured and unsecured lending across various industries, including acquisition and leveraged financing, real estate and development financing, debt re-structuring, asset-based financing and cash-flow lending, on a bi-lateral and syndicated basis. He has a strong track record with a focus on transactional work involving all manner of banking facilities and other financial products in the corporate banking sphere. Simon trained and practised in one of Ireland’s largest law firms and also practised in a boutique commercial law firm in Dublin, in addition to spending two years working in Perth, Western Australia with leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

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