McCann FitzGerald LLP

Adam is a partner in the firm’s Technology & Innovation Group and advises on a wide range of information technology, intellectual property, data protection, freedom of information, confidentiality and sports law issues. He has particular expertise in relation to the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property, including drafting and negotiating assignment, licensing, collaboration, technology transfer, franchising, distribution, agency, sponsorship and naming rights agreements and advising on brand protection strategy, advertising and product placement. He is also a registered trade mark agent. On the technology side, Adam drafts and negotiates software licences, services agreements and outsourcing agreements and advises on legal issues in connection with transacting online and dealing with consumers. In the area of rights and obligations in relation to information, he regularly advises clients in the public and private sectors on data protection, freedom of information, access to information on the environment, open data and confidentiality matters.

Adrian Farrell

Adrian advises on all aspects of banking and finance matters, including corporate borrowing, structured finance and debt capital markets. In the area of corporate debt, Adrian acts for borrowers and lenders on investment grade and leveraged finance transactions, as well as corporate debt restructuring. Structured finance and debt capital markets experience includes domestic and cross-border RMBS and CMBS transactions, repackaging deals, statutory and structured covered bonds and bank and non-financial corporate note programmes.

Aidan Gleeson

Partner

Alan Heuston

Alan works on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations, restructurings, migrations, capital markets, financial products and banking. He also advises both domestic and international clients on the tax implications of setting up operations in Ireland to exploit and develop intellectual property. Alan also heads up our Betting and Gaming Group. As a former director of tax with Paddy Power Betfair Plc, Alan has significant first-hand experience of the regulatory and taxation aspects of the betting and gaming sector.

Alan Fuller

Alan’s practice includes mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, joint ventures; corporate reorganisations and equity capital markets. He has vast loan portfolio experience, having advised several private equity funds on the acquisitions of large portfolios of loan assets. Alan also has significant experience in the energy and natural resources sector.

Amy Brick

Partner

Anna Moran

Anna has specific expertise in advising domestic and international fund promoters, asset managers and fund service providers on Irish law, financial services regulation and practice related to investment funds. She has recent experience in the structuring, establishment authorisation and ongoing management of a wide range of investment funds, including UCITS funds, AIFs, hedge funds, feeder funds, real estate funds and money market funds. Anna is a former member of, and has participated in, a number of Irish Funds industry working groups.

Audrey Byrne

Audrey’s practice centres on commercial disputes and investigations, with a focus on shareholder disputes, fraud and asset tracing. Audrey has in depth experience in co-ordinating international litigation and investigations in multiple common law and civil law jurisdictions including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, India, Panama, BVI, UAE and Belize and has travelled extensively to local jurisdictions where necessary, acting as lead counsel. Audrey has extensive commercial court experience and is well versed in managing large scale e-discoveries using the most up to date techniques and platforms, ensuring that discovery is delivered cost effectively and on time. Audrey is a CEDR accredited Mediator and has attended many mediations involving a variety of disputes, both as Mediator and advisor. Client’s value her practical, strategic advice.

Barbara Linehan

Barbara is a solicitor qualified in Ireland, England & Wales. She is also a member of the Brussels Bar. She has a multi-jurisdictional practice advising on EU and national procurement law (public and utilities sectors), and its application to major projects and contracts. She has a wide client base reflecting the players involved in procurement - public authorities, utilities, contractors, trade associations.

Barrett Chapman

Hall of fame

Barrett is a partner of the Construction Group practising in all areas of construction law including advising developers, contractors, consultants, insurers and funders on a wide variety of construction related issues. In addition, Barrett has developed particular expertise in the areas of professional indemnity insurance, dispute resolution and health & safety. Barrett has contributed articles to a variety of periodicals and has lectured to audiences on construction law related topics at Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, the Construction Industry Federation and Engineers’ Ireland.

Ben Gaffikin

Ben has been a partner in McCann FitzGerald’s Corporate Group since 2005, having joined the firm in 2000. Prior to joining the firm, he was with Ashurst in London and Minter Ellison in Sydney. Ben's practice includes mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, joint ventures and restructurings. Ben is head of the firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Group. He has particular experience in the pharmaceutical, technology and retail sectors, and has acted on a number of fundraisings, disposals, acquisitions, restructurings and corporate migrations in these industries.

Brendan Slattery

With almost twenty years’ experience in the areas of environment, planning and climate change, Brendan is recognised as an expert in both planning and environmental law at national and EU level, having advised regulatory authorities, statutory bodies, local authorities and developers on the delivery of a wide range of local and national projects. In recent years, Brendan has advised on almost every significant infrastructure project across Ireland spanning the areas of energy, transport, water, wastewater and the agri-business sector. Brendan lectures significantly in planning law on each of the Professional Practice Course in Conveyancing, the Diploma in Commercial Conveyancing and the Diploma in Planning and Environmental Law. He also lectures in planning and environmental law on the Diploma in Physical Planning, the Diploma in Environmental Engineering, the MSc in Environmental Science and the MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation.

Brendan Murphy

Brendan advises clients on a wide range of corporate matters with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, alternative capital investment strategies and joint-ventures. Brendan has significant experience acting in relation to large scale loan sale transactions, both on the vendor and purchaser side. Having previously worked in the firm’s Finance group, Brendan is also in a position to leverage his experience in advising both lenders and borrowers in corporate and property finance transactions.

Brian Quigley

Brian specialises in commercial disputes with a focus on financial services disputes including those involving a range of mis-selling related claims against financial institutions and intermediaries both before the courts and the Financial Services Ombudsman. He also advises on the insurance and regulatory issues arising out of such mis-selling claims, administrative law disputes and related judicial reviews, statutory investigations and enforcement, insurance disputes in particular professional negligence claims, partnership disputes, asset recovery following fraud and property disputes including landlord & tenant claims. His clients include bodies regulated by the Financial Regulator for the provision of financial services, investment funds, entities the subject of fraud and State bodies.

Catherine Derrig

Catherine’s practice involves advising clients in a wide range of contentious matters including commercial disputes, financial products disputes, professional indemnity matters and corporate fraud. She has particular experience of disputes in the banking and financial services, health insurance and professional indemnity sectors. Catherine also advises a wide range of public and private bodies on administrative and regulatory law issues and has considerable experience of judicial review and competition matters. Catherine has extensive experience of complex multi party commercial litigation, often involving significant discovery, in the Commercial and other Superior Courts. Effective and efficient dispute resolution is her priority as she advises on all aspects of the litigation process and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Catherine Austin

Catherine is a Consultant in our Employment, Pensions and Incentives Group. She has extensive experience advising employers and trustees on the establishment and operation of occupational pension schemes including advising on: entitlements to pension scheme membership; member nominated trustee elections; dispute resolution; Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman investigations; Pensions Authority audits and investigations; negotiation of funding agreements and funding proposals and administration queries relating to pension adjustment orders, death in service benefits and dependants’ entitlements. Her practice also includes advising on the pensions aspects of mergers and acquisitions, pension scheme restructurings, the negotiation of scheme funding agreements, including novel contingent asset use, and funding proposals, including benefit reduction proposals to the Pensions Authority, and scheme wind-ups. Catherine has particular expertise in the negotiation of investment management agreements and agreements governing relationships with service providers including the GDPR related aspects of such agreements. She advises public sector and private sector clients on the potential impact of proposed pension policy and legislative changes.

Ciara Ryan

Ciara has a broad range of litigation and dispute resolution experience advising a wide range of clients in both the public and private sectors in the areas of property disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, Commercial Court litigation, licensing law and administrative law. Ciara specialises in property disputes and in particular has significant experience dealing with all aspects of commercial landlord and tenant law, acting on behalf of both landlords and tenants. This specialist expertise is complemented by her in depth High Court experience in property funds litigation and general property related disputes. She also has experience advising in relation to the post-consent phase of infrastructural projects with a focus on statutory land acquisition. Ciara advises various owners and operators in all aspects of licensing law and in particular has experience in advising landlords in relation to the transfer of licences attaching to premises in regular landlord and tenant situations and where a liquidator/receiver or examiner has been appointed over the tenant. She also has recent experience in advising clients in respect of Commissions of Investigation. Ciara is a certified project manager (having been trained in the PMP Methodology) and regularly draws upon her project management expertise to assist in the co-ordination and management of large scale litigation tasks including the management of complex discoveries.

Colm Fanning

Hall of fame

Colm handles a range of general banking and financial work but has particular experience in project finance, corporate banking, structured finance, asset finance, tax based leasing, receivables syndication and PPPs. In recent years Colm has worked extensively on many of the major infrastructure project financings in Ireland. He has advised public authorities, bidding consortia and funders in PPP competition and projects across a range of sectors, including roads, rail, waste, health, energy and renewables, culture, education and technology.

Darragh Murphy

Darragh is a partner in the firm’s Finance Group, specialising in regulatory matters. In particular, he advises on regulatory and commercial matters relevant to financial services businesses, including insurance undertakings, investment management operations, fund promoters, banking entities and payment service providers. Darragh’s practice covers all aspects of carrying on regulated financial services and consumer credit related activities in Ireland whether in relation to the authorisation of entities in this sector, their ongoing business requirements (customer, counterparty and/or regulator facing) and/or problem resolution. Darragh advises extensively on the regulated activities of insurance and reinsurance undertakings – working on many significant corporate and regulatory driven transactions in this area. He also advises banks and other financial institutions dealing with payment services and other FinTech issues, including: SEPA payment systems, credit cards, payment instruments and e-money.

David Lydon

Hall of fame

David has considerable experience across the whole range of corporate transactions and arrangements, including restructurings, corporate reorganisations, demergers and related issues. He also advises on schemes of arrangement, capital reductions and share buy-backs, joint ventures and strategic alliances, commercial contracts/arrangements (including outsourcing) and corporate governance. David provides corporate law advice to a range of Irish and international clients on an ongoing basis.

David Byers

Hall of fame

David is a corporate lawyer, specialising in mergers and acquisitions, public company takeovers, IPOs and equity issues by public companies, demergers and restructurings. David advises financial institutions and other market participants on regulatory issues, including market abuse, corporate governance and compliance matters. David is a frequent contributor on matters of securities and corporate law to a number of industry and legal journals as well as mainstream media published in Ireland and internationally.

David Hurley

David has a wide range of experience in the defence of tort, marine, public, employer and product liability and safety claims, as well as contractual disputes, including contractual debt recovery. He acts for a wide variety of clients in the construction, maritime, motor, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. He is particularly experienced in advising on all issues relating to insurance indemnity. David has considerable general litigation and dispute resolution experience and has advised a number of the largest companies in the State, as well as various state bodies.

David O'Dea

Partner

Deirdre Barnicle

Deirdre is a consultant with the firm. She specialises in Irish taxation law and practice and leads the firm’s Tax Compliance unit. She has experience across all areas of tax having advised on the taxation of general corporate, real estate and financial services transactions including the taxation of mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations, restructurings, migrations, capital markets, financial products, banking, and a wide range of other international and domestic tax matters, over the past decade. She now leads the provision of services by the firm to domestic and international clients in connection with Irish tax compliance obligations across all tax heads, direct and indirect. Through her appointment to the Irish Funds FATCA/CRS working group and the Tax Committee of the Law Society of Ireland, she routinely collaborates with the Revenue Commissioners on behalf of industry to ensure workable tax reporting obligations for taxpayers.

Donal O Raghallaigh

Donal is experienced in all aspects of commercial real estate. He has advised on many large commercial property transactions, acting for Irish and international investors, local authorities, developers, lenders, tenants and receivers. He also advises on complex property related litigation matters. Donal specialises in advising public bodies in relation to PPP projects, compulsory purchase schemes and “land for buildings” transactions. He also works on transaction structuring, helping his clients to protect themselves against unforeseen legal and tax consequences.

Donal Hamilton

Partner

Douglas McMahon

Doug is a partner in the firm’s Technology and Innovation Group. He advises on a wide range of matters including information technology, intellectual property, data protection, cyber security, confidentiality and freedom of information. Doug has particular expertise in relation to the implementation of the GDPR in private and public sector organisations. He also has significant experience advising in relation to data protection breaches and data security incidents, from initial investigation and reporting to resolution. Doug advises a wide range of clients in connection with complex commercial agreements, with a particular specialism in relation to agreements involving information technology and large scale outsourcing projects. Doug lectures and provides workshops for clients and industry organisations on a number of topics, including obligations under the GDPR. He is also a trainer on PDP’s certificate course in data protection compliance.

Eamon de Valera

Eamon specialises in the areas of acquisition finance, property and development finance and general secured and unsecured lending. He has represented banks and borrowers on a wide variety of transactions and continues to advise banks in relation to enforcement remedies. Eamon has considerable experience in reviewing and updating security documentation on behalf of financial institutions and has advised several clients on banking issues with regard to insolvency, loan and security documents.

Éamon Ó Cuív

Éamon advises clients on a wide range of finance matters including debt capital markets, structured finance, securitisation and corporate lending transactions for financial institutions, alternative lenders, non-financial corporates and state-owned entities. Éamon has also been a lead adviser on many of the key landmark green and sustainable finance initiatives in Ireland over the past few years, including the issuance of Ireland’s first Green Bond in 2018 and a number of green and sustainability linked loans and private placements.

Eamonn O'Hanrahan

Hall of fame

Eamonn leads our Projects Group, and has particular experience in project finance, with an emphasis on public transport. He has advised numerous statutory agencies and private sector entities in relation to PPP and other projects. He also handles more general banking and financial work for a variety of financial institutions, including secured and structured lending. He has advised across a range of sectors, including roads, rail, waste, energy, renewables and technology. As an experienced projects and banking lawyer, Eamonn brings particular capability and a proven history in terms of managing and delivering projects with diverse strands and inputs through to completion. He is also recognised as a leading adviser in relation to legal issues affecting public entities, having advised a range of statutory agencies.

Eleanor Cunningham

Eleanor is a Partner and Head of the Pensions & Incentives Group. She is responsible for advising financial institutions, semi-state bodies, companies, trustees, committees and employees on various pension plans, employee share plans and other incentive plans. Her practice includes advising international and domestic clients in both the private and public sectors. Relevant experience includes advising on a range of pension issues including scheme restructuring, liability management exercises, benefit design, trustee governance, scheme amendments, dealing with funding deficits and funding proposals, mergers, scheme wind-ups and the impact of pensions and other relevant legislation regarding pensions schemes and their operation. She also regularly advises on the establishment, amendment, governance and administration of defined contribution schemes and the pensions and incentives aspects of various commercial transactions. Eleanor advises on both Revenue approved tax efficient employee shares schemes and on unapproved employee share schemes and other incentive plans working closely with our Tax Group. She is Chairman of the Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland and Chair of the Irish ProShare Association and Chair of its Pensions Sub-Committee. Eleanor also sits on the Irish Association of Pension Fund’s DC Sub-Committee, and is a member of the UK Association of Pension Lawyers. She lectures on the Law Society’s Pensions Law Diploma.

Eleanor MacDonagh

Eleanor has been practicing since 1992 and specialises in taxation law. She led the expansion of our firm’s Finance Tax practice since 2001. She has particular expertise in international tax structuring through Ireland. She advises on the taxation of capital markets products and on the establishment in Ireland of investment funds and other tax-efficient investment products. Familiar assets classes include real estate, renewables, commodities and an array of financial products. She has expertise and experience in contentious and non-contentious tax dispute resolution in her sectors of expertise.

Emily Mac Nicholas

Emily advises on all aspects of the acquisition, disposal, leasing and financing of commercial property. She advises a broad range of clients including investors, insolvency practitioners, multi-national corporations, statutory bodies, financial institutions and charitable bodies. Emily also provides specialist advice to the corporate, banking, litigation and insolvency teams.

Fergus Gillen

Hall of fame

Fergus focuses on a wide range of debt finance work, with a particular emphasis on debt capital markets (public and private), restructuring, securitisation, structured finance and secured lending transactions. Fergus advises many financial institutions (Irish and international), non-financial corporates and state-owned entities.

Fiona O'Beirne

Fiona has practised for over 25 years in the area commercial litigation and dispute resolution. She advises international and domestic clients on patent litigation and other intellectual property disputes. Her practice also includes large scale commercial litigation, with a focus on complex international, regulatory and banking disputes.

Garreth O'Brien

Garreth is a partner in our Corporate Group and has overall responsibility for our Company Secretarial and Compliance Group. Garreth provides corporate law advice to some of Ireland's largest organisations and advises international clients on their activities in Ireland. His practice covers transactional work, such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and reorganisations, joint ventures and commercial contracts. He also undertakes advisory work, advising on private company law issues and corporate governance. He has recently worked on transactions in the healthcare, telecoms and pharma sectors and on several multi-jurisdictional corporate restructurings. In 2016, Garreth co-authored Mergers: A Legal and Tax Analysis (published by the Institute of Taxation) which was awarded the Norman Bale Irish Tax Review Article of the year.

Gary McSharry

Gary is the lead partner in the New York Office of McCann FitzGerald and a Partner in the Corporate Group. He has extensive experience advising a range of leading Irish and multinational companies and private equity funds on a wide range of corporate transactions and commercial arrangements including; mergers and acquisitions (both public and private), corporate inversions, loan portfolio acquisitions/sales, equity capital markets, reorganisations, corporate governance and joint ventures. Gary has advised on a number of high profile transactions in the Irish market over the past number of years across a range of business sectors. Prior to joining McCann FitzGerald, Gary spent a number of years in New York and has developed particular expertise in advising U.S. and international clients on M&A and the establishment of structures/operations in Ireland.

Georgina O'Riordan

Georgina is Head of our Finance Group and her practice focuses on banking and asset finance transactions. She advises leading aircraft lessors, lenders and arrangers on all aspects of aircraft financing and leasing. This includes cross-border leasing transactions, sale and leaseback transactions, secured lending, portfolio acquisitions and disposals and the establishment of leasing and financing platforms in Ireland. She also advises clients on aircraft repossessions, the registration and operation of aircraft in Ireland and the establishment of Irish joint venture vehicles for the acquisition and financing of aircraft.

Gill Lohan

Gill specialises in equity capital markets and in particular IPOs and equity issues by public companies. She also advises on private mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and general corporate law and governance issues. Gill has been involved in several high-profile transactions in the Irish market and regularly acts for leading Irish and international clients. Gill has also advised on a broad range of mergers and acquisitions particularly in the Agri-Food and Drinks, Real Estate, Travel and Leisure and Betting and Gaming sectors.

Helen Kilroy

Hall of fame

Helen’s practice is in the field of commercial litigation, mediation and related advisory work. She has wide ranging experience in corporate disputes, in particular shareholder disagreements and breach of warranty claims; insurance disputes in particular professional negligence claims and property disputes. She also advises on partnership disputes, planning disputes, compulsory purchases and statutory investigations and enforcement. Helen is an accredited CEDR mediator (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London) and has significant experience in mediating commercial disputes covering a broad range of subject matter. She is a former Council member and a past Chairperson of the Irish Commercial Mediation Association. She is a member of the Irish Sports Council's Disciplinary Appeals Board and the Law Society ADR Committee. Helen also lectures on the Law Society Professional Practice course.

Hilary Marren

Hall of fame

Hilary is a partner in the firm’s Finance Group, specialising in asset finance and leasing transactions. She has acted for many of the leading operating lessors, financiers and export credit agencies in the aviation industry. She has extensive experience of diverse international aviation transactions, including portfolio acquisitions and disposals, secured and unsecured lending, leveraged leasing, portfolio securitisations, aviation-related joint ventures and cross-border financings. Hilary has also advised clients on the acquisition and disposal of operating leasing companies.

Hugh Beattie

Hugh is the lead partner in the London Office of McCann FitzGerald LLP. Hugh specialises in investment funds, debt capital markets, restructuring, structured finance, secured lending and enforcement, bank/financial services regulation, securitisation and corporate treasury. As well as being lead counsel in respect of debt capital markets matters to two of the six Irish credit institutions covered by the Irish Government Guarantee scheme, he has, at one time or another, acted for or advised most bank, investment firm and major capital markets participants who have dealt in the Irish market in relation to various transactions and/or Irish company, securities and financial services laws.

Iain Ferguson

Iain is a partner in our Investment Management Group. He trained and qualified as a solicitor in McCann FitzGerald and most recently practised in a leading international asset management business. Iain has significant expertise in structuring and advising on a wide range of UCITS/AIFs, including ETFs, Structured products and hedge funds. He is a member of the IFIA ETF Working Group since its formation and has participated in a number of other industry working groups.

Ian Payne

Partner

James Quirke

Partner

Jamie McGee

Jamie is a Partner in our Construction Group.

Jennifer Halpin

Jennifer specialises in advising on the sale, purchase and leasing of commercial and residential properties, including houses, apartments, commercial units and development lands. She has particular experience in negotiating the granting and reservation of rights of way, easements, wayleaves and other rights over land, especially in the context of the sale and purchase of wind farms. Jennifer has vast experience advising on the property aspects of secured lending transactions and counts numerous financial institutions and lenders amongst her clients. In recent years, Jennifer has established herself as a leading advisor on both the vendor and purchaser side of several large loan portfolio sale transactions and she has deployed her legal and technical skills in managing the delivery of due diligence output from multiple external law firms and project managing the processes. Her clients include corporate bodies, private individuals, financial institutions, local and statutory authorities and not-for-profit organisations. Jennifer was recently awarded The Client Choice award for excellence in client services – ‘Real Estate, Ireland’ at the 2018 Lexology Client Choice Awards in London.

Jim Murphy

Jim is widely recognised as one of Ireland's leading practitioners in the Commercial Real Estate area. He has advised on many of the most significant transactions in the State in recent years. He represents banks, developers, institutions, foreign investors and state bodies. His experience has resulted in recent instructions on a wide variety of the work-outs and restructuring transactions arising from the Irish banking crisis. Most recently he has been involved in the Group's loan sale work advising a number of leading financial institutions on aspects of the loan, security and property positions they hold, as well as on the real estate and security aspects of enforcement and re-financing. He has also recently advised a number of investors on the acquisition of various buildings and a number of financial and other institutions taking leases of office space in Dublin.

Joe Fay

Joe specialises in banking and asset finance transactions and has advised many of the main participants in the aviation finance industry. He advises on the structuring and financing of the acquisition, ownership and leasing of aircraft and aircraft portfolio securitisations. He also involves advising foreign and domestic aircraft owners and lessors on all aspects of registration of aircraft on the Irish register, operating aircraft in Ireland and establishing aircraft facilities in Ireland. In the course of this work Joe advises on the Irish and EU regulatory framework for the operation and ownership of aircraft and airlines. He also lectures regularly at the aviation law masters programme at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, and at the aviation finance masters programme at the Smurfit School of Business, UCD.

John Neeson

Partner

Josh Hogan

Josh is a partner who specialises in Financial Services Regulation and Fintech. Josh is top-ranked by IFLR1000 as a Market Leader and by Chambers Fintech Legal as Band 1. Josh’s practice includes work relating to prudential and conduct regulation, authorisations, acquiring transactions, fitness and probity, compliance issues, transaction regulatory due diligence, regulatory investigations and remediation. He has deep experience advising clients in the areas of consumer and SME finance regulation, credit / hire purchase origination and servicing, electronic money, payment services, crowdfunding, MiFID, virtual / crypto assets, AML and market abuse. Josh has experience working on secondment from McCann FitzGerald in an international bank and in the Government Department of Finance.

Judith Lawless

Judith has broad experience in general banking & financial services and has developed particular specialisms in relation to derivatives, structured finance and related collateral arrangements, treasury services and banking and financial regulation. She advises financial institutions and various other market participants (including corporates, investment funds, insurance companies and pension funds), both dealers and end-users. She also advises clearing houses and exchanges on Irish-specific issues relating to their services. Her work as Irish counsel in respect of many industry-standard derivatives, collateral, repo and securities lending transaction documents enhances her position as an adviser in those markets. Judith is a former President and Secretary of the Irish Association of Corporate Treasurers and was a member of the European Commission's Legal Certainty Group and the Committee on Collective Investment Governance established by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Kevin Kelly

Hall of fame

Kevin Kelly leads the firm’s Construction Group. He has advised private sector developers and public sector bodies, funders, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants in relation to contract structures and drafting, contract administration and disputes and entitlements, including at court, mediation, arbitration, adjudication and conciliation. Kevin’s extensive construction practice is bolstered by his expertise in all aspects of public procurement law and projects which extends beyond the realm of construction and infrastructure and into the wider sphere of contracts with public sector organizations. Kevin has written articles and lectures extensively on the areas of construction contracts and procurement. He has lectured on both subjects on the engineering degree course at University College Dublin and, for over 20 years, has lectured on the Diploma in Construction Law and Contract Administration course in Trinity College Dublin.

Laura Treacy

Laura leads our Antitrust and Competition practice. She has broad experience across all areas in competition and antitrust law including merger control, abuse of dominance issues, horizontal and vertical agreements, Irish and EU competition law investigations, State aid and telecoms. Laura was based in our Brussels office for over four years and is acutely aware of European competition law developments. She also has an important network of European officials and competition lawyers.

Laura Deignan

Partner

Lisa Smyth

Lisa has experience of advising in restructuring, examinership, receivership, liquidation and personal insolvency on behalf of all stakeholders including companies, examiners, receivers, liquidators, office holders, banks and other creditors. Lisa also has experience of advising the administrators of insurance companies and advises on all debt recovery options for creditors. She recently spent six months in NAMA during which time she was heavily involved in its successful defence of lengthy judicial review proceedings.

Maeve Mac Dermott Casement

Senior Associate

Mark White

Hall of fame

Mark is Chair. He advises a wide variety of clients who are engaged in the promotion and management of all types of investment funds, including UCITS funds, money market funds, ETFs, hedge funds, real estate funds, infrastructure/real assets and private equity funds. He works with some of the largest fund managers in the domestic and international funds market, as well as with large institutional and seed investors, such as pension schemes, and many of the leading prime brokerage houses. Mark also provides advice on investment business regulation and financial services law. Mark was formerly a member of the Council of Irish Funds and is currently Chair of the Private Equity Working Group and also Chairs the UCITS V Remuneration Group.

Mary Brassil

Mary is a partner in McCann FitzGerald’s Employment Group. She advises employers on all aspects of employment, equality and industrial relations law. She has considerable experience in advising domestic and international clients on the employment law aspects of corporate transactions, including cross border mergers, outsourcings, restructuring and redundancy programmes. Her practice includes representing employers in contentious employment law disputes before all of the employment law tribunals and the Irish courts. Mary advises clients in relation to confidentiality, restrictive covenants, social media issues as well as related privacy and data protection issues. She has significant experience of advising clients in the financial sector on the Fitness and Probity Regime and on executive remuneration, having regard to the CRD IV rules and established regulatory environment.

Megan Hooper

Megan is an experienced commercial litigation solicitor and has, since February 2009, been the lead adviser to two financial institutions in respect of regulatory and criminal investigations arising from legacy issues. She advises companies and financial institutions on corporate disputes, regulatory investigations and inquiries and dispute resolution through Commercial Court litigation and mediation. She is knowledgeable about the procedures of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the Director of Public Prosecutions and regulatory bodies such as the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board, the Central Bank of Ireland and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. She has experience responding to orders and statutory requests under the under the Companies Acts, the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, the Bankers Books Evidence Act and the Central Bank Administrative Sanctions Procedure and has experience dealing with data protection and customer confidentiality issues.

Michael Murphy

Hall of fame

Michael is Head of both McCann FitzGerald’s Restructuring & Insolvency and Disputes Groups. He has wide experience of advising in a number of significant restructurings, examinerships, receiverships and liquidations on behalf of all stakeholders including companies, directors, office holders, banks and other creditors. As well as advising when financial difficulties are identified, Michael advises on solvent reorganisations and on mitigating insolvency risk in transactions in the making. Michael is a member of the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners and has written and lectured extensively in the area of corporate recovery and insolvency.

Michael Coonan

Michael represents and advises clients in the resolution of a variety of complex commercial disputes, principally in the Commercial division of the High Court, and has extensive experience and expertise in civil fraud and asset tracing with a cross border dimension; in corporate and regulatory investigations; and in financial services and securities disputes. Michael also has significant experience acting for clients in international cross border litigation (particularly in fraud and asset tracing work), and has worked extensively with foreign counsel, including advising on the EU Insolvency Regulations, the EU Regulations governing jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and the taking of evidence in foreign jurisdictions. Michael has worked on disputes in the UK, US, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Cyprus, BVI, Panama, Belize, India and Hong Kong and has also worked on litigation within a number of large scale insolvencies in Ireland and elsewhere. Michael also has significant experience advising and representing clients in the state sector, semi-state sector and private sector on all aspects of corporate and regulatory investigations, and dealing with authorities and key state stakeholders in that context. Michael has expertise in managing large scale document reviews and discovery exercises, in investigations and in litigation. Michael frequently advises semi state bodies, statutory authorities and state owned financial institutions on access to information regimes with a focus on the impact on litigation and the interplay with discovery obligations.

Michelle Doyle

Michelle specialises in advising on the preparation and execution of major infrastructural projects as well as defending challenges to related consents/decisions. She has particular experience in disputes relating to planning, environmental and administrative law issues. Michelle also co-ordinates "judicial review proofing" exercises for clients, the objective being to identify any weaknesses in the decision making process and to address and resolve them quickly to ensure that any decision that issues would readily withstand challenge. She has extensive experience in large Commercial Court disputes, many involving substantial discovery (including contested discovery applications). In such cases, Michelle uses her vast general litigation experience to focus on the client’s objectives and to map a litigation strategy designed to achieve them in a speedy and effective manner and with all necessary conciliation or aggression as the situation requires.

Morgan Dunne

Partner

Niall Best

Niall is a partner in our New York Office and specialises in advising indigenous and multinational corporate clients on their activities in Ireland. His practice includes transactional work, such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings and reorganisations, joint ventures and commercial contracts. He also undertakes a wide range of advisory work, advising on private company law issues and corporate governance matters. He has recently worked on transactions in the pharma, retail, telecoms and aviation sectors and on several complex multi-jurisdictional corporate reorganisations.

Niall McDowell

Partner

Orlaith Sheehy

Partner

Paul Lavery

Hall of fame

Paul is the head of the firm’s Technology and Innovation Group and advises on a wide range of information technology, data protection, intellectual property, confidentiality and freedom of information issues. He advises on the supply and implementation of new IT systems, the licensing of software and the ownership, exploitation and licensing of intellectual property rights. Paul drafts and negotiates cutting-edge technology supply and implementation agreements and IT outsourcing agreements with a key focus on mobilisation, business transformation and key performance elements as well as exit management. Paul is a leading expert on data protection and advises a large number of private sector entities and public bodies on their data protection obligations under existing and prospective data protection law, including advising on subject access requests, data security incidents, marketing obligations and consents, record retention matters, data protection notices, policies and privacy statements, data controller and data processor registrations as well as solutions to facilitate the transfer of data outside the EEA. Paul is heavily involved in advising a number of private sector and public sector clients on their prospective obligations under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, including carrying out data protection assessments and audits and completing data inventories in order to advise clients on what changes to processing activities, data protection notices and agreements etc to ensure compliance with GDPR. Paul regularly advises on the legal implications of transacting on-line and related consumer protection issues. Paul also advises a number of international clients on their distribution, franchise and sales agency arrangements. In the area of freedom of information, Paul regularly acts for public bodies and private entities. He advises public bodies in respect of their compliance obligations in connection with the Freedom of Information Acts in dealing with access requests, advising on applicable exemptions and dealing with appeals to the Information Commissioner. Paul also advises public bodies and private entities on the application and scope of the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations. As a leading expert on the law of confidentiality, Paul regularly advises clients on confidentiality obligations and the drafting of appropriate confidentiality agreements and secrecy protocols. Paul is the author of Commercial Secrets: The Action for Breach of Confidence in Ireland (Round Hall/ Sweet & Maxwell, 1996), the first and only Irish work on the topic. The book has been quoted in judgments in the Irish Supreme Court.

Philip Murphy

Philip is a partner in our Finance Group with particular expertise in relation to acquisition finance, property finance, construction finance and syndicated lending and regularly acts as lead counsel in numerous multi-jurisdiction transactions. He has a particular expertise in lending into QIAIF structures and also has extensive experience in relation to re-structuring, workouts and pre-enforcement strategies for lenders. Philip has acted for a number of purchasers, sellers and funders on a variety of loan portfolios sales. Philip provides general corporate banking law advice to a range of Irish and international clients on an ongoing basis.

Richard Leonard

Richard has extensive experience in the purchase, financing, letting and disposal of all types of commercial real estate in Ireland. Most recently, Richard has acted for NAMA and other international clients on the buy and sell sides of a significant number of the most substantial and high profile loan portfolio sales relating to loans secured by Irish real estate assets. He acted for the Irish and international brokers and corporate finance houses appointed as sponsors and book runners by Hibernia Reit plc and IRES Reit plc in relation to their respective public share offers. This role involved carrying out due diligence on the real estate assets of Hibernia Reit plc and IRES Reit plc and in each case negotiating and agreeing the form of the stock market prospectus to be published in the context of the Reits’ respective public share offerings.

Richard Gill

Richard has extensive experience in advising on cross border aircraft portfolio financings, aircraft sale and leaseback transactions, capital market transactions (including aircraft securitisations), ECA and Ex-Im backed financings and debt restructurings. Richard also has significant experience in drafting and negotiating aircraft leasing, purchase, sale, servicing, financing and security agreements. He acts for many leading operating lessors and financiers in the aviation industry. Richard has also advised clients in connection with the acquisition and disposal of operating leasing companies and in relation to the establishment and operation of aviation joint ventures.

Roddy Bourke

Roddy’s practice includes: commercial disputes, including international and jurisdictional issues defending product liability claims in respect of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer products; product recall and safety patent and other IP disputes insurance policy interpretation, and representing insureds and insurers in D&O, commercial indemnity and other disputes Roddy Bourke has chaired the Law Society's Litigation Committee and Arbitration/Mediation Committee and is an active member of the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Rory O'Malley

Rory advises on a broad range of corporate matters, including mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital and joint ventures. Rory has a particular focus on M&A and equity fundraisings in the renewable sector and all forms of private equity and venture capital financing, from the funding of start-ups to the equity and debt financing of buyouts and all stages in between.

Rosaleen Byrne

Rosaleen is a partner in the firm’s Disputes Group. Rosaleen has almost 20 years’ experience of handling complex and large scale commercial disputes in a number of sectors including financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, aviation and pensions. Rosaleen's practice has a particular focus on cases with a regulatory or economic aspect and encompasses investigations and enforcement actions. Rosaleen also advises clients on all types of intellectual property matters with a focus in recent years on patent litigation.

Sarah Pickering

Sarah is a Senior Associate and is experienced in advising prominent domestic and international financial institutions, non-bank lenders and corporates across a wide range of finance and debt capital markets products.

Sean Barton

Hall of fame

Seán is a specialist in administrative and public law. He advises public bodies on their functions and on compliance matters under legislation including public office and official languages legislation and frequently acts for public authorities in the defence of judicial review proceedings. He has a strong understanding of public sector processes and the corporate governance and legal risk management issues relating to public sector bodies. He has also acted for public bodies in a range of investigations and enforcement actions, including prosecutions. He also acts in investigations and enforcement actions. He advises several public authorities, including the Irish courts' rule-making authorities, on the preparation of primary and delegated legislation and the development of procedural rules. He has also advised and acted for foreign governments and public bodies involved in Irish litigation. Seán acts regularly in substantial domestic and international commercial disputes, both in litigation before the Irish courts and in arbitrations under various institutional rules. He is frequently involved in Commercial Court litigation, especially in the regulatory sphere.

Seán Carr

Partner

Shane O'Brien

Shane trained in McCann FitzGerald and is a member of our Disputes Group, where he advises on commercial litigation and, in particular, intellectual property disputes. He advises international and domestic clients on patents, trade marks, copyright, design rights and data protection disputes, with a particular focus on complex patent disputes in the life sciences and technology sectors. He also advises on pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device regulatory matters. Shane is also a qualified Trade Mark Agent.

Shane Fahy

Shane is a partner in McCann FitzGerald’s Real Estate team and is recommended in Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal as one of the leading real estate lawyers in Ireland. He advises on all aspects of real estate, from acquisition, development and finance to leasing, re-structuring and disposal. He is experienced across the office, hospitality, logistics, retail and housing sectors. He is also expert in advising on energy deals, student accommodation, data centres, loan sales, primary care centres, social housing and urban regeneration. Before joining McCann FitzGerald, Shane trained and qualified with a leading international firm in London. He has worked extensively with lawyers in other jurisdictions on the real estate elements arising in international M&A deals and on international property syndication transactions. He often leads on complex mandates involving elements from the construction, funds, tax, insolvency and finance teams. Shane headed up the Real Estate practice from 2015 to 2022 and has authored chapters on Irish real estate law for international comparative texts, lectured extensively on real estate topics and written for various national newspapers and legal journals.

Shane Sweeney

Shane deals with all facets of commercial property work in Ireland. He has considerable experience in the acquisition and disposal of real estate, including individual commercial properties, portfolios of commercial properties and residential developments. Shane is also at the forefront of the new Irish property development wave, as he is integrally involved in significant new commercial and residential developments in Dublin. He advises a broad range of clients, including private equity funds/investors, financial institutions, semi-state bodies, insolvency practitioners, multinational corporations and hospitals. He has considerable know-how in the renewable energy sector, particularly with respect to the property aspects of wind farm developments acting for developers and funders. Shane has a broad commercial leasing practice having acted for many years as lead property counsel to the landlord in one of Dublin’s largest shopping centres, in addition to acting on the tenant side for numerous high-street retailers. He would also act extensively in office lettings for both landlords and tenants.

Sinéad Martyn

Partner

Stephen Holst

Stephen is our Managing Partner. Before commencing as Managing Partner, Stephen had many years’ experience as a strategic adviser at the highest level in client organisations, guiding them on the people aspects of their significant corporate transactions, organisational change and most critical disputes. Stephen has specialist skills in whistleblowing and investigations into protected disclosures and white-collar crime. He has significant expertise in the employment and industrial relations aspects of acquisitions, mergers, outsourcings, procurement and restructurings; including on redundancy law, union issues, consultation and TUPE. He is one of the leading experts in the Irish market in whistleblowing investigations, with expertise in the highest level investigations across different industries, economic sectors and different legal issues. Stephen is co-author of the chapter on Ireland in the International Comparative Legal Guide to Employment & Labour Law 2018 published by the Global Legal Group and was educated in UCD and DePaul University in Chicago.

Stephen FitzSimons

Stephen is Head of our Corporate Group and specialises in mergers and acquisitions (both public and private), IPOs and equity raisings by public companies, restructurings and joint ventures. He also advises on Irish securities law, corporate governance and general commercial matters and has worked on a number of significant cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on the United States. Stephen trained and qualified with McCann FitzGerald LLP before spending a number of years working in the Sydney office of a leading Asia-Pacific law firm. He re-joined McCann FitzGerald in 2008.

Stephen Proctor

Stephen specialises in construction law and acts for both public and private sector clients. He has advised on many of the most significant construction and engineering projects undertaken in Ireland over the last ten years. Stephen is experienced in the construction, operation and maintenance of large-scale projects in areas such as agri-food and drink, data centres, transport, life science, water and energy. He also advises on contentious matters, representing clients in mediation, conciliation, adjudication, arbitration and court.

Stephen Fuller

Partner

Stuart McCarron

Stuart is a partner in the Finance Group. Stuart has specialist knowledge of commercial and corporate banking matters across a range of industries. He acts for both lenders and borrowers in relation to banking and debt financing, acquisition financing, mezzanine financing, property financing and syndicated lending. He advises domestic and international financial institutions on syndicated and bilateral lending and non-bank lenders in relation to senior, unitranche and mezzanine lending arrangements, and his clients in relation to ICAV and QIAIF transaction structures.

Terence McCrann

Hall of fame

Terence advises employers on all aspects of employment, equality and industrial relations law and has extensive experience dealing with employment cases before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Labour Court and the courts including employment injunctions and litigation. Terence gives strategic advice to Boards on disputes and issues arising with senior executives. He also carries out reviews and investigations for Boards and delivers Reports. Terence advises on whistleblowing related issues and the application of Protected Disclosures legislation to whistleblowing incidents for organisations. Also, all aspects of the Digital Workplace and its relevance to social media policies and forensic workplace investigations. Terence is a leading commentator on employment law issues and gives the keynote legal overview on all employment law developments in Ireland at the Annual Industrial Relations News (IRN) Conference. He is a CEDR accredited mediator and has participated in mediations and acted as a Mediator.

Tom Dane

Tom works in the Debt Finance Team and acts for both lenders and borrowers in relation to acquisition finance, cash-flow lending, property finance, development finance and syndicated lending with particular experience and expertise in cash-flow lending and property finance transactions. Tom has worked on several large recent loan sale transactions and has experience in acting for sellers, buyers and funders in such matters. Tom has considerable recent experience in financial restructurings which involves working closely with our Corporate, Real Estate and Insolvency departments. He is experienced in advising lenders on distressed facilities which typically includes comprehensive security reviews and advising on pre-enforcement strategy and recovery options including advice on the improvement of a lender’s security position and/or enforcement.

Tony Spratt

Tony advises clients on the structuring and establishment of every type of Irish fund, particularly in the alternative fund sector. He provides advice on the regulatory and structural issues related to the establishment process of investment funds, including alternative investment funds, UCITS (using both traditional and alternative strategies) and structured products. As head of our Listing Department, Tony is an expert in the listing of debt and derivative securities and investment funds on the Irish Stock Exchange. Tony is the Chair of the AIFMD Working Group of Irish Funds, the Irish funds industry association.

Valerie Lawlor

Hall of fame

Valerie is a partner in our Corporate Group and Head of the firm's Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources Group. She advises on corporate and commercial matters, and has a particular expertise in renewables, energy and natural resources law. Valerie has been centrally involved in the Irish energy market since its liberalisation in the early 2000s. She has extensive experience advising on renewables, clean energy and sustainability projects for project acquirers, developers and offtakers as well as the sector regulators, such as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and the Single Electricity Market Operator.

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McCann FitzGerald LLP

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