Addleshaw Goddard

Caoilfhionn Ní Chuanacháin

Caoilfhionn is a partner in the Dispute Resolution group. Caoilfhionn has extensive experience in both Commercial and High Court litigation and in particular in advising on financial services litigation such as the misselling of complex financial instruments and multi-jurisdictional funds related litigation. She also has expertise in professional negligence and recovery proceedings. She also advises on both the implementation and defence of insurance proceedings. Caoilfhionn has significant experience advising a number of major international retailers, as tenants, in relation to landlord and tenant disputes to include disputes with regard to alterations to the premises, the failure of the landlord to comply with obligations under Agreements for Lease, the negotiation of rent reductions and the defence of recovery of rent proceedings.

David Hackett

David is Head of IP/IT & Data Protection in Ireland. He advises a broad range of clients on all issues connected with protection and commercialisation of IP, technology and software arrangements, and data protection and privacy matters. In the area of IP, David’s expertise covers trade marks, passing off and branding, copyright, design rights, patents, confidential information, trade secrets and know how. In the field of IT, David has significant expertise on all aspects of e-commerce, internet law and software and technology matters. He regularly advises on issues including software development and licensing, SaaS arrangements, computer services and managed services agreements, IT integration projects, website terms, e-commerce arrangements, and maintenance, support and SLAs for IT systems. David assists clients in the areas of data protection (GDPR) compliance and privacy. His advices cover matters including preparation and review of appropriate privacy notices, notification of security breaches to the DPC, assistance with Regulatory investigations; data processing arrangements, data transfer agreements and compliance with subject access requests. David frequently presents to clients on key issues in data protection law. David is a Registered Trade Mark Agent, a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the European Community Trademark Association (ECTA).

David Heneghan

David is Partner within the Immigration & Dispute Resolution group. David advises on a wide variety of litigation matters including professional negligence, commercial disputes, construction related disputes and product liability throughout the jurisdictions of the District, Circuit and High Court. David advises banks and financial institutions in respect of all aspects of High Court proceedings against defaulting borrowers. This includes preparing and issuing proceedings, advising on the appropriate enforcement mechanisms once judgment is obtained, and where appropriate, advising on the provisions of the Consumer Credit legislation and the Central Bank’s Code of Conduct on mortgage arrears as well as other pre-enforcement matters. David is also part of the firm’s Immigration & International Mobility Group. With a broad client base incorporating US and EMEA law firms, multi-jurisdictional corporate clients as well as individuals. David advises on a wide range of issues including employment permits, naturalisation, residency and citizenship, permission to remain, post nuptial citizenship and visa applications.

David Cantrell

David is a Dispute Resolution Partner and head of the Immigration Group (Ireland). He is recognised nationally and internationally as one of Ireland’s foremost immigration law specialists. His expertise in commercial litigation encompasses environmental law, anti-trust, business tort litigation, corporate law and shareholder actions, IP and IT litigation. He has worked extensively with leisure, life science and shipping companies and also financial institutions. David’s team blends creativity and business pragmatism to solve their clients’ Irish immigration and mobility challenges. With efficient case management and a depth of knowledge, David’s team assist clients with inbound Irish immigration issues including employment permits, entry visas and business travel.

Doug Smith

Doug Smith is a Partner and head of the Firm's Corporate Restructuring Group. He has a broad range of experience in the area of commercial law and specialist knowledge of corporate restructuring law and insolvency law. He represents companies in financial difficulty, creditors of companies in financial difficulty, insolvency/restructuring office holders and the executives of companies in financial difficulty. He is involved in most of the significant Irish restructuring and insolvency cases in one capacity or another. He has also been involved in cross-border restructurings and insolvencies.

Eileen Grace

Eileen is a Partner in Corporate Law and head of the firm’s Capital Markets Law division and Financial Services Regulatory groups. She specialises in company law, dealing in particular with financial regulation issues. Eileen is also very involved in the area of Corporate Governance and Directors liability, having established EFC’s directors’ advice team and publishing a number of relevant articles and contributing to publications on corporate governance.

Eoghan Ó hArgáin

Eoghan is a Partner and Head of the firm’s EU, Competition & Procurement group. He provides advice on all aspects of Irish and EU competition law, including merger control, abuse of a dominant position, anti-competitive agreements, cartel investigations and dawn raids and EU state aid law. Eoghan also advises in relation to public procurement law, telecoms law and regulatory law.

Erc Walsh

Erc is Partner within the Finance group. Erc specialises in finance transactions across multiple sectors. He regularly advises both borrowers and lenders in relation to real estate financing, development financing, acquisition financing, funds finance, loan portfolio sales, debt and security restructurings and on a range of products across various fund sectors (including private equity funds and real estate funds). Erc acts for domestic and international financial institutions and alternative lenders on syndicated and bilateral deals and for direct lenders in relation to both senior and mezzanine facilities. Erc has also acted for a number of large Irish corporates on the borrower side of financing transactions with a number of domestic financial institutions.

Frances Colclough

Francis is Partner within the Real Estate group. Frances acts for a number of Irish and international clients in relation to the acquisition and disposal of commercial properties. In addition, Frances advises both institutional landlord clients and retail, office and warehousing tenants in relation to negotiating lease documents, as well as advising clients in relation to all aspects of landlord and tenant law. She works closely with the firm’s Corporate and Finance teams advising on property aspects of corporate transactions and property secured lending. Frances also provides property advices to the firm’s Restructuring team in the context of insolvency solutions for our clients.

Garrett Miller

Garrett is a Corporate Partner. Garrett’s applies his corporate and commercial experience across a range of clients and sectors including automotive, integrated IT solutions, offshore exploration and retail. However his specialisation concentrates on non-contentious insurance supervision and regulation including the authorisation of insurance entities, the provision of cross-border services, compliance obligations, governance, new product development, policy wording and intermediary arrangements. He has advised domestic and international insurance companies and intermediaries on the sale, purchase and/or absorption of businesses and the consolidation and restructuring of their existing operations. His insurance client base includes various life and non-life insurers, reinsurers and different types of intermediaries. More recently, he has assisted clients bringing new products to market and/or using new, sometimes branded, distribution channels. The impact of recently enhanced consumer protection for insurance products has also resulted in a steady stream of instructions.

Gavin Blake

Gavin is Head Partner within the Energy and Infrastructure Department. Gavin has over 15 years' experience advising clients in the energy sector in Ireland, in particular in relation to wind farm projects but also extending to projects in the fields of solar PV, bioenergy, energy storage, grid support services, demand side management, AD and CHP. Gavin works with developers, funders and investors from the preliminary site acquisition and consenting phase through to project finance and construction. In addition, he has acted in the purchase and sale of both development stage and operational stage renewable energy assets with a combined capacity in excess of 1,500MW. Recent experience includes advising: GridBeyond in the financing of its plans to develop a pipeline of behind the meter battery storage projects across the UK and Ireland via a project financing facility from Triodos Energy Transition Europe Fund. A Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation in the project finance of a series onshore Irish wind farm projects. Mainstream Renewable Power in its sale of a majority stake to Aker in a transaction which valued the business at €900m A number of developers of onshore wind, solar PV, battery and synchronous compensator projects in relation to development stage project pipelines in ROI of approximately c.500MW An international energy company in respect of its acquisition of a stake in one of Ireland's Phase One offshore wind projects.

Gavin Doherty

Gavin has over 20 years’ experience in corporate and commercial law and specialises in leading domestic and international buy side and sell side M&A transactions and effecting corporate restructurings and reorganisations, offering a business focused, solutions based, approach. In addition, he has a number of clients to whom he provides general advice on a wide range of commercial contracts (such as supply, distribution and warehousing), shareholder agreements and joint ventures. Gavin also advises these clients from time to time on commercial contract disputes, termination negotiations and integration matters. He also has significant expertise in corporate governance issues and provides compliance advice to client directors.

Gerard Coll

Gerard Coll is a Consultant in the firm's Corporate Department. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, re-structurings, commercial contracts and general corporate law.

John Olden

John Olden is a partner in the Firm's Corporate Department. He has previously advised in relation to capital markets, in particular, debt capital markets, MTN programmes, commercial paper programmes, standalone debt issuance, and he has advised on equity capital market issuances by Irish companies. He has also advised on equity fundraisings and on public company take-overs. In the area of venture capital he has advised on the establishment and marketing of venture capital funds, ongoing relationships between the general partner and limited Partners and investments by venture capital funds. He has acted for Seroba Life Sciences, one of the two leading Irish life science venture capital funds since the establishment of the first fund in 2001, and most recently in relation to the establishment of the €100 million + Seroba Life Sciences Fund IV in December 2021.

Justine Territt

Justine Territt is a partner in the Property & Construction. She has extensive experience in commercial property acquisitions, disposals, including commercial lettings, residential and commercial property developments including industrial, business park and mixed developments, licensed premises and hotels. Justine also works closely with our Finance and Restructuring teams in relation to the property and banking aspects of lending, enforcement and subsequent disposal of security including property secured lending transactions, security reviews, restructuring and remediation of property portfolios and the sale of property assets

Kathi Ó Riain

Kathi Ó Riain is a Partner and Head of the Real Estate team in Ireland. In addition to providing property support on M&A transactions, she has considerable experience in acting for foreign and domestic investors on the sale and acquisition of all types of investment properties and she has also acted on a number of the biggest office lettings in Ireland on both the landlord and tenant side. Given her German background, Kathi also regularly advises German companies on the property elements of setting up in Ireland and on acquiring Irish property.

Leonora Malone

Leonora is a Corporate Partner with over 30 years’ experience in corporate transactions. Leonora has advised on numerous large-scale share and asset purchases, advising both purchasers and sellers and carrying out Due Diligence for both sell and purchase sides of transactions. She also advises clients on company law and corporate governance compliance, including directors loans, purchase of own shares and capital maintenance and all aspects arising under company law in respect of Private Companies. She practices exclusively in the area of corporate law and has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts, private equity placement and corporate restructuring. Leonora advises clients on continuing investments and shareholder and financing arrangements as well as disposals of assets through corporate structures. Leonora was Head of the Corporate Department until 2018 and sat on the Firm’s Management Board for ten years.

Lorna Osborne

Lorna is Partner within the Corporate & Commercial group. Lorna advises on a wide range of issues within the corporate and commercial law practice area including mergers and acquisitions, disposals, corporate restructurings, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, general commercial contracts and corporate governance and compliance. Lorna has a particular focus on share acquisitions and disposals and business and asset acquisitions and disposals and regularly advises companies from incorporation through to exit. In addition to her corporate and commercial work, Lorna advises employers and trustees on all aspects of pensions law including advising on employers’ and trustees’ obligations and duties under pension trusts and pension legislation and advises clients in respect of the drafting and amending of pension trust documentation.

Margaret Austin

Margaret is Partner within the Construction & Engineering Department. Margaret's Representative clients include: Tuath Housing Association, Home Building Finance Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks plc, Golden Port Estates, CA Ventures, Irish Distillers Limited and Fold Housing Association. Margaret advises on construction, planning and environmental law matters arising on construction projects promoted by public and private developers. Margaret’s practice is a combination of both contentious and non-contentious construction matters. She has extensive experience in the construction sector advising contractors, developers, funders and professional teams on construction projects and on dispute management and resolution. Margaret advises on planning and environmental compliance as well as civil and criminal liability and judicial review of planning decisions. Margaret advises on agreements for lease, building licences, construction contracts, performance bonds, collateral warranties and construction funding agreements as well as statutory compliance requirements for construction projects.

Mark Walsh

Mark is a Partner in the Real Estate Group and Head of Ireland. He has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial and residential property. Mark works closely with his clients in the management of all aspects of real estate acquisitions, asset management, disposals and financing and refinancing. He also advises on the property areas of restructuring and insolvency. Recent Experience includes advising A developer in relation to the letting and pre-letting of two prime office blocks, One South County and Two South County. Players Square in relation to their 100% refinance of the NAMA debt on John Player Factory and the Bailey Gibson industrial premises on the South Circular Road. Zara in relation to a letting of a new flagship store at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. Sale of a luxury Residential scheme in Dublin The purchase of a substantial agricultural holding and processing facilities.

Maura Connolly

Maura is Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Group. She also leads the Employment Law Group in Ireland. Maura’s disputes practice has involved the management of large scale litigation. This has recently included Commercial Court proceedings relating to professional negligence in the financial sector, management of a large e-discovery process, acting in a landmark case relating to the “Gig Economy” and the status of workers. In addition to representing clients in the Courts, particularly the High Court and Commercial Court, Maura has advised extensively on alternative dispute resolution procedures including mediation. Maura’s practice includes advice on regulatory matters, including professional conduct investigations and decision making, administrative law and legal proceedings. She has advised on statutory investigations, tribunals of inquiry and directors’ liability for statutory offences. Having practised for many years in the area of employment law Maura’s practice includes advising employers and employees on all aspects of employment law including contentious and non-contentious matters. She has been involved in many commercial transactions and has considerable experience of employment law issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions, including transfer of undertakings issues. She also advises on a contractual matters, development of policies and procedures, management of disciplinary, performance, absence and other processes. This includes regularly appearing in the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the Civil Courts. Data privacy and dealing with data access requests under GDPR is a feature of many cases in which we are involved. Most recently she has advised extensively on Covid-19 related issues, restructurings, redundancies and legislative changes.

Neil Bourke

Neil is a partner in our Real Estate Group in Ireland having joined the firm in January 2022. Neil has wide-ranging experience across all areas of commercial real estate including acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant matters, and development and property backed financing arrangements. He has particular expertise in commercial leasing matters and in recent times has worked on some of the most significant commercial lettings in Ireland. Neil advises a broad range of clients, including property funds, investors in PRS/BTR schemes, financial institutions, developers, care home providers, multinational landlords and tenants, and he regularly provides support to the firm’s Finance and Corporate Groups. Prior to joining the firm, Neil spent 9 years working in the Real Estate department of a leading Irish law firm.

Nicola McGrath

Nicola McGrath is a partner in the Corporate Department. She specialises in company Law dealing in particular with corporate restructuring, equity fundraising, joint ventures , mergers & acquisitions and employee share schemes. In addition, Nicola provides on-going advice to clients in relation to company law, and corporate governance compliance, including directors loans, purchase of own shares and capital maintenance.

Paul Dempsey

Paul is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Group and is Head of Commercial Debt & Asset Recovery in Ireland. Paul has an established commercial litigation practice which has been built up over his seventeen years with the firm. Paul has a wide client base of both domestic and international clients and acts for a number of high profile multinational corporations and insurance companies in all aspects of commercial litigation to include product liability claims, professional negligence claims, contractual disputes, insurance claims, shareholder disputes and financial disputes. He also has extensive experience advising and acting for a number of financial institutions in all areas of banking and financial disputes before the Irish Courts, such as enforcement actions, possession proceedings, injunctions and specific performance claims. Paul also has considerable experience advising clients on alternative dispute resolution to include arbitration and mediation.

Rachel Shanley

Rachel is a Partner in Dispute Resolution specialising in both commercial litigation and media law. In the area of commercial litigation, Rachel acts on an on-going basis on behalf of various companies and financial institutions before the High Court, to include the Commercial Division, dealing with actions for specific performance, enforcement, breach of contract and injunctions. Rachel also regularly represents clients at mediation and arbitration. In media law, Rachel has significant expertise in defamation, privacy and also in providing pre-publication advice to clients. Rachel has also been involved in several high profile media related cases to include successfully defending a client in respect of the first injunction brought under Section 33 of the Defamation Act 2009. Rachel has expertise in reputation management acting for corporate clients in addressing issues arising from social media, disaffected employees, unhappy customers, competitors, regulatory investigations, pressure groups or sensitive litigation.

Ray Byrne

Ray is Partner and Head of Finance (Ireland). He specialises in finance transactions across multiple sectors. Ray regularly advises both borrowers and lenders in relation to acquisition financing, real estate financing, development financing, social housing transactions, funds finance and on a range of products across various fund sectors (including private equity funds and real estate funds). He acts for domestic and international financial institutions on syndicated and bilateral deals and for direct lenders in relation to both senior and mezzanine facilities. Ray has also acted for a number of large Irish corporates on the borrower side of financing transactions with a number of domestic financial institutions

Ronan O'Neill

Ronan is a Partner in the firm's Dispute Resolution Law Department. He specialises in regulatory and statutory offences and remedies including administrative sanction and the relief of Judicial Review. He also practices in the Personal Injury/ product liability areas and has been a past Chairman of the law Society’s litigation Committee. He has extensive experience in administrative law, medical law, personal Injury cases, statutory Inquiries and Tribunals of Inquiry. He also practises in the area of contentious intellectual property law, specifically trademark and copyright infringement cases. He regularly oversees cases in the District Court and High Court on behalf of his clients. In the lower jurisdictions, he has excellent advocacy skills and regularly appears on behalf of his clients.

Sean Twomey

Sean is Partner in the Real Estate Team. He advises on traditional acquisitions, development, finance, leasing, and re-structuring through to newer areas such student accommodation, data centres, primary care centres and the private rented sector. Sean has experience in acting for foreign and domestic Investors on the sale and acquisition of all types of property and has acted on several large office lettings both on the landlord and tenant side. Sean works closely with our lawyers in our corporate team in relation to property elements of mergers and acquisitions. He has also 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 works with our Banking team in financing both for banks and borrowers. Sean advises on lending restructurings and enforcement of securities in conjunction with our corporate recovery team.

Stephen McLoughlin

Stephen is a partner in the firm’s Dispute Resolution department and is also the head of the Regulatory group. Stephen provides strategic advice to clients in all areas of regulatory and administrative law, and represents a number of professional regulators in misconduct inquiries and in litigation before the Irish superior courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. His expertise acting for and advising regulators and private sector entities, includes complaints, criminal regulatory prosecutions, statutory applications, professional indemnity insurance issues, the entitlement of overseas professionals to practise in Ireland under EU and domestic law and drafting legislation.

Terry Leggett

Terry is a Consultant in the Dispute Resolution Department, with over 40 years’ experience in this sphere. While dealing mostly in commercial litigation, Terry has specialised throughout his career in banking and financial product litigation. He has worked on a wide variety of cases including contractual disputes, specific performance, IT and proprietary knowledge cases and numerous injunctions. He also specialises in the area of Corporate Recovery Law and has extensive experience in litigation relating to this field. Terry also frequently advises on Regulatory matters for State Bodies or Associations.

Deborah Kelly

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