McCann FitzGerald LLP has a highly developed DCM practice, which is widely respected for its strength in handling covered bonds, green bonds, social bonds, securitisations, and OTC and exchange traded derivatives; the ‘highly impressive’ Judith Lawless has established expertise in derivatives matters. Fergus Gillen, Adrian Farrell and Hugh Beattie have excellent reputations in DCM, securitisation and structured products, and Éamon Ó Cuív, who has returned to Dublin from the London office, garners praise for his ‘meticulous attention to detail’. Sarah Pickering is a rising star in the debt capital markets space. ECM mandates remain prominent in the group’s workload, and David Byers and Stephen FitzSimons are key figures in equity deals. Gill Lohan is singled out for her expertise in IPOs. Aidan Lawlor and Conor O’Dwyer left the firm in 2024.
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‘The team assisted us with a large, strategically important project and were a fantastic support throughout. The team were responsive, well-organised and competitive on pricing.’
‘Fergus Gillen was a brilliant support to us. He was proactive and pragmatic. His advice was always clear, concise and commercially focussed.'
‘The team is very client focussed and knows our business really well - they really know what is and is not important commercially for us. We really value the continuity of of people over many years.’
‘Adrian Farrell in particular stands out, he is extremely responsive, always provides top quality advice and it really helps us that is is well known and respected in the market.’
‘Judith Lawless is a highly impressive lawyer. Her knowledge of the subject matter is boundless and her response times are excellent.’
‘We consistently instruct Éamon Ó Cuiv of McCann Fitzgerald to advise on our debt finance transactions on account of his expertise, meticulous attention to detail, and his unwavering commitment to having a granular understanding not only of the transaction, but of the wider needs that we have as a client.'
‘Hugh Beattie - nothing fazes him and he has a complete appreciation of what is being asked of him. Fast turn-around on documentation too.'
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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.
Rising stars: Capital markets: Debt
Sarah 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.
Leading individuals: Capital markets: Debt
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.
Leading individuals: Capital markets: Equity
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.
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.
Next Generation Partners: Capital markets: Equity
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.
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Fergus Gillen, Stephen FitzSimons