Acting for leading domestic and multinational clients, the healthcare and life sciences group at Matheson LLP offers wide-ranging expertise across litigation, corporate advisory work, regulatory matters and transactional work. Rebecca Ryan leads the healthcare litigation team and is noted for her strength in healthcare and product liability disputes. On the life sciences advisory side, Emma Doherty leads the corporate practice, while Kate McKenna oversees the regulatory life sciences offering, regularly handling the regulatory aspects of reorganisations, M&A filings and investigations. The transactional services side is led by David Fitzgibbon, who frequently advises multinationals on cross-border M&A, joint ventures and licensing issues, alongside John Coary, with Robert Barrett providing further depth on healthcare mandates.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Matheson is the premier, go-to law firm for Irish company law and tax advice. They understand how multinational businesses operate, invest in getting a deep knowledge of each client so they can get up to speed on a project very quickly, and are best placed to identify both potential issues and opportunities. They worked with us to manage costs in a challenging year, confident that we value them highly and are committed to a long-term collaborative relationship.
- Best-in-class technically - plus no drama, no egos to manage, very personable and warm, super reliable, highly responsive, practical, and creative. Basically, everything you could hope to want in your outside counsel.
- ‘Extremely high quality advice always delivered in a timely manner.’
- ‘The team make sure that there is always someone available to look after the client and provide support and good advice. They are proactive in seeking solutions and forensic in following up on issues that need to be investigated.’
- ‘This practice stands out for its deep legal expertise, commercial awareness, and consistently high-quality service. The team is responsive, collaborative, and adept at navigating complex regulatory landscapes across EMEA, US and APAC.'
- 'Clients value the team's ability to deliver clear, strategic advice tailored to business needs. Compared to other firms, their agility, consistency, and client-first mindset set them apart.'
- 'Collaborative and transparent—ensuring we’re always informed, aligned, and confident in the legal strategy. Their responsiveness and ability to simplify complex issues make them exceptional partners.'
- ‘Experienced lawyers with a good feel for market practice.’
Key clients
- Aerogen
- Agilent Technologies
- Arena Pharmaceuticals
- Astrix Technology
- BioIQ Inc.
- Bon Secours Mercy Health Inc.
- Centrient Pharmaceuticals
- Chemocentryx
- Drowsy Digital, Inc.
- Ethypharm SAS
- Farmaprojects, S.A.U.
- Grifols, S.A
- Horizon Therapeutics plc (now part of Amgen)
- Impulse Dynamics plc
- LifeScan
- Linneaus
- Macquarie Asset Management
- Medtronic
- Mercer
- Novo Nordisk A/S
Work highlights
Advised Impulse Dynamics plc on its successful initial closing of its Series F-3 Funding Round, which resulted in Impulse Dynamics plc initially raising c. $84m in additional funding,
Advised Irish private equity investor, Erisbeg Holdings Ltd on the sale of Medray Imaging Systems Limited to LDC (Managers) Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group plc) for €60m.
Assisting MedLab Pathology Limited, Sonic Healthcare Ireland Limited, and their insurers in High Court clinical negligence actions arising from the screening and / or reporting of cytology slides.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Rebecca Ryan; Emma Doherty; Kate McKenna; David Fitzgibbon
Other key lawyers
John Coary; Jamie Calnan; Robert Barrett