Ian Devlin
William Fry LLPWilliam Fry LLP offers its extensive clientele advice on an array of matters, including on the project management of employee share schemes, scheme restructuring, and regulatory issues surrounding IORP II. Ian Devlin and Colm Manning are joint practice heads; Devlin oversees the Dublin pensions team and is an expert in liability management and scheme restructuring exercises, while Manning in Cork specialises in equity incentives, particularly on both Revenue-approved and non-Revenue approved plans and the treatment of employee share schemes in M&A transactions. Maura Roe retired in July 2024.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Colm Manning has been an incredible resource to our company both in terms of his professional expertise and exceptional support on an ongoing basis. He has always maintained a friendly and supportive manner, regardless of the request or level of work being delivered.'
‘Their up-to-date knowledge and practical application to our business was key. They were proactive on all issues, and had great collaboration across other teams in their firm to ensure they fully understood our business, and took other industry-specific issues into consideration.’
‘We dealt mainly with Ian Devlin, partner. He was very personable and knowledgeable and explained the complexities of the pension laws and processes clearly to allow us to deliver a good outcome for our company. He was available as required and proactive in responding to queries.’
‘Strong, deep knowledge of the subject.'
‘Ian Devlin - practical, plain speaking with the ability to translate complex matters in to easily understood terms. Very responsive.’
‘A very talented team with many strengths. Whatever the query or problem that we take to the pensions team at William Fry, they have a team member that specialises in that particular issue and the team appear to collaborate very effectively to deliver a solution.’
‘We value the depth of knowledge on the pensions team and their commitment to delivering the right outcome.'
‘Their empathy and immediate understanding of our situation which resulted in the appropriate Chinese Walls being put in place quickly and efficiently. Lead partner Ian Devlin and his associate Ciara Kelliher were very diligent and supportive of our position. Their recommendations were clear and concise which resulted in a much more favourable outcome than anticipated by us.’
Key clients
- Becton Dickinson Pension Schemes
- Aviva Ireland Staff Pension Schemes
- Guinness Ireland Group Pension Scheme
- Safefood 360°
- PIPO Europe Limited
- Wetherspoons
- Krispy Kreme
- Tesco
- B&Q
- Nordic Aviation Capital DAC
- Diageo
- Affiliates Management Company
- Flipdish
- IDOM
- NAOS
- The Irish Times
- SOLAS, The Further Education and Training Authority
- Boots Retail (Ireland) Limited
- Kilsaran Concrete
- Trustee Principles Limited
- Glanbia Co-Operative Society Limited
- Valeo Foods (Ireland)
- Sanofi – Aventis
- Mayfair Equity Partners
- Edwards Lifesciences
- Smurfit Kappa plc
- Northgate Public Services
- J&E Davy
- Uniphar
- Sodexo Limited
- Fineos
- DCC plc
- Mincon plc
- Lionbridge
- Univar Ireland Pension Schemes
- Ogletree Deakins
- Unum
- Revolut
- UKG
- Amgen
- Certa Ireland Limited
- Brennan General Insurance Services Limited
- Imperial Tobacco Mullingar Pension Fund
- John Player Ireland Pension Fund
- Alcon
Work highlights
- Advised LifeSight Ireland Trustee DAC on various contractual and commercial arrangements related to its trusteeship of the LifeSight Ireland Master Trust.
- Advised the association of Chartered Certified Accountants on various issues related to its Irish pension arrangements.
- Advised Amgen on the employee share incentive aspects of its takeover of Irish company Horizon Therapeutics.
Lawyers
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Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Ian Devlin, Colm Manning