The number of solicitors added to Ireland’s law society roll has increased by 275% to 1,347 solicitors over the past year in the wake of the Brexit vote, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Eversheds and Slaughter and May making the most applications. Continue reading “Freshfields, Eversheds and Slaughters lead the pack as Brexit vote sparks record-breaking admissions to Irish roll”
Doubling in Dublin: Expansive Kennedys moves Irish outpost to accommodate growth
Following a wave of expansion in Latin America, insurance specialist Kennedys is to more than double its office space in Dublin in a decision the firm says was made before the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
Continue reading “Doubling in Dublin: Expansive Kennedys moves Irish outpost to accommodate growth”
Ireland: Will there be greener grass for booming Dublin in the post-Brexit world?
As a nation well versed in referenda, Ireland is in tune with the times. Since 1937 and the creation of Bunreacht na hÉireann as the fundamental law of Ireland, there have been 35 referenda on everything from a change in the country’s single transferable vote system to the controversial right to life of the unborn.
Ireland has had its own problems with votes on the European Union (EU), throwing Europe into chaos when the country held a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in 2008 and it was rejected by 53% of voters. A vote was held again in 2009, and the Irish had a change of heart – the treaty was then backed by 67% of the population. Continue reading “Ireland: Will there be greener grass for booming Dublin in the post-Brexit world?”
Freshfields and Eversheds make up bulk of applications as Irish admissions reach over 300
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Eversheds have made up the bulk of UK admissions to the Irish bar so far in 2016, as the number soared to over 300 after the Brexit vote.
Irish ambitions: Pinsents eyes Dublin base as UK firms look to capitalise on post-Brexit market
Pinsent Masons is eyeing up a Dublin base, to complement its existing offering in Belfast and provide a full UK and Ireland presence for the firm.
‘Last piece of the UK and Ireland jigsaw’: DAC Beachcroft forms association with Belfast’s McKinty and Wright
Top-25 firm DAC Beachcroft has signed a three year ‘best friends’ agreement with Belfast’s McKinty and Wright in a bid to expand its network.
Roaring back – Corporate activity has soared in Ireland
Earlier this year, Ireland’s prime minister (An Taoiseach) Enda Kenny made an appeal to emigrants who had departed the country in the aftermath of the economic crash to return home. Speaking at the launch of an official government policy paper, ‘Global Irish: Ireland’s Diaspora Policy’, the appeal was aimed at encouraging educated Irish people to return, as the government ramps up efforts to entice international investment and capitalise on the fragile Irish economic recovery.
Identifying around 200,000 people, Kenny said: ‘Emigration has a devastating impact on our economy as we lose the input of people, of talent and energy. We need these people at home. And we will welcome them. I believe that, after seven years of emigration, 2016 will be the year when the number of our people coming home will be greater than the numbers who leave.’
Continue reading “Roaring back – Corporate activity has soared in Ireland”
Sending the ‘right message’: Arthur Cox sees donations rejected by Irish Cancer Society due to client
A leading charity has decided it will no longer accept corporate donations from Big Five Irish law firm Arthur Cox as the firm is currently acting for tobacco giant Japan Tobacco in a dispute against the Irish government.
Ireland: Tracking Dublin’s Young Tigers
Ireland is breathing a little easier again. With more than five years of economic turbulence battering both businesses and reputations, the nation has finally managed to hoist itself out of recession. Having officially exited its €67.5bn bailout programme in December 2013 – a move described by finance minister Michael Noonan as Ireland being ‘handed back her purse’ – this summer also saw the Central Statistics Office announce economic growth of 2.7% for the first quarter of 2014.
While the situation is still deemed perilous in many parts, with a mammoth public deficit, a woeful property market and high unemployment, a sense of confidence is returning to Ireland’s legal elite. And such is the battle-hardened resilience of the young lawyers that made partner around the time the economy crumbled – including those at Arthur Cox, McCann FitzGerald, A&L Goodbody, William Fry, Matheson and others – that a crop of up-and-coming individuals are emerging as the next generation of stars to define Ireland’s legal market in the years ahead. Continue reading “Ireland: Tracking Dublin’s Young Tigers”
Caught in controversy: A&L Goodbody jettisons Irish lottery clients after conflict arises
A&L Goodbody has received unwelcome national press and the ire of a former client after declaring a conflict of interest in its dealings with the high profile Irish lottery licence competition.
The Irish Times reported at the beginning of October that the leading Dublin-headquartered firm had been advising the bidding consortium led by UK operator Camelot and An Post, at the same time as advising charity group Rehab on a possible legal challenge to the national lottery, which may have serious consequences for the operator. Continue reading “Caught in controversy: A&L Goodbody jettisons Irish lottery clients after conflict arises”