Profile: A&L Goodbody

A&L Goodbody - Who's Who Legal '70'

What is the Who's Who Legal '70'?

CORPORATE EXPERTISE

A&L Goodbody’s thriving corporate practice has earned a mention in a range of chapters. It is best represented in the merger and acquisition section with four practitioners featured in the edition. Recent high-profile matters on which the firm has worked include its representation of Scottish and Southern Energy on its €1.8 billion acquisition of Airtricity. Head of M&A John Given appears alongside corporate finance head Eithne FitzGerald and two other highly recommended practitioners: Paul Carroll and Jack O’Farrell. A “very good operator”, David Baxter received plaudits in the insolvency and restructuring chapter.

FitzGerald is also mentioned in the insurance and reinsurance chapter with James Grennan, who was praised for his corporate and regulatory expertise. Among other matters, the firm advised XL Capital on the relocation of reinsurance operations to Ireland.

Corporate governance experts Kevin Allen and Michael Greene excel in advisory matters. The group has advised clients such as Axa Insurance and Ulster Bank on compliance obligations, board review and corporate governance structures.

The firm was also well received in the capital markets, banking and private funds research. Ciaran Rogers, Stephen Haughey and head of the investment funds unit Brian McDermott appear in the respective chapters. Rogers was noted for his representation in a Tier 1 capital raising by EBS Building Society, Haughey was noted for his corporate banking and asset financing expertise, and McDermott was praised for his advice on the establishment of SVG Capital’s funds in Ireland. In the aviation chapter, “outstanding” lawyer Catherine Duffy sets the standard in Ireland, making A&L Goodbody “the go-to firm” in Dublin for related finance work.

ANTITRUST AND TAX

A duo of competition lawyers received a deluge of praise from competitors, who described the firm as “an institution” in the field.

Vincent Power and Alan McCarthy were part of the team that was lead competition counsel on the proposed takeover by Ryanair of Aer Lingus. Corporate tax constitutes another strength for the firm, earning another two places in this year’s breakdown of top business lawyers. The “formidable” Peter Maher was Ireland’s highest-nominated practitioner and is joined by John Hickson – mentioned for his “fantastic broad-based practice”.

ENVIRONMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE

A&L Goodbody’s environment practice was “strongly recommended” by respondents to the survey. Head of environmental and planning, Alison Fanagan represents a group that counts the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and Ryanair among its clients. In the construction chapter, competitors dubbed Eamonn Conlon and Dudley Solan “extremely good.” “First rate” real estate practitioner Mairead Sherlock is head of the commercial property department and the firm garnered further accolades in the project finance research for head of projects and construction Kevin Feeney, who has worked on projects such as the financing of Tynagh Power Station.

DISPUTES EXPERTISE

Two commercial litigation lawyers make an appearance for the firm’s “well-respected” department, which recently represented BUPA Ireland and The Law Society of Ireland. One contributor said of Caroline Preston “if I was in a fix, I would go to her,” while “top practitioner” Marcus Beresford also features in the product liability chapter.

EMPLOYMENT AND IMMIGRATION

Management labour and employment lawyer Ian Moore heads the firm’s employment law team and was Ireland’s highest nominated practitioner. The group represented Britvic on the employment aspects of its acquisition of C&C group. The firm also received plaudits for its corporate immigration practice, represented in the chapter by Barry Walsh, whose practice includes employment permit applications.