Managing partners of some of Ireland’s top firms tell Ben Haugh about the biggest legal challenges that businesses should be aware of this year

ACTIVITY

Pent-up demand and cheaper finance led to around 10% more M&A and financing transactions last year than in 2023. We took strong market share, leading the market in volume of deals as reported by Mergermarket. PE was the main driver, both international and Irish. Trade buyers were also very active. Consolidation in financial services continued, particularly in insurance, and we also saw increased levels of activity in the engineering and professional services sector. Regulatory changes and new legislation also drove a lot of activity, particularly in the financial and tech sectors.

Ireland continues to see significant investment in infrastructure, which created opportunities right across our practice groups. The market last year was full of large, complex mandates that required multi-practice advisory work — really playing to our strengths.

OUTLOOK

We can expect more regulatory and geopolitical change that will impact on Ireland, Irish businesses and international economies. Clients, particularly international and cross-border clients, will face new and ever-more complex legal issues. This is where large, full-service law firms like A&L Goodbody are able to provide top-quality legal advice from all our practice areas to fully meet client demand.

INNOVATION

Over the last seven years A&L Goodbody have developed ALG Solutions into the largest captive alternative legal services provider in Ireland with over 50 lawyers, legal technologists, project managers, business analysts and other legal professionals. ALGS enables us to seamlessly integrate new technology and processes with our legal practice groups. We’re the only Irish law firm ranked in Chambers Global New Law 2024 Guide for the services ALGS provides and it’s a real differentiator for us in the market.