Matheson made eight leadership appointments in its various departments over the last year, with ten new partner appointments. Matheson opened an office in San Francisco in summer 2017, the firm’s third office in America. The firm has introduced a new innovation initiative, Smart@Matheson, and increased its focus on collaboration by restructuring some of the departments. Numerous recent awards include being named M&A Legal Adviser of the Year by Mergermarket, Ireland’s Most Innovative Law Firm by the Financial Times, and best International Firm in the Americas by International Tax Review.

Over the past year, which aspects of the firm’s development and growth have pleased you most?

Over the past two years we have focused on further refining our market strategy which is to be the law firm of choice for internationally focused companies and financial institutions carrying on business in and from Ireland. In addition to building on our market leading position in the traditional FDI space, through increasing our presence on the ground in our foreign offices and opening a new office in San Francisco, we have also more actively targeted indigenous Irish internationally focused companies.

We have made strategic investments in key areas like Innovation and Technology, M&A, FinTech, Regulatory, State Aid and Disputes and Investigations and have particularly targeted Brexit related business. We have also introduced an innovation strategy through our award winning Smart@Matheson initiative and increased our focus on collaboration by restructuring some of our departments and encouraging and rewarding cross disciplinary collaboration.

Most importantly, we have continued to invest heavily in attracting and retaining the best talent and have grown our senior lawyer and partner numbers. The most pleasing thing is that all the indications are that these strategic initiatives are succeeding. 2017 was a record year for Matheson with strong growth levels in terms of revenue and significant new client wins across the firm throughout the entire year. The growth we have seen from our international client base, and the many new mandates received, has been accompanied by some significant new instructions from Irish-owned corporates and state bodies.

In Association with

We believe that we are acting for more financial institutions who have filed Brexit related regulatory licence applications with the Central Bank than any other firm and we believe that the total number of live Brexit-related matters which the firm is advising on is also well in excess of competitor firms. The awards and accolades achieved by the firm, across many different practice areas, demonstrate the international recognition of the firm’s legal expertise, business strategy and high levels of performance on internationally and domestically focused, complex business transactions.

As Managing Partner, which of these operational issues concerns you most – maintaining profitability, managing cash flow, technology investment and/or recruitment and retention of staff?

Our strategy is predicated on having the best lawyers and professionals delivering business focused market leading advice and service. I believe that the priority for any law firm should always be investing in attracting and retaining the best people. It is certainly Matheson’s priority and all other factors (the ability to identify the right technology investments to support our business and that of our clients, the ability to manage cash flow and the ability to grow profitability) flow from that. The best people will produce the best results provided that they are given the best support and the best development opportunities.

That is why we continue to invest very heavily in our business support professionals and in our whole of career training programmes. We have designed and implemented customised training programmes, working with leading universities and business schools including INSEAD, Judge Business School in Cambridge and the Irish Management Institute, to provide our people with access to learning and development opportunities relevant to them and their clients’ businesses throughout the whole of their career in Matheson.

What growth strategies and opportunities for your firm have you identified in the coming years?

Brexit continues to present both huge opportunities and significant challenges for Ireland and for the EU generally. We believe that supporting clients through both those opportunities and those challenges presents a real growth opportunity for Matheson. We also believe that our history as the Irish law firm with the most pronounced international focus puts us in an ideal position to capitalise on these opportunities. This has already been reflected in the growth we have experienced over the past 18 months and we continue to see activity in Brexit related matters across our practice.

The rise in regulatory activity, both at domestic and EU level, has also presented significant opportunities for our regulatory, investigations and advisory practices and we continue to invest heavily in this space. Our M&A group is going through a period of record growth and we foresee this continuing as we continue to increase our market share in this area. Technology and Innovation, Life Sciences and FinTech are other areas where we see substantial activity and opportunities and where we have seen significant client wins over the past year.

Our Energy, Projects, Commercial Real Estate and Construction practices also continue to grow with a significant increase in the nature and complexity of the deals being done and an emphasis at government and private sector level on increasing investment levels in infrastructure. I generally dislike selecting particular areas, however, as we are seeing and continue to target growth across all of our practice areas including aviation, finance, asset management, real estate and disputes and resolution.

ONE client deal from 2017/18 – which one would you single out and why?

We have advised on many leading and instantly recognisable deals in 2017 about which we are prevented from commenting due to client confidentiality. In terms of matters about which we can speak publicly, Matheson advised Gurnet Point Capital, a €2bn healthcare investment fund, on its €209m public takeover of Innocoll Holdings plc, a Nasdaq listed global pharmaceutical and medical device company.

The Innocoll Takeover was one of only two public company takeovers announced in Ireland in 2017. Notably, Matheson’s dedicated public M&A team also advised on the other public company takeover where we acted for bio-pharmaceutical company Nexvet Biopharma plc on its $85m public takeover by Zoetis, the leading animal health company, with revenues of €4.9bn.

The Innocoll Takeover was a complex cross-border transaction involving the Irish Takeover Rules, Irish law and US securities law. Matheson’s transatlantic team delivered on these complicated legal issues involving elements of US, German and UK law. The need to comply with different legislative frameworks and to satisfy distinct supervisory authorities created significant complexities.

From your vantage point at the coalface of Irish business, what are the reasons the economy has rebounded so strongly in recent years?

There have been many factors which have contributed to Ireland’s recovery, including a general stabilisation and return to growth internationally. One significant factor, however, has been the willingness and ability of the Irish political system and the Irish people to take the steps which were necessary to ensure a return to growth, to accept reductions in spending in some areas and to refocus investment and spending on areas of the economy which would produce sustainable growth.

The fact that Ireland continued to provide legal, tax and regulatory stability and certainty, during its greatest financial crisis, has meant that our international offering and our international competitiveness have been further enhanced. Ireland’s determination and willingness to continue to defend its corporate tax rate and the rights of companies who have availed of the benefits of Ireland as a location from which to access European markets has not gone unnoticed internationally.

Foreign direct investment continues to be very important to the Irish economic story and will continue to be so but there is also increasing recognition of the fact that our relationships with countries from which that investment is sourced are mutually beneficial relationships with investment going both ways.  By way of example, Irish companies employ over 100,000 people in the US. Ireland’s positioning as an open English speaking economy which provides a gateway to some of the world’s most important markets is critical in our success.

Do you regard Brexit as an opportunity to grow the client base, or a threat to the existing client base?

In the absence of the necessary clarity around Brexit, businesses are now making decisions to secure their long-term ability to access European markets beyond Brexit. Ireland’s proven track record of supporting internationally-focused companies means that it is strongly positioned to partner with these companies as they now make decisions around their medium to long-term plans. Ireland is committed to remaining at the heart of the EU and EU decision-making, and has a history of providing legal and regulatory certainty, tax certainty, access to European markets and substance. Ireland will be the only English-speaking, common law country in the EU post-Brexit and it is committed to its 12.5% corporation tax rate

At Matheson, we are committed to assisting our clients to prepare for Brexit and to keeping them up to date on European Brexit dialogue and political developments. Notwithstanding the uncertainty around global trade policy as well as US tax reform and the challenges around Brexit, Matheson sees the Irish-US relationship growing stronger and Ireland becoming an even more important gateway to EU markets for US companies.

How would you describe Matheson’s USP in the legal marketplace?

As the law firm of choice for internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland, innovation is at Matheson's core - embedded deep within the firm’s culture and something we take great pride in. We foster a diverse, collaborative and innovative culture, as well as a forward-thinking work ethic which transfers across all of our initiatives and ensures we stay ahead of the curve.

Matheson has a longstanding history of nurturing and developing its employees. As a firm we recognise and value diversity of talent and place great emphasis on the importance of developing talent to succeed and flourish and exceed our clients' expectations. In a world where the pace of change is unprecedented, Matheson has recognised the need to change and embrace new technologies whilst achieving efficiencies in the way it operates. Our Smart@Matheson initiative is our response to embracing innovation across the firm and to meeting the changing requirements of our clients.

Matheson’s strategy is to serve the Irish legal needs of internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland and the firm continues to develop and invest ensuring we advise on the most significant transactions involving Irish and international companies.

Our five partner led offices across the globe allow the firm to service the Irish legal needs of our clients and the opening of our San Francisco office in the summer of 2017, built upon the firm’s presence in the region through our existing office in Palo Alto.