Eversheds Sutherland is an international law firm with 66 offices in 32 countries. The firm employs c.280 people in Dublin and recent partner appointments include pensions specialist Lorcan Keenan, who joined from A&L Goodbody, corporate law expert Enda Cullivan, and Lisa Bryson, who leads the firm’s employment and immigration practice in Belfast. The Belfast office was established in 2015 and the firm plans to double headcount to at least 30 people in the short term. The firm’s real estate team had two new partner appointments last year, Terry O’Malley and Marie O’Riordan. Deborah Hutton was hired from Citi to join the funds group.

As managing partner, what are the firm management issues that top your priority list?

Our challenge is to stay ahead of client needs at all times across all sectors, and to leverage the international expertise of our colleagues based in Eversheds Sutherland offices around the world to maximum effect. Increasingly, Irish-based clients are demanding an international offering and we are perfectly positioned to deliver on that, given our global network. Ensuring that we consistently deliver a world class service to our clients across all service areas is the top priority of our management team.   

In the past year, what areas of the practice have you strengthened with appointments?

We have had very strong growth across several practice areas, such as in our corporate division including data protection, cyber security, taxation, litigation and real estate. We see continued growth in these areas on the island of Ireland this year and we are also anticipating very significant growth in the areas of corporate taxation and employment law. 

Recent partner appointments include pensions expert Lorcan Keenan, corporate law expert Enda Cullivan, and Lisa Bryson in our Belfast office who leads the employment and immigration practice. Our real estate team grew steadily last year with two new key partner appointments — Terry O’Malley and Marie O’Riordan. Deborah Hutton also joined as partner in our funds group.

How challenging for your firm is the solicitor retention and recruitment issue? 

We work hard to ensure that we attract and retain world class talent here at Eversheds Sutherland. We have a strong culture of investing in our people and fostering young talent, something that we are very proud of. While salary inflation is an issue across the sector, we are managing it prudently and it has not impacted on our business or client fees to any great extent. 

In Association with

Technology innovation focused on improving our client offering and driving administrative effectiveness is central to our work plan this year and we are proud to be industry leaders in this area. 

How would you describe Eversheds Sutherland’s USP?

Increasingly, Irish-based clients are demanding an international offering and we are uniquely positioned to deliver on that. With Ireland such a significant European hub for multinationals, and now with Brexit on the horizon, we anticipate more international firms will establish a position here or will expand their existing investment in this jurisdiction. 

Our mature market knowledge sets us apart in attracting this kind of business. Brexit will of course pose major challenges for all of us over the coming few years. Through our Dublin-based high-level Brexit group we are offering businesses a unique Brexit advisory and support service drawing on the expertise of our international colleagues and our multidisciplinary Belfast-based team. 

Our clients are very pragmatic and we are working closely with them on how to future proof their businesses and to anticipate, as best we can in these uncertain times, what’s ahead. The position with the Irish border and cross-border trade with Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK has created significant business uncertainty. With our multi-disciplinary office in Belfast we are perfectly placed to provide a bespoke and exceptional service to businesses based on both sides of the Irish border and beyond. 

ONE client deal from 2018 – which one would you single out and why?

Our real estate team recently acted for a joint venture company of Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) and Colony Capital, Inc in their pre-let deal of its Spencer Place office development to the US software giant, Salesforce, the largest ever office letting in Ireland.

The deal is a further example of the confidence that US tech companies have in the Irish market and its workforce, coming so soon after the announcement of Facebook’s move to its new campus on the site of AIB Bank Centre in Ballsbridge, another huge deal for RGRE and Colony Capital — which our team also worked on.