Philip Lee employed 44 solicitors in 2017 and will have 54 shortly after recent hires. The practice in Dublin is complemented by offices in Brussels and San Francisco, and in 2018 a London office, led by new corporate partner Andrew Tzialli.

As Managing Partner, what are the firm management issues that top your priority list?

The top management priority issue for us is finding space for the growing team.  In 2019, as the firm continues to grow, I am allocating more time to connect with my partners and support them in managing their teams.  We want to instil strong leadership skills.

Maintaining the culture of the firm is always a challenge, in particular as we grow.  We take a holistic approach to developing this, advocating employee well-being, corporate social responsibility and placing high priority on sustainability. This is very much a priority for me and one which I enjoy watching develop.  This goes hand in hand with our commitment to developing a workplace with our people at the centre, ensuring that they feel equal, included and respected at all levels.

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

An exciting development for us was the opening of our first UK office in London in 2018.  Given that we already work closely with peers and clients in the UK, having a base that’s located in the thriving commercial and technology hub in the city made a lot of commercial sense to us.  We recruited a new corporate partner Andrew Tzialli to head up the new office.  Andrew has been a significant addition to the team bringing a wealth of experience and contacts from his previous role in a large London law firm.

In Association with

We are also delighted to have Rosemarie McGuiness as our counsel in San Francisco. This is a great time to encourage FDI into Ireland as the UK embarks on kamikaze trade policies. Rosemarie knows the San Francisco environment very well having been there for many years.

Siobhan McCabe joined us as partner to lead the energy team.  Siobhan brings a wealth of experience in renewables, energy and natural resources law, complex regulatory and legislative frameworks applicable to the Irish energy market.  Her appointment has significantly bolstered our already top tier team in the environment and climate sector with Alice Whittaker and Rachel Minch.  Alice is one of only two lawyers in Ireland ranked in the Environment category in Chambers Europe 2019.

Amanda-Jayne Comyn joined the team as our new Head of Tax to work with Consultant Gavin McGuire.   Amanda-Jayne has a very commercial background having worked in top tier Irish accountancy practices. Sean McElligott became partner and head of our Technology Group and Eoin Brereton partner in the corporate and commercial department.  The property team was strengthened with the appointment of Eimear FitzGibbon as partner.

We have identified other gaps to meet work demands and we will be actively recruiting across all levels in 2019.

Does salary inflation and necessary tech investment inevitably lead to higher fees for clients?

We believe in the culture of the firm and making work interesting and the workplace enjoyable.  We work hard to cultivate that culture.  We have a notably low attrition rate across all levels thanks to that. In previous years, we have been operating in an environment that saw little increase in fees.  Greater pressure on costs for brilliant talent, rising operational costs and competing with big budget FDI companies for office space, will mean that higher fees are inevitable for clients.

How has Brexit uncertainty impacted on domestic client activity?

Until there is a conclusion to Brexit, there will always be uncertainty… and as we all know, business does not like uncertainly! Domestically we have certainly experienced some delays with decisions from clients.  On the flip side, we have had an increase in instructions in relation to very sector specific advice required by our clients in preparation for Brexit.   For example, our immigration group has had a significant increase in requests for advice about the Immigration Investment Programme (IIP) and corporate immigration advice.

Internationally, we made the strategic decision to open our London office in 2018 to capitalise on the opportunities of Brexit.  It is allowing us to maintain and develop existing relationships with professional services firms and other contacts, building new links and grasping opportunities that arise from this uncertainty.

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

We are lawyers who want to use our expertise to shape society. We help our clients achieve their objectives. That means knowing more than just the law, but knowing the client’s world and foreseeing the future in which they will live and coming up with solutions and insights for them. When we ask our clients what they like about our firm, they say we listen, that we are clever people, who care about their businesses, who find solutions and who make working with the law less complex.

Our firm has a history of working with interesting clients which means we attract brilliant people who want to be part of making a difference.   In size, we are a mid-market firm but what makes us special is that we have top tier specialist expertise.

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

With the addition of Andrew Tzialli to the team, we have won some interesting corporate work in emerging technologies such as gaming, eSports, VR, AI and blockchain.  For example, Andrew’s team advised a company that is aiming to be Ireland’s first fully regulated managed investment business operating exclusively in crypto-currency.  The work involved corporate and contractual structuring requirements as well as advice on the scope of regulatory compliance.