Dublin law firm McCann FitzGerald is opening a US office in New York in February. The new office will be located at Tower 45 at West 45th Street in the midtown district of Manhattan.
The firm also has overseas offices in London and Brussels.
The New York office will be headed by corporate partner Gary McSharry. In recent years, McSharry has acted for leading Irish and international public and private companies across a range of business sectors. He has particular expertise advising US clients, having already spent a number of years in New York.
McSharry commented: “There is a growing demand for an Irish corporate law presence in the US, evidence of which is that many of the largest American M&A transactions in the past twenty four months involved Irish companies. These deals required significant input from Irish corporate lawyers as well as US lawyers. The natural next step is for McCann FitzGerald to open an office to satisfy both Irish and US client demand.”
It is estimated that American companies have invested over $270 billion in Ireland, which is more than the BRIC countries combined, and more than 140,000 Irish people work for U.S. companies in Ireland. Irish investment in the US is in excess of $26 billion, and these businesses generate $62 billion in annual sales.
In Association with
Managing partner Barry Devereux (left in picture with McSharry) said: “We are excited to be expanding to the US market with the opening of our New York office. Significant economic recovery in both the US and Irish markets has driven increased demand for legal services, particularly in the areas of M&A, asset management, venture capital/private equity, and foreign direct investment. Opening a full working office in New York allows us to grow the services we offer clients and increase our focus on this important market.
American Deals
“We have recently acted on some major US-Ireland transactions including Horizon Pharma’s US$660 million acquisition of Vidara Therapeutics Intl.; and its US$1.1 billion acquisition of Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc.; Chiquita Brands International’s proposed $1.07 billion combination with Fyffes; and Aer Cap/ILFC’s US$7.6 billion acquisition of ILFC from AIG which is the largest M&A deal in the aviation industry to date.
“We also acted for Weichert Enterprise/Mayo Power Limited on the planning, development and financing of €180 million investment in a new 42 MW, biomass fuelled, combined heat and power generating station in Killala, Co. Mayo. We look forward to working more with new and existing clients in the US market as we grow our presence there,” said Devereux.
