COVER STORY Winner of the Company of the Year at the InBUSINESS Special Recognition Awards 2018, Eversheds Sutherland is a premium full-service international law firm offering an all-Ireland and global presence. Managing Partner Alan Murphy reflects on its success and shares key insights into trends affecting business here.
AHEAD How are things going at Eversheds Sutherland in Ireland?
Across Eversheds Sutherland Europe, our Dublin and Belfast offices are star performers. In the past year, we have had very strong growth across multiple practice areas such as in our corporate division, including M&A, data protection, cyber security, litigation and real estate. We see continued growth in these areas across the island of Ireland and are also anticipating very significant growth in the areas of taxation and employment law. The firm was established in Ireland by Rory O’Donnell in 1967. By 2004 we had grown into a leading commercial firm and were asked to join forces with the Eversheds network as O’Donnell Sweeney Eversheds. In 2011, we rebranded as Eversheds and in 2017, we combined with US firm Sutherland to become Eversheds Sutherland. In Ireland, we have grown to 285 colleagues and 36 partners in Dublin and Belfast. On average, we have achieved revenue growth of 10% each year for the past five years. Today we are a premium full-service international law firm offering an all-Ireland and global presence with 67 offices in 34 jurisdictions. In the US, we have 400 lawyers providing world-class legal excellence to a global client base across six key US locations. With 2,400 lawyers worldwide representing 72 of the Fortune 100 and 61 of the FTSE 100, no other law firm in Ireland can offer a business access to this level of support on both sides of the Atlantic. What are the most pressing challenges facing businesses in Ireland at the moment?
Brexit-related uncertainty is probably the biggest headache currently facing many of our clients. The ability to attract and retain key people is also a major concern in an economy at almost full employment. And the housing crisis continues to cause problems for businesses, particularly in Dublin. 18
018 InBusiness Spring 2019_Cover Story_V2_REV.indd 18
InBUSINESS | SPRING 2019
30/04/2019 17:17
