Dentons has hired Dublin disputes lawyer Karyn Harty from McCann FitzGerald as its new head of litigation for Ireland.

Harty will join the firm’s global disputes and investigations team in Dublin in late September following a short break. Her practice focuses on commercial disputes and regulatory and criminal investigations, both domestically and internationally. She has vast experience in asset recovery, white-collar defence and cross-border disputes, notably in the media and financial services sectors.

Paul Jarvis, Dentons’ CEO for UK, Ireland and the Middle East, said that Harty's hire demonstrated the firm's ability to "quickly disrupt legal markets with high-quality teams and international capability,” adding that she “is an outstanding talent and brings a wealth of experience to our disputes and investigations team”.  

Harty spent close to 25 years at McCann FitzGerald, having joined back in 1998. She is currently a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 6 and chair of its EU Developments Committee, as well as a committee member of the International Fraud Group’s steering group and co-chair of the International Enforcement of Judgements and Awards forum.

Eavan Saunders, Dentons’ Ireland managing partner, said: “We are building an A-list team in Dublin and we think it’s a great endorsement of the firm’s strategy that someone of Karyn’s calibre wants to be part of our project to reimagine what it means to be a premium law firm in Ireland.”

Dentons launched its Ireland office in September 2020 with founding partners Saunders and Peter O’Brien, who joined from William Fry and Matheson respectively. O’Brien took up the role of chairman. The Irish expansion was a departure from Dentons’ usual practice of entering new jurisdictions through combinations with local firms.

Back in May, Dentons further increased its Irish footprint with a triple partner hire from Allen & Overy, Shearman & Sterling and Gilbert + Tobin. Energy and projects lawyer Colm Ó hUiginn joined from Shearman in London while corporate and M&A lawyers David McGuiness and Michael McDonald joined from A&O in Dubai and Gilbert + Tobin in Sydney respectively.

Harty will take the firm’s Dublin lawyer count up to 26, which currently includes 10 partners, according to its website.