Eversheds Sutherland has marked its first senior hires in Ireland since the integration of its Irish practice into the firm’s international business in September.
The firm has recruited Pinsent Masons’ Dublin head of tax, partner Robert Dever, alongside employment lawyer Mary Gavin, who joins as a partner having been a managing associate at Ogier.
Eversheds characterised the hires as a “milestone” in its growth strategy for Ireland and its commitment to building market-leading capabilities in key practice areas.
The integration of the firm’s Irish practice followed merger talks between its former Irish arm, which was a member of the Eversheds Sutherland Europe network, and William Fry breaking down in May. The new practice launched on 15 September with a team of 170 across the former practice’s offices in Dublin and Belfast.
Dever’s move marks a return to the firm after two years at Pinsent Masons. He advises large domestic and multinational corporations on corporate tax matters, including M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, inward investment projects, private equity, joint ventures and cross-border tax planning.
Meanwhile, Gavin has nearly two decades of experience advising national and multinational clients on employment matters, including investigations, restructuring and employment-related litigation. She regularly represents clients before the Workplace Relations Commission, Labour Court and High Court, with particular experience in injunctive relief and judicial review.
“Ireland continues to be a strategically vital jurisdiction for our clients, particularly those with cross-border operations and European headquarters,” said Alexander Niethammer, Eversheds’ European managing partner. “With the strength of our integrated platform, we are focused on building out our capabilities with exceptional talent.
“Both Mary and Robert’s arrival is a strong step forward in that journey, enhancing our ability to deliver seamless, high-quality advice across Europe.”
Eversheds’ new Ireland practice launched with 26 partners, around 20 fewer than its former practice listed on its website. It is led in the Republic of Ireland by Pamela O’Neill, the former practice’s head of dispute resolution and litigation, while commercial real estate partner Gareth Planck heads the Belfast team.
It isn’t yet clear what will happen to all the partners that have not joined the new practice, though the former practice’s managing partner and head of tax, Alan Connell, joined Irish commercial law firm Philip Lee last month. Meanwhile, its former head of disputes, Norman Fitzgerald, moved over to Irish firm Mason Hayes & Curran last month with a pair of associates.
In August, William Fry said it had hired away four corporate partners – Gerard Ryan, Gavin O’Flaherty, Enda Newton and Maria O’Brien – and their teams, with between 10 and 15 lawyers to join in total, in a move that created one of Ireland’s largest corporate and M&A practices.
The hires followed Eversheds Ireland and William Fry confirming in late May that their “exploratory” merger talks had ended and that each firm would “instead focus on their individual strategic growth priorities”.
Eversheds’ new Irish practice will focus on financial services, TMT, life sciences, energy and industrials, the firm said.
Eversheds’ international arm grew revenue 3% in the year to 30 April 2025 to £768.7m, against an 8% rise in profit per equity partner to £1.4m. The integration of its Ireland practice follows Eversheds folding its European practices in Germany, the Netherlands and most recently Belgium into its international business.
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