Eversheds Sutherland’s Irish offices are in early-stage talks with leading Irish independent William Fry to join the firm. 

A deal would significantly expand William Fry’s ranks, adding 40 partners and a further 82 lawyers to its roughly 200-lawyer team. 

The deal would be something of a landmark in the Irish market, marking what GLP understands is the first time an international firm’s practice has joined an independent Irish firm. Usually, the tide has gone in the other direction, with some of the international firms that have flocked to Ireland in recent years electing to enter the market or grow in it through a merger with a smaller local outfit. 

A William Fry spokesperson confirmed the firm had “engaged in exploratory discussions with senior representatives of Eversheds Sutherland Ireland about the prospect of their partners and staff joining William Fry”.

“Any potential transaction remains subject to the approval of both partner groups and any applicable regulatory approvals. Our primary focus remains on providing our clients with excellent service,” they added. 

Eversheds’ international arm said in a statement that it “can confirm that its Irish offices are in early-stage merger discussions with William Fry. By their nature, these discussions are confidential and no further comment will be made until they have concluded”. 

Eversheds entered the Irish market back in 2005 through an alliance with legacy O’Donnell Sweeney and in 2022 it boosted its real estate and corporate offering through a merger with Kenny Solicitors. It has offices in Dublin and Belfast.

The influx of foreign firms in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, and as more major companies choose Dublin as their European base, has made the Irish legal market more competitive, pushing up pay and increasing the number of lateral moves. 

Like its Irish rivals, William Fry’s partnership has fallen victim to international firms in recent years as they build up their own practices, including this year to DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard and Pinsent Masons. Tech and IP partner David Kirton also exited the firm to join Eversheds in October.  

The potential deal with Eversheds would significantly strengthen William Fry’s core M&A practice, which works on chunky deals like representing US biopharma company Amgen alongside Sullivan & Cromwell in its $27.8bn acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, a global biotech company headquartered in Dublin. 

It would also create a very strong real estate practice in the Irish market, with both firms boasting a practice ranked Band 1 by the Legal 500, as well as pension and insurance practices that would be among the largest in Ireland. 

For its part, Eversheds is ranked in 24 categories in Ireland by the Legal 500, mostly at Band 2, including for banking and finance, commercial, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution and insolvency and corporate restructurings. Since 2021 the firm’s Ireland practice has been led by managing partner Alan Connell, who joined seven years ago from leading Irish firm Matheson and also heads the tax practice. 

William Fry, meantime, is ranked in 27 areas and consistently sits with its major Irish competitors A&L Goodbody, Matheson, Arthur Cox and McCann Fitzgerald at Band 1. News of the firm’s talks with Eversheds follows Stephen Keogh taking over as managing partner of the firm from Owen O’Sullivan in November. A William Fry lifer, Keogh previously led the firm’s London office and its corporate and M&A department. 

William Fry’s potential deal with Eversheds targets the top of the Irish market, though there has also been a wave of consolidation in Ireland’s mid-market recently, as firms look to stay competitive by diversifying their practices and boosting their numbers much more rapidly than they could through lateral hires. 

Last month saw the announcement of two significant mergers in the Irish mid-market – ByrneWallace and LK Shields, and Flynn O’Driscoll’s tie-up with Vincent & Beatty, which will create firms with 220 and 140 lawyers respectively.