The origins of
McCann FitzGerald date back to 1947 in Dublin, but the firm has expanded internationally and now also has branches in Brussels,
London and New York from which it advises on Irish law.
The firm
provides high-quality legal advice across a range of practice areas on the Irish market, with key strengths in asset and structured finance, M&A and projects.
In asset finance the firm worked on transactions for clients linked with the aviation, financial services and investment management sectors.
In banking and finance the firm worked on a range of
financings for clients in the banking, real
estate and investment management sectors.
In debt capital market the firm worked on bond and note issues including green bond issues for clients from a variety of sectors including banking, financial services, energy, aviation and public whilst in equity capital markets the firm
assisted with both IPOs and secondary share offerings for issuers from a wide range of sectors. Meanwhile in structured finance and securitisation the firm worked on transactions for clients linked with investment management and financial services.
In financial services regulatory the firm worked on a range of regulatory matters for clients in the banking and non-bank financial services spaces.
In investment funds the firm's work focuses on fund formation work and in particular work on sub-funds.
In M&A the firm focuses on acquisitions for clients linked with banking, financial
services and
technology among others.
In projects the firm worked for
public sector linked clients on a mix of energy, real
estate and transportation related projects.
In restructuring and
insolvency, the firm worked on a mix of corporate restructurings and liquidations from a mix of sectors.
“Very prompt, proactive and pragmatic.
Willingness to push deal through to ensure completion (and stepping up in a very collaborative manner when other legal players in the transaction were struggling to do so).”
“Richard Gill and Ivan Gendelman provided great support and assistance during the lease negotiation and the delivery of the
aircraft. Their
expertise, calm and patience have been essential and very much appreciated.”
“The team at McCann's are what I would describe as commercially minded lawyers; they provide us with concise advice as to the legal points and help us distill complex legal matters so that we may make risk-informed decisions
regarding commercial matters. Their team is responsive and friendly, which also helps.”
“The Aviation and asset finance team in McCann Fitzgerald is second to none. Their industry-knowledge is
excellent and the level of client service provided is simply fantastic.”
“The team are proactive, quick to respond, efficient and professional. They are solution driven which is incredibly helpful on fast paced transactions.”
“They are industry leaders in their field. You always know you are in good hands when they
represent you. They are always very responsive in terms of turnaround times.”
“McCann FitzGerald will go above and beyond to get a transaction closed on time, whilst preserving a good relationship with all parties. The team can foresee potential issues and get ahead of these before they become pacing items. Our longstanding relationship allows McCanns to integrate closely with our internal processes.”
Bank lending: Lender side
“McCann Fitzgerald take a hands-on approach to transactions, the separation from others in their field is their ability to offer efficient and practical solutions to problems or issues occurring during transactions.”
“Very
organised,
attentive and knowledgeable about all aspects.
Very clear advice and great project management skills
making the loan process very efficient.”
“Highly experienced and accessible partners who are very commercial in their outlook and problem solving.”
“Always available, wide range of expertise,
focused advice.”
“Extensive
in house coverage across various industry sectors and flexibility in approaching each transaction with the appropriate level of staffing.”
“Very responsive team,
very high quality of advice provided, no challenge insurmountable and consistently solutions driven. One of the strongest firms in the Irish market, particularly Stuart McCarron and team.”
“They are highly knowledgeable, very commercial and provide very practical advice.”
“McCann FitzGerald stands out as being extremely practical competent and commercial - providing an unsurpassed level of pragmatic advice to us and most importantly to our clients. Unlike most other Irish
counsel we did not have to intermediate in any communications as we were happy for our credit fund clients to liaise directly with McCann FitzGerald.”
“Knowledgeable about the airline industry, up to date about developments in the area”
“Level of
expertise, depth of team and knowledge”
“Full Legal advice relating to the programme.”
“Clear understanding of the issues and clear and commercial advice.”
Capital markets:
Structured finance and
securitisation
“Expertise,
knowledge and responsiveness.”
Financial services regulatory
“The team is extremely knowledgeable, professional, responsive, commercial, and great to work with.”
“Honesty, transparency, subject matter expertise, deep understanding of the regulatory environment, acting as a partner rather than just a service provider.”
“Very thorough and precise. Also make themselves available at short notice when needed.”
“They are dedicated to our firm, work with our teams collaboratively, outline the best outcome for the
organisation and work with
us to achieve
it.”
“Breadth of
expertise, providing solutions.”
“I have had many years of experience working with Mark White in particular and have always been impressed by the quality and timeliness of his advice/work. In this
particular project, McCanns have been very commercial in their approach.”
“Ability to meet deadlines, quality of legal work, flexibility on fees.”
“Excellent, proactive, approvable, fast to respond, helpful in queries, knowledgeable advice, will seek others input if the team
doesn't know the answer straight up. The team works as a team across
different aspects of McCanns to give us the
appropriate advice. Culturally aligned - the team are not only competent,
they are extremely easy to work with.”
“Technically excellent,
responsive and personable.”
“For this type of
work we find McCanns a very
well rounded firm. They are excellent from a technical
perspective but we have
are appreciative of the market insight they can provide.
Coupled together with the fact that they know us and our business very well, we find that we get very good and practical advice on a broad range of matters. There is always the effort to look beyond the strict legal advice which I think is a unique and strong offering.
When looking at the firm and the team, we like the fact that there are strong partners with long tenure, but a good succession of associates and assistant solicitors who we all
come into contact with. Oftentimes there can be strong preference to push the partner or more senior associates forward from a law firm, but I do like working with the other members of the team
and also seeing them grow and helping them to learn about us as a client.”
“McCann FitzGerald are always responsive, precise and
accurate with their advice and proactive at
identifying issues and proposing solutions.”
“Fast,
precise and high quality.”
“McCann FitzGerald provide quality and clear advice.
The partners providing the service are always available, respond to queries quickly and with the wider McCann FitzGerald team provide
strong support to the client team.
The partners also provide regular updates and cost estimates for the live workstreams.”
“McCann FitzGerald provide a consistently high-quality service across lawyers and partners. They produce right-first-time work, they are very
experienced, and
provide pragmatic solution-oriented advice.”
Restructuring and insolvency
“I meet many lawyers but few who instantly impress where they combine outstanding legal skills in such a highly responsive,
professional and collaborative manner.
I cannot recommend them highly enough.”
“Grace is considered, proactive and provides advice taking into consideration the entirety of the
wider corporate group
structure."
“Strong knowledge of market and gives clear advice and explanation of decision making.”
“We have had to call on Hugh for a number of time
critical and highly technical matters. We have always appreciated his strong technical knowledge and excellent delivery with his team to ensure that the deadlines are met.”
“Excellent client
management - very accessible and hard working. Thorough &
accurate advice.”
“Sean provides detailed and clear advice.
Good working relationship and always returns calls or e-mails when free from other commitments.
Sean considers and provides advice on all potential options/scenarios and also seeks advice from colleagues in McCann FitzGerald as required. Sean also advices if he believes councel advice would be beneficial.”
“Knowledgeable and focused with simple advice and he is available.”
“Kate is a promising and very capable lawyer.
Clear, concise and good at building constructive dialogue on multi team deals.
A good ability to listen and
understand and provide both legal and pragmatic insights.”
“Kate has a great ability to quickly build relationships with counterparties, which often helps to 'grease the wheels' on a transaction where tight timelines are involved. Kate's attention to detail is
very good and her transaction management skills are also impressive.”
“Very responsive,
personable and diligent in ensuring our deadlines are
met.”
“His project
management and communication skills are excellent.”
“Highly experienced partner with encyclopedic knowledge of the market.
Definitely the go-to person for banking and finance work in Ireland.”
“Top quality advice, understanding of issues, knowledge &
expertise.”
“Excellent communicator.
Understands the
in-house position - what is relevant for me to know, what can McC do without my sign-off.
Has the ability to gently inform and teach me things
i
don't know but need to know without making me feel stupid.”
“Very responsive and available.
Goes the extra mile on client management and responsive to concerns re-billing.”
“Technically excellent, pragmatic and personable.”
“He is very smart, solution oriented and delivers always on time.”
“Morgan is extremely knowledgeable and is a particular super star on sustainability matters.
He is very responsive and pragmatic.”
“Extremely responsive
high-quality responses and output to (our mutual) clients.”
“Adrian offers efficient solutions to be complex problems during transactions and has an ability to communicate complex legal terminology back to the client in a crystal clear manner.”
“Iain is an excellent lawyer that has served us very well over many years. He is experienced, knowledgeable and is very good with clients. He is
down-to-earth and is
very good at finding practical solutions in stressful situations.”
“Very good at client management and providing solutions.”
“Clearly outlines the problem statement with multiple options to solve for (where
appropriate).”
“Very responsive and clear, pragmatic advice.”
“Richard is an excellent transactional
lawyer and his depth of industry knowledge is
really impressive. He is an excellent negotiator and
has the ability to
maintain positive relationships whilst being forthright in protecting his
clients best interests.”
“Excellent client service (to our mutual client) and responsiveness, practical and not pedantic but
very accurate.”
“Expertise,
knowledge and responsiveness. Always available to jump on a call at short notice.”
“Clare is extremely knowledgeable, professional, pragmatic, and responsive.”
“Responsive to questions, technically spot on, also will follow up and provide excellent advice. She also listens to understand the problem well.”
“Responsive to requests, comprehensive understanding of our business and requirements, knowledgeable, practical, pragmatic, solution oriented.”
“Extremely proactive and pragmatic. Excellent knowledge of property law and practice.”
“Pragmatic Employment advice.”
“Highly knowledgeable, thorough, safe pair of hands.”
“Very
high quality work, on time and has a fantastic understanding of the
clients business and situation.”
“Kevin provides advice and support as required.
Kevin also provides strategic thinking
regarding legal strategy.
Kevin has strong presentation
skills and has presented to our Board when
required.”
“Quick grasp of relevant issues & concerns in a transaction and providing a recommended, achievable solution.”
“Clear advice and swift action.”
“Always available, clear and simple advice, he has
the ability to focus on the important matters, brings
a great team with him also.”
“Very tuned in to market developments, latest trends in LMA docs and structuring practices.
Very useful for sidebar discussions to give a considered view on
best way forward for us to deliver
best solution for the Bank and our customer outcome."
“Ronan is responsive and works quickly, he is pleasant to deal with and has an excellent knowledge of the transactions we have worked on.”
“Very knowledgeable in his field, explains the legal concepts very well and is always very responsive.”
“I have been working with Áine for over a year now, where we required
someone we trust and who had the ability to get to grips with an incredibly challenging litigation. Áine has proven herself to be incredibly adaptable and has always been our go-to person for the more complex commercial disagreements we have encountered. Áine is relaxed, engaging but also very professional and can lend her breadth of experience to provide considered opinion
to many different areas of law. But
it’s her detailed analysis and instinctive assessment of a commercial scenario and her ability to get to grips with the business requirement, the causes and effects that make her an invaluable sounding board for us.”
“Darragh is extremely knowledgeable, responsive, commercial and professional.”
“Michael and his team are considered, proactive and provide advice with consideration to
our wider
corporate group.”
“Highly commercial, understands our needs and the way we approach things, very focused that we have a client on the other side,
comes up with solutions, very accessible, fosters
a very good client relationship. Would consider him the top banking lawyer we deal with.”
“Eamon is quick to understand the needs our of
business and is quickly able to
come up with practical solutions to our needs. He has
very strong attention to detail and produces very
high-quality work, which is highly appreciated.”
“Éamon Ó Cuív has exceptional attention to detail and in-dept knowledge of the affairs of his clients. His knowledge and understanding of our business
makes him our go-to trusted advisor for finance transactions.”
“An exceptional understanding of his client's needs;
very strong transaction management skills;
an in-depth understanding of his client's past transactions and the implications of such for current transactions;
a great ability to keep discipline on a transaction.”
“Knowledgeable,
available and responsive. Clear advice and a sharp focus.”
“Ian is a commercially minded lawyer who helps us, with great fluency, understand the implications of legal matters. He has
great experience
across
aircraft leasing and asset financing which together makes him a highly valued advisor.”
“Ian is an incredibly knowledgeable lawyer and is a very personable individual. His depth of industry knowledge is
truly impressive for a partner of his experience and has an excellent manner irrespective of the stress levels associated with a given transaction.”
“A rising star with a great future.”
“Responsive. strong board room presence. Accommodating,
knowledgeable and
commercial.”
“Excellent and
well-rounded partner - strong technically, and able to map this across to our business
objectives.
Provides great market insight and also nurtures a strong team. Well respected and very personable. You always feel very assured when Mark is handling a matter or has oversight of the same.”
Among its clients in
finance work
are AerCap Holdings,
Genesis Aviation Services,
Nordic Aviation Capital,
Scandinavian Airlines,
SMBC Aviation Capital,
Allied Irish Bank,
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland,
Deutsche Bank,
Marlet Property Group and
Bain Capital.
Among its clients in capital markets are
Allied Irish Banks,
Electricity Supply Board,
Kingspan Group,
Andorra Banc Agricol Reig,
Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Ireland, Investcorp, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Avenue Europe Management,
Greencoat Renewables and
Kenmare Resources.
In financial services regulatory
key clients include
Allied Irish Bank,
MetLife Group,
Irish Life, Great West Life Co,
Close Brothers and
Irish league of Credit Unions.
Among its investment funds clients are
Brookfield Asset Management,
UBS, Julius Baer,
Willis Towers
Watson and
Irish Life (part of WestCo).
Among its clients in M&A are
Allied Irish Banks,
WestRock,
ESB, Vodafone Ireland and
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure.
Among its clients in project development
are Transport Infrastructure Ireland,
National Transport Authority,
Housing Infrastructure Services Designated Activity Company,
Bord na Móna/ESB (Joint Venture) and
FuturEnergy Ireland.
Among its clients in restructuring and insolvency are
Central Bank of Ireland,
Bank of Ireland,
EY, KPMG and
Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, London Branch.
