Founded in 1847, William Fry is a leading Irish firm headquartered in Dublin. The firm opened an office in Cork recently and has an alliance with Northern Ireland firm Tughans. It also has branches in London, New York, Silicon Valley and San Francisco through which it advises foreign clients on Irish law.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is broadly strong in transactional work but best known for its corporate practice and the teams M&A, restructuring and equity capital markets work.
In banking and finance the firm has a strong real estate offering and is often lender or borrower side counsel on development financing and refinancing transactions. Acquisition finance is another strength.
The M&A team's cross border expertise covers sectors including technology, insurance, healthcare and food and beverage. It is experienced in advising a mix of private equity firms, international and domestic corporations and public and private entities.
The firm's equity capital markets practice advises multinational corporations on equity fundraising, shares placements and IPOs while its debt team is often active on the issuer side.
The firm’s funds team has a good position in the ETF space and advises on some of the biggest funds on the market.
In project work the firm is experienced in the PPP space advising state parties or lenders on social infrastructure projects. It is also notable for its work in the energy sector advising sponsors and lenders on renewable projects.
The firm has one of the strongest restructuring and insolvency practices in the country and often advises on some of the largest cross border mandates in retail, insurance and food among other sectors. The firm acts for liquidators and receivers.
Key clients
Among its clients are Norwegian Air Group, NAC Group, Bank of Ireland, Ardagh Group, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Auxmoney, LähiTapiola Rahoitus Oy, TowerBrook Capital Partners, Pillar Irish Bank, Bibby Financial Services, J & E Davy Holdings, Irish REIT Properties, Phoenix Group Holdings, Architas Multi-Managers, Bank of America Custodial Services, Core Industrial Luxembourg and Ardagh Group.
Research period review: 32nd edition (2023)
During the research period the firm was active in all areas of corporate law and project development.
In asset finance it advised all sides of the table on the full range of transactions in corporate law mostly with aviation finance assets.
In banking and finance it acted on behalf of the borrowing and the lending side on direct senior and mezzanine development financing, acquisition financing and refinancing. Its project finance practice includes advising the borrowing side on projects in various industries, including energy, natural resources, real estate, utilities, transport and technology.
In capital markets it advised in clients on debt, equity and structured finance work. On debt it advised mostly issuer on bonds and notes issues. On equity it advised mostly issuers on share listings. On structured finance it advised issuer and originators on loan securitisations and securities issue.
In corporate and M&A it advised the buy side and the sell side on acquisition in various industries, including energy, technology and insurance.
In investment funds it advised clients on formation of funds and sub-funds, including UCITS and ICAVs, and on related regulatory matters.
In financial services regulatory it advised financial institutions on financial markets matters, e-money payment authorisations, online trading platforms, crypto and fin-tech regulatory matters and corporate matters.
In project development it advised project developers and stakeholders on acquisitions of assets and projects in various sectors, most notably in renewable energy sector, technology and telecommunications, aviation, healthcare and real estate.
In restructuring and insolvency it advised all sides of the table on liquidations, business and debt restructurings, and insolvency proceedings.
Recent staffing changes include the recruitment of Liam Arthur, partner in corporate and M&A coming from Proskauer, Liam McArthur, partner in corporate and M&A coming from Proskauer Rose, Rob McDwyer, consultant in projects and construction, coming from Iberdrola Australia.
Deal highlights: 32nd edition (2023)
Ardagh Group €950 million senior secured notes
Ardagh Metal Packaging Finance €2.3 billion green bond offering
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice £2.6 billion financing
Echelon Data Centres €855 million financing
Finance Ireland €315 million securities issue
NAC Group $6.8billion debt restructuring
Norwegian Air Group €6 billion debt restructuring
Smurfit Kappa Group €500 million senior notes due 2029 and €500 million senior notes
University College Dublin €350 million financing
Client feedback: 32nd edition (2023)
Asset finance
"Technical knowledge and commercial response"
Banking
"Proactive, practical, commercial and responsive."
Capital markets : Debt
"Service delivery, technical expertise."
"Always extremely responsive, professional and friendly. Bring years of experience and knowledge to the table. Extremely commercial compared to other law firms and solution-oriented. Provide practical, helpful advice. Very good coordination with other departments (tax, regulatory, etc)."
Capital markets : Structured finance and securitisation
"Very responsive, efficient and user-friendly."
"Very responsive and good at pointing out potential options and solutions to structural issues."
"We find that the team at the firm provide us with the benefit of their deep expertise and experience in a commercial and pragmatic manner. "
"Very responsive and ability to provide practical advice."
"Superb responsiveness – ALWAYS available. Client-oriented solutions. True involvement with the client. Market knowledge. Highly skilled professionals."
Financial services regulatory
"When our firm faced a significant challenge, William Fry supported the firm with seconded high calibre experienced solicitors, excellent advice to deal with a number of complex and challenging matters. Their approach to working with us was that of a trusted partner who was very honest with their counsel."
"They understand the local market here well and know our business. "
"They have been hugely proactive in all parts of the process, clear in their communications, and willing to provide straightforward advice on complex subjects."
"There are many positive attributes, which include always making themselves available at short notice. The quality of the legal expertise from the team really makes them stand apart from their competitors in the fintech area. "
"The team have provided me with really valuable insights in how to approach communications and negotiations with our local regulators. In particular, they recently helped us achieve a very positive outcome regarding the status of our application. "
"The firm provided a clear accurate report which allows ongoing use as a tool in preparing for change and measuring ongoing compliance. "
"Excellent expertise for financial regulatory approvals. User-friendly partners."
"Easy access to decision-makers, responsive and clear advice. The firm look to engage early, be clear about the support they can give and the benefits of an approach. Not afraid to challenge our thinking on matters"
"Clear, concise, well-considered advice and clearly thoroughly researched. "
Insolvency
"Market-leading practice with impressive individual practitioners."
"Very experienced, good legal advice, hard-working, efficient, friendly approach."
"Really practical, knowledgeable and responsive. Highly adaptive and collaborative in terms of identifying and executing a solution to an issue that arises."
"Reactive."
"Experience, depth of legal expertise, strength of legal time, strong advice and practical and friendly approach."
Investment funds : Hedge funds
"Responsive, engaged and assured. Collaborative support partner for firm's activities."
M&A
"Deep insurance industry and Irish market knowledge. The firm provided accurate and commercial advice throughout the transaction.”
Project development : Infrastructure
"Very efficient work and excellent contractual technical advice. "
"Very concise and appropriate drafting taking account of real commercial issues, finding the right balance."
"They provide not only legal expertise but are also very good commercially. "
Project development : Telecommunications networks
"The firm supported our business with the scoped due diligence stage of the transaction and supported the business in meeting a key deadline due diligence date, for lenders. Separately, we required the firm to provide project management support for numerous work streams."
Restructuring
"They are a leading law firm with high-quality lawyers."
"The firm have excellent corporate, corporate litigation and insolvency departments. As counsel it is always reassuring to know that the firm instructing me has an attention to detail, a solid knowledge of the law and good practical common sense. The firm brings all of these attributes to bear in any case in which I am involved."
John Aherne
"Responsive, practical and knows our business."
"He is a stand-out partner. He is commercial, innovative, solutions driven, 'thinks outside the box' and is a pleasure to work with. "
"He is a stand-out partner across the team and indeed in comparison to partners we have worked with across other top firms. He is commercially focused, innovative, solutions-driven and has a wide depth of industry knowledge both locally and globally. We really value his strategic judgement and agility on complex matters. "
Matthew Cahill
"Very responsive and has extensive market knowledge in structured finance."
"Technical expertise and problem-solving."
"He is extremely responsive and a good problem-solver."
"Brings a wealth of experience. Very responsive and always helpful (e.g setting up calls at short notice). Extremely commercial and easy to work with. Extremely easy to work with in terms of costs transparency (we don't have the issues with them that we have had with certain other law firms when it comes to billing)."
"Extremely responsive. In-depth knowledge of the sector and the institutions involved. His approach to legal issues is thoroughly researched and firmly based, but it is always carried out with a straightforward business-like and practical mood. Involvement and integration with our team – we see him as part of our team. He really understands our needs, anticipating possible setbacks that may arise in the transaction and looks for practical and efficient solutions without having to adhere strictly to the literality of the law. In a small (but growing) company like ours, he often assumes a role that goes beyond strict external advice. That's real added value."
"He has a depth of expertise in the structured finance space and is able to provide us with pragmatic and commercial solutions in a cost-effective manner. "
Lisa Carty
"Quick grasp of a situation, very strategic in her approach. Empowers her team but is always available and responsive. Not afraid to challenge a collective opinion and thinks outside the box to deliver a solution to complex challenges "
"Strategic thinker on complex matters, detailed knowledge across all matters her team is engaged on. Quick to recognise when she needs to refer to another subject-matter expert in the firm. Will take the time necessary to reflect on all matters rather than suggest a solution that will not stand the test of time."
Fergus Devine
"Excellent to find solutions rather than confrontation."
Fergus Doorly
"Market-leading insolvency lawyer. Excellent strategist. Handles clients very well."
"Market-leading practitioner in restructuring/insolvency and commercial litigation."
Louise Harrison
"Very knowledgeable in her field. Extremely practical and commercial in her advice and guidance. She builds client rapport very quickly. You feel like you have a valued partner and someone who is looking out for your best interests. She is extremely helpful in making sure that your needs are met and was insightful on the TUPE process. She also helped us to push back at times on [third party] requests, which in hindsight has protected our time and that is invaluable."
Derek Hegarty
"Proactive, practical, commercial and responsive."
Jarleth Heneghan
"He took responsibility for putting together the time-challenging due diligence report. This involved dealing with a number of 'legal streams' who were reviewing documents; collating the data; and ensuring the data was accurate/correct. Then, of course, he had to provide the data (from our commercial contracts) to SIRO for review. He handled the challenge well and worked in a style that suited our business."
"Very proactive with a great knowledge base."
Shane Kelleher
"He is excellent at interpreting and anticipating what a regulator's thoughts are and how they will respond to a firm's proposals. "
"A clear expert from a financial services regulatory perspective."
John Larkin
"He has extensive and deep knowledge of the Irish regulatory market."
David Maughan
"Responsive and good advice."
Liam McCabe
"Very astute with in-depth knowledge and insights into the industry and all the major players."
Ciara McLoughlin
"Very knowledgeable in her field. Extremely practical and commercial in her advice and guidance."
Louise McNabola
"Subject-matter expert. Personable. Excellent communication both orally and in writing. Excellent attention to detail."
Ruairi Rynn
"Very experienced restructuring lawyer, provides good legal and commercial advice, friendly approach."
"He is one of the leading restructuring lawyers in Ireland. He has worked on a number of complex restructures and provides reliable and sound legal advice. He is always very approachable and good to work with. "
Marguerite Sinnot
"Helpful, responsive and knowledgeable. "
Craig Sowman
"Very assured, practical and a safe pair of hands. Go-to lawyer for tricky assignments as he gets to the nub of the issue very quickly. He's no nonsense in approach and speaks clearly."
Patricia Taylor
"Responsive, clear communicator of complex points and a coherent manner in tackling larger-scale issues."
Mary Ward
"Excellent technical and commercial knowledge."
