Pinsent Masons in Ireland Pinsent Masons in Ireland

Pinsent Masons in IrelandOur approach is that legal services should always underpin our clients’ needs and business objectives, wherever they may be. We are organised and resourced so that no matter where our clients’ commercial demands take them, we have the footprint and expertise to work with them.

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Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

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Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

Origins date to

1769

24

Offices 4

Continents

3000+People

1800+Lawyers

435+Partners

worldwide

Local strength, global resourceWe partner with our clients to support them in achieving their business objectives. Through our global sector-led approach, we work closely with our colleagues in our other offices, combining local knowledge with global experience, connections and reach. Our service offering in Ireland is enhanced by the skills and resources of over 1,800 lawyers operating across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

A gateway for investment into the EU

We regularly work with international clients investing in Ireland, supporting them in establishing their Irish operations and using their Irish base as a gateway to doing business across EMEA and other regions.

Connecting an all Ireland offering Our Dublin office consolidates our business interests in the whole of Ireland, working closely with our long established Belfast office to provide an all-Ireland service offering.

Award winning track record for innovation

At Pinsent Masons, we take great pride in the work we do with our clients to deliver dynamic legal services. Innovation sits at the heart of our strategy and we invest in the development of new products, solutions and services which deliver efficiencies and greater value to our clients’ business.

Dedicated to diversity

and inclusion

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Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

A fresh approachThe client is at the centre of what we do. We structure our services to meet our clients’ developing business and legal needs, and combine this with a proven track record of expertise, innovation and excellence in service delivery.

Global sector focusOur sector-led approach allows us to develop in-depth knowledge and insight into what our clients do, to understand their industry and business and align with their objectives. We leverage this knowledge and insight to deliver focused, meaningful and informed commercial advice. This approach, combined with our innovative service delivery and the breadth of resources available from a truly international firm, means that we are bringing something fresh to the Irish legal market.

We advise clients across five global sectors:

Advanced Manufacturing & Technology

This encompasses a number of different industries, including technology, life sciences and product manufacturing and supply. Digital disruption and transformation, an evolving regulatory environment and new service and operating models are some of the factors affecting this sector and transforming markets. Inspired by our clients’ ambition and drive for a competitive edge in those industries, we are working with them to tackle the challenges they face.

Financial Services

We support our clients in the financial services sector to achieve their strategic and commercial goals while managing legal and regulatory risk. Our global team offers multi-disciplinary expertise including asset management, investment funds, banking, insurance, pensions, private wealth, restructuring and tax teams. We also provide a number of smart delivery and compliance solutions to our financial services clients.

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Energy

We have a proven track record of providing strategic consultation and commercial advice on energy projects, working with clients on major oil and gas, power, utilities, renewable energy, clean development mechanism issues, nuclear and pipeline projects. We work internationally in sector-based multidisciplinary teams. This helps us share insights gained from strong industry connections with government, regulatory bodies and the wider financial community. You get the benefit of our knowhow, applied to your business.

Infrastructure

With a world leading infrastructure practice, we have unparalleled knowledge and experience of advising on the procurement, financing, delivery and investment in major infrastructure and other construction projects. We are trusted with many of the largest and most ambitious projects in the world in the sector’s diverse key markets including transport, social infrastructure, education, municipal waste management, water and sport & leisure.

Real Estate

From advising on highly complex transactions to fast and efficient asset management, our team of specialists in property, planning, environmental, investment, development, corporate, finance, tax and dispute resolution cuts across traditional boundaries. The work we do for global investors, funds and developers in the private and public sector ranges from major cross-jurisdictional deals to efficient ‘smart’ asset management.

Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

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Innovation

Innovation is core to our strategy. It is more than finding ways to make an old model fit a new world. For us, innovation is about fundamentally changing how high quality legal advice is formulated and excellent service is delivered. We are partnering with our clients to lead through innovation, rather than be disrupted by it.

We have an award winning track record for innovation and invest in the development of new solutions which deliver value to our clients’ business in terms of improved data, better information sharing and faster processes. In 2015 we were named “Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe” by the Financial Times, and have since been shortlisted and highly commended for numerous other innovation awards from the Financial Times, The Lawyer and Legal Week.

Some examples of what we do:

• We have developed our own team of computer scientists and legal engineers who develop products for the effective application of artificial intelligence (AI) in law

• Better and more visible project management has become essential in complex commercial deals and disputes. Our Project Management approach provides an assurance that our clients will have a full overview of their matter from start to finish, with no surprises for executives or shareholders

• Vario is a hub of freelance legal professionals available to undertake a wide variety of assignments from fixed term projects to maternity cover. We offer high quality, flexible lawyers to address the resource, cost and skills issues which often affect busy in-house teams

• We have pioneered the concept of Long Term Relationship Agreements – often referred to in the media as ‘sole supplier deals’. These arrangements offer fixed price, multi-year deals – but they are much more than that. They are partnerships which allow supplier and purchaser to take a holistic view of legal spend.

Further information and our full list of awards can be found at www.innovative.legal

Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

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A range of expertisePinsent Masons is a full service international law firm. We are able to offer our clients a wide range of commercial legal advice and support both nationally and internationally.

As we grow and expand our presence in Ireland, we will initially focus on the following areas, drawing from the wider Pinsent Masons network as required.

Corporate

We advise on cross-border and domestic transactions and matters. Our team in Ireland is supported by a team of over 300 lawyers based in France, Germany, the UK, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, leveraging their sector experience to frame their commercial advice.

Our services include:

• M&A – advising on corporate acquisitions and disposals, cross-border transactions, auction sales, mergers, shareholders’ agreements and group reorganisations

• Corporate – advising on general corporate matters: corporate restructuring and governance, outside general counsel, compliance and company secretarial. We also advise on corporate conflicts, in particular shareholders disputes at both pre-contentious and litigious stage

• Private equity – advising on private equity transactions, from large leveraged buy-outs to venture capital deals, for a mixture of private equity houses, private equity backed companies and management teams

• Joint ventures – advising on joint venture agreements and disputes, shareholders agreements, share option and management incentive arrangements.

Asset Management & Investment Funds

We provide international asset managers with advice on the establishment of their Irish fund structures and in relation to Irish regulatory and investment management issues. We also advise fund service providers, prime brokers and various counterparties on a wide range of regulatory issues.

Our team in Ireland is closely integrated with colleagues across our network of offices. As such, we are one of the few firms that can advise asset managers on all aspects of fund establishment, marketing, regulation and licensing requirements in each of these markets. In particular, our UK-Ireland offering and Irish offering makes us uniquely placed to provide UK managers with a co-ordinated approach to Brexit strategy planning. This adds real value to our clients in terms of market insight and horizon watching.

Our services include:

• Brexit – advising on Brexit licensing solutions and strategy planning

• Investment funds – advising on the establishment of all types of Irish collective investment schemes, including UCITS, QIAIFs and RIAIFs investing in various strategies, which include loan origination, debt and credit, property, infrastructure, long/short and Money Market Funds

• Regulatory – advising managers on UCITS/AIFM, dual “SuperMan Co” (with extended permissions) authorisations, AIFMD, the UCITS Directive, MiFID II and IIA authorisations

• Global fund registrations service – advising on the marketing and distribution of funds across the EEA and internationally through our global fund registrations service

• Asset managers – advising asset managers in respect to the above.

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Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

Technology, Sourcing and Information Law

The provision of goods and services is the lifeblood of most businesses. In a fast moving landscape where technology and the increased importance of data is disrupting established markets and transforming industries, the way in which a business structures and delivers its goods and services is vital to long term success. Our Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) practice comprises a multi-disciplinary team of experts in technology, information law, sourcing and commercial contracts who can guide you through this.

Our services include:

• Technology – advising technology users and producers on the full range of issues relating to technology products and services, from IT outsourcing and infrastructure projects to e-commerce and consumer matters

• Information law – working with clients across all industries to manage their data protection and cyber risk, we give real world advice in an often grey area. Our work includes strategic compliance advice, representing clients in dealings with the Data Protection Commissioner and managing data access requests and security breaches

• Sourcing and commercial contracts – in a world where risk management is all-pervasive and procurement is tightly managed, we advise clients on matters such as outsourcing and material services arrangements, distribution models and franchising.

Dispute Resolution

Pinsent Masons is experienced in all forms of commercial litigation and dispute resolution whether it’s litigation before the Irish Courts, including the Commercial Court, mediation or arbitration.

Our services include:

• Intellectual property and technology litigation – advising on patent litigation, trade mark disputes, copyright and design disputes, database and breach of confidence disputes

• Data litigation – advising on breach of GDPR disputes/data protections actions, appeals of GDPR fines and sanctions, processor controller breach of contract disputes, defence of regulatory prosecutions and data breach, mandatory reporting and litigation

• Commercial disputes – advising on shareholder disputes, breach of warranty and indemnity disputes, commercial agency and commercial distribution disputes and breach of contract disputes

• Financial – advising on bond holder disputes, regulated and unregulated funds related litigation, financial product mis-selling disputes and securities litigation

• Regulation – prosecution and defence of regulatory actions across sectors, judicial review and statutory appeals of decisions affecting regulated entities

• Private international law – advising on application of The Hague Convention on service, the recognition and enforcement of judgements between EU member states and obtaining Irish witness testimony for foreign proceedings under the Foreign Tribunals Evidence Act 1856.

Employment

Your business may be looking to restructure, better manage its talent, address immigration issues or employee claims. Or you may simply need everyday HR advice. We can work in conjunction with our employment colleagues across our network of offices to give you the right support wherever you are in the world.

Our services include:

• Employment advice – advising clients on a wide range of complex and sensitive issues, including advising on managing performance and disciplinary issues, contracts, restrictive covenants, whistleblowing, protecting confidential information, global outsourcing and managing exits

• Corporate immigration solutions – there are a multitude of immigration routes for non European Economic Area nationals to work in Ireland. We help clients choose the most appropriate route and we act as agent for clients in relation to their employment permit applications

• Employment litigation – we advise our clients on a wide range of disputes, including cross border disputes and claims before the Workplace Relations Commission

• Training – we work with clients to provide tailored training sessions for their employees.

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Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

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How we workResponsible business

Our business is all about providing responsible advice to enable our clients to manage and address business risks. A commitment to behaving responsibly extends to everything we do and everyone with whom we interact. We are transparent, fair and ethical in all our dealings with clients and suppliers.

We also have a long-term commitment to inspiring young lives in our local communities. We are a diverse business which challenges itself to do better and to learn from and work with clients on responsible business initiatives.

Dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace

We aim to create an inclusive working environment in which all our staff feel free to be themselves:

• 26% of our partners worldwide are female

• Highest ranking law firm and second over all in Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

• A top 50 employer for:

– Women

– Working families

– School leavers

• Winner of ‘Diversity Innovation’ and ‘HR Innovation’ at the Legal Week Innovation Awards 2017.

We also recently acquired Brook Graham, a market-leading Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) consulting company, enabling them to expand into new sectors and territories powered by the reach of Pinsent Masons’ international, sector-led presence. By joining forces in this way, we are able to offer a more holistic approach to developing commercially and legally sustainable solutions for creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Values

We know that our culture sets us apart, and is at the heart of our success as a leading international law firm.

Our core values – Approachable, Bold, Connected – are the principles we hold in high regard. Personally and collectively, we live them every day and our firm is a better place for it.

Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

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Global reach and strong network We deliver a strong local presence from our global network of offices with an excellent understanding of the market. We have a strong network of preferred law firms when local legal advice is required where we do not have a Pinsent Masons presence.

Europe

Our firm’s origins in Europe date back to 1769, giving us an in-depth local knowledge and understanding of our markets. We offer the full range of services you would expect from an international law firm across our 14 European offices.

Americas

We have a long-term commitment to the Americas, with dedicated teams of lawyers who are experienced in supporting international clients working throughout the USA, Canada and South America. Our deep working relationships with local law firms and trusted advisers enable us to act as a valuable commercial partner.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific has been a focus of the firm’s international strategy for more than 30 years, beginning with the opening of our Hong Kong office in 1983. Our 7 offices in the region currently consist of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Middle East

From our offices in UAE and Qatar, as well as alongside our associated law firm Alsabhan & Alajaji in Saudi Arabia, we have supported the wider Middle East region for over 30 years. We have an alliance network with local law firms ensuring we have the local knowledge and expertise to support client working across the entire region.

Africa

Our African experience spans more than 40 countries over 30 years. In 2017 we opened our first office in Africa in Johannesburg. We have acted on numerous projects across Africa including construction, infrastructure, energy, oil & gas and mining projects. In recent years, we have advised clients in countries including Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Tanzania and DR Congo.

Pinsent Masons | in Ireland

Pinsent Masons in Ireland is a partnership regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. It is affiliated with Pinsent Masons LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (registered number: OC333653). The word ‘partner’, used in relation to Pinsent Masons refers to a member or an employee or consultant of the partnership or any affiliated firm, with equivalent standing. A list of members of Pinsent Masons, and those non-members who are designated as partners, is available for inspection at Pinsent Masons’ international head office: 30 Crown Place, London EC2A 4ES, United Kingdom. © Pinsent Masons 2018.

For a full list of the jurisdictions where we operate, see www.pinsentmasons.com