William Fry, one of the largest corporate law firms in the State, has walked away from merger talks with senior representatives from the Irish affiliate of UK-based Eversheds Sutherland.
Staff in both firms were informed of the development on Thursday afternoon, a little over five months after the discussions first emerged. It is understood that both sides failed to agree on commercial terms after William Fry carried out due diligence on the planned deal.
“After careful consideration, we have agreed that the interests of our respective firms are best served by remaining separate and accordingly both firms will instead focus on their individual strategic growth priorities,” the parties both said in separately issued statements.
The move comes less than a month after William Fry’s managing partner, Stephen Keogh, was quoted as saying in an interview of the “complementary mindset” of both firms and that the Eversheds team “will hopefully be joining us someday soon”.
The surprise breakdown in talks puts pressure on Eversheds Sutherland Ireland’s managing partner, Alan Connell, as he faces having to rebrand the business and rebuild part of his team. This follows a move by Eversheds Sutherland (International) in recent months to approach some senior figures in the practice to set up a new business in Dublin as most of their colleagues prepared to join William Fry.
Eversheds Sutherland (International) confirmed on Thursday that it plans to launch new operations in Ireland with offices in Dublin and Belfast from September 2025. The Dublin office is to be led by Pamela O’Neill, who handed in her notice as a partner with Eversheds Sutherland Ireland in March and has been on leave ever since.
The new Irish practice will be full-service, and the initial phase is likely to see up to 20 partners involved in the launch, the organisation said. It will carry the Eversheds Sutherland name in Ireland from September.
“I am pleased to announce this key, strategic investment underlining our long-term commitment to Ireland, which is an important market for our clients and our firm,” said Eversheds Sutherland (International) chief executive Keith Froud.
“It was vital to us that we launch our new operations with the best team possible in both Dublin and Belfast who share our global ambitions.”
Mr Connell did not respond to a call seeking comment. A spokeswoman was not in a position to comment.
William Fry had 216 practising solicitor certificates at the end of last year, making it the sixth largest law firm in the State, according to the Law Society. It employs about 500 people. It has been led since the start of November by Mr Keogh and is chaired by Liam McCabe.
Eversheds Dublin had 107 practising solicitor certificates at the end of last year, placing it in 12th position among firms in the Republic. It has about 290 staff. A number had been lining up to join the new Eversheds Sutherland practice in Dublin, rather than join William Fry, when the merger talks were live.
The discussions occurred against the backdrop of consolidation elsewhere in the sector in recent times.
ByrneWallace, the number eight player in the Republic by solicitor certificates as of the end of 2023, completed a merger in January with smaller peer LK Shields, to create a firm with 430 employees, including 220 solicitors. The combined firm is known as Byrne Wallace Shields.
Flynn O’Driscoll merged with fellow commercial law firm Vincent & Beatty in January, in a transaction that took their combined total headcount to 140.
