In a strengthening of its presence in London, leading Irish corporate law firm Matheson has announced the appointment of Sharon Daly, who is widely acknowledged as one of Ireland's leading corporate litigators, as Head of its London office. Ms Daly has re-located from Dublin to London.
Speaking from the firm's London office, Managing Partner Michael Jackson said: "At Matheson we are committed to having a strong presence where our clients are located. With the increasing demand for Irish legal services which we are seeing from UK-based financial institutions and corporates, I am pleased to announce that Matheson is making a significant investment in our London office. The firm's London team plays an essential role in managing our UK-based relationships - and in facilitating client access to the wide range of cross-sectoral Irish legal services provided by Matheson."
"I am particularly pleased that senior partner, and Head of Matheson's Brexit Group, Sharon Daly has agreed to lead our London team as she moves full time to London, enabling us to expand our service offering in the UK and to strengthen our presence in a market which is of strategic importance to us."
Mr Jackson continued: "Sharon is an outstanding lawyer. She is widely acknowledged as one of the leading corporate litigators in Ireland with over 25 years' experience in all aspects of commercial litigation and dispute resolution. She has particular expertise in large insurance disputes and advising financial institutions and corporate clients in complex, multi-party, multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes."
"Sharon's deep knowledge of the UK market, having worked on financial services matters for many years, together with her strong international profile, makes her the ideal person to lead the firm's London office and Matheson's London market client services offering."
Sharon Daly said: "Many of Matheson's clients, which include more than half of the world's 50 largest banks and the majority of the Fortune 100 companies, have business operations in the UK and engage their Irish legal services through the international legal services market in London. Accordingly, Matheson's London office plays an important role in meeting the Irish legal needs of these companies and financial institutions, and their advisers.
Sharon continued: "Matheson is 30 years in London this year, so it is fitting that we are growing and strengthening our UK presence. Ireland has longstanding and close ties to the UK, going well beyond a common language and time zone, and a comparable legal system. I am looking forward to leading the firm's London offering at a time of strong demand for Irish corporate legal services from the UK, as it prepares for a post-Brexit world across all industry sectors - and particularly in the financial services, technology and pharma sectors."
"Both personally and professionally this is a very exciting time for me, as I relocate to London. Our UK-based clients doing business in Ireland, and our UK legal colleagues with whom we work closely, on cross-border transactions are of key importance to us at Matheson. In preparing for Brexit, we believe in close co-operation and assistance between Ireland and the UK."
"Alongside this, I look forward to continuing my commercial litigation work for our clients."
"I will also be co-ordinating closely with my Matheson counterparts in the firm's US offices in New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto – given that many of our global clients have a presence in London, Dublin and the US. At Matheson, we can service the full suite of those clients' Irish legal needs".