Matheson has announced the appointment of eight new partners across a range of practice areas.

Managing Partner of Matheson, Michael Jackson said:

"I am delighted to announce the appointment of eight new partners to the firm, and congratulate them on their achievement. The range of sectors encompassed by these appointments reflects both the breadth of technical and legal knowledge in Matheson, and the broad sectoral composition of our client base. It also reflects our ability, as a full service commercial law firm, to support indigenous and global clients with an international focus.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on all sectors, we continue to see strong levels of activity from both domestic businesses and multinationals across many sectors, including M&A, corporate restructuring, technology, life sciences, energy, financial services and dispute resolution - as Irish companies continue to expand into new markets and international companies continue to expand their already significant footprint in Ireland and contribute directly and indirectly to the local economies and communities in which they are located."

"As we announce our eight new partner appointments at the firm, I am also pleased that 41% of the partnership at Matheson is female, and that 50% of our partner appointments over the last 3 years have been female." commented Jackson. 

"Finally, I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the firm for their commitment and dedication over the course of the last 12 months in meeting the legal needs of our clients - and particularly as we continue to work together through the challenges of the pandemic. Everyone at Matheson was delighted to see the Law Society of Ireland confirm Matheson as Ireland's largest law firm last week. As a firm, our commitment to the Matheson values - and to supporting our legal and business professionals to make meaningful contributions to our clients, each other and our society - has remained to the forefront at Matheson throughout the challenges of the pandemic."

The eight new Matheson partners and their practice areas are:  Caroline Austin (Tax), Angela Brennan (Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution), Paul Carroll (Finance and Capital Markets), Catriona Cole (Asset Management and Investment Funds), Louise Dobbyn (Corporate Financial Institutions Group), Stephen Gardiner (Finance and Capital Markets), Sandra Lord (Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions), Cillian O'Boyle (Commercial Real Estate)

In addition to Matheson's new partner announcement, 2021 has also seen the appointment of 20 newly-qualified solicitors at the firm

About Matheson's eight new partners:

Caroline Austin (Tax) advises clients on cross-border tax planning, transfer pricing, tax controversy matters and inward investment projects.  Caroline has extensive experience in international corporate restructurings, as well as mergers and acquisitions on a national and international level.  A Chartered Tax Advisor, Caroline is also a member of the Law Society of Ireland, and is co-author of the Irish Chapter of the IBFD's publication on Transfer Pricing.

Angela Brennan (Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution) is a member of the firm's Commercial Litigation Group. Angela has over 12 years' experience in commercial and financial services dispute resolution, shareholder disputes, insurance coverage and regulatory disputes and corporate restructuring and insolvency matters. Angela is a committee member of the Commercial Law Committee of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association and a member of the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners and INSOL. Angela has tutored on the professional practice course of the Law Society of Ireland and regularly contributes to industry publications. 

Paul Carroll (Finance and Capital Markets) advises clients on syndicated and bilateral lending transactions, leveraged acquisition financings, real estate financings, receivables financings, project finance and debt restructurings.  Paul originally began his career at Matheson and returned to the firm in 2020 following four years in London.  As a result of this experience, Paul has particular expertise in cross-border financing and corporate transactions. 

Catriona Cole (Asset Management and Investment Funds) practices financial services law, and advises many of the world's leading financial institutions, investment banks, asset management companies and service providers who do business in Ireland or through Irish vehicles.  Catriona is a member of the Irish Funds Events Working Group, and also sits on the Dublin Chapter leadership committee for global industry group, Women in ETFs and was responsible for running its EMEA mentoring scheme during 2018 / 2019.  Catriona is also a member of the firm's Mindful Business Charter committee.

Louise Dobbyn (Corporate Financial Institutions Group) advises banks, investment firms, asset managers, fund promoters, fintech firms, payment and e-money institutions, trading platforms, intermediaries and brokers on all aspects of Irish and EU financial regulations, and compliance and related matters.  Louise also was a regulatory change secondee at an investment bank in London.

Stephen Gardiner (Finance and Capital Markets) advises some of the world's largest financial institutions and leading aviation industry participants on a variety of transactions and financing products utilising Irish corporate structures.  Stephen was named as a key lawyer in transport in Ireland by Legal 500 in 2020 and as a Rising Star by Airfinance Journal in 2019.  He is a faculty member of The Law Society of Ireland's Certificate and Diploma courses in Aviation Leasing and Finance.

Sandra Lord (Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions) advises clients on international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, investment agreements, joint ventures and leveraged buyouts.  She also counsels corporate clients on a broad range of governance and business-related matters, including directors' duties and general compliance matters.  She has represented public and private companies, institutional investors and financial intermediaries engaged in a variety of industries and sectors.

Cillian O'Boyle (Commercial Real Estate) advises both domestic and international lenders on all property aspects of real estate security, from the taking of security through to the enforcement of same.  Originally from Limerick, Cillian also has considerable experience in general commercial property work including acquisitions and disposals and commercial landlord and tenant work, as well as experience in the renewables sphere.

About Matheson:

  • Matheson is an Irish law firm.  Our primary focus is on serving the Irish legal needs of internationally focused companies and financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland.
  • Matheson's clients include the majority of the Fortune 100 companies and it advises 7 of the top 10 global technology brands, 7 of the world's 10 largest asset managers, and over half of the world's 50 largest banks.
  • Matheson is headquartered in Dublin and also has offices in Cork, London, New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto.  Matheson employs over 720 people across its six offices, including 97 partners and tax principals, and 520 legal, tax and digital services professionals.
  • Matheson holds the Gold Standard Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity and Inclusion in recognition of the firm's development and implementation of people-focussed D&I initiatives. Matheson was the first organisation in Ireland to be awarded this accreditation.
  • Matheson's female / male partner gender ratio is ranked the seventh most gender-diverse in Europe in The Lawyer's Euro 100 for 2020.
  • Matheson has been named Ireland's largest law firm by the Law Society of Ireland, following the annual publication in 2021 by the Law Society of practicing solicitor numbers in Ireland in February 2021.