Combination to drive growth, delivering stronger client and sector offerings
Merger will see Irish business double in size over the next three to five years

Eugene F Collins LLP and international law firm Addleshaw Goddard LLP have announced a formal agreement to merge, effective today, 10 February 2022. The combined business will trade as Addleshaw Goddard LLP, bringing together extensive experience in corporate, property, banking and litigation.

The merger will support the delivery of stronger client sector offerings both in Ireland and at an international level.

The agreement will see Eugene F Collins’ partners, people, and business fully integrated into Addleshaw Goddard by 1 March 2022.

The combination will continue to offer a full-service capability in the market with projections to more than double the size of the business in Ireland over the next three to five years.

In a joint statement, John Joyce, Managing Partner of Addleshaw Goddard, and Mark Walsh Managing Partner of Eugene F Collins, said: “This is an exciting moment for both firms, driven by the recognition that there is great chemistry between us and a shared commitment to finding the smartest ways of delivering the biggest business impact to clients of all sizes in Ireland, Europe and beyond.”

Mark Walsh, Managing Partner, Eugene F Collins, said: “This merger with Addleshaw Goddard provides us with an exciting opportunity to grow our business, better serve our clients and provide our team with new and interesting opportunities. Addleshaw Goddard are known for bringing quality, imagination and impact. Over time we have built up a strong working relationship with Addleshaw Goddard, working side by side, allowing us to gain a better understanding of our respective business, culture, and people which has helped form this merger.

The clear fit between the culture and chemistry of both firms is undeniable, as well as a shared ambition to grow the enlarged business across key sectors in Ireland. With a history stretching over 100 years, we are excited to start the next chapter of our story alongside Addleshaw Goddard where the focus will remain on delivering market-leading advice to our clients.”

John Joyce added a presence in Dublin for Addleshaw Goddard unlocks opportunities with more UK and international businesses doing business in Ireland: “Dublin is a global hub for world-leading, fast-growing businesses in a range of sectors including FS, tech and life sciences and establishing a presence here fulfils a need we’ve been looking at for some time. The obvious strategic and cultural fit between Addleshaw Goddard and Eugene F Collins makes this a logical and very attractive proposition for both firms. They are a terrific business and we look forward to sharing the benefits with new and existing clients.”

Mark Walsh will continue to lead the combined firm in Ireland for a three-year period and will become Head of Ireland.

The financial details of the merger will not be disclosed.

Notes to editor:

About Addleshaw Goddard

• Known for bringing quality, imagination and impact through 15 offices located in The UK, France, Germany, Asia and the Middle East
• Where we don’t have offices, we work with firms well known to us to deliver local market expertise for clients including financial institutions, public sector bodies, successful businesses and private individuals
• 297 partners and around 1,000 other lawyers specialising in 50+ specialisms covering Corporate & Commercial; Finance & Projects; Litigation; Real Estate.
• Global FY21/22 turnover £321m; 12% YOY revenue growth
  By combining legal expertise, technology, resourcing solutions and strategy consultancy we deliver material improvements to client businesses:
  – By combining strategy, psychology and training expertise, we created a leadership development programme for a client to equip its GCs for an uncertain future
  – Through smarter resourcing of routine legal work, we save clients over £20m in fees every year
  – AG Integrate, provides short- and long-term legal talent as and when needed
  – Our legal technologists cut one client’s legal costs by up to 30%; another saw 1.2 million documents reviewed in 10 days; a third saw 10,000 properties accessible from a single app
• Committed to a positive working culture for all and spanning all areas of gender and social mobility disability, ethnicity and the LGBT+ agenda
  In recent years we have acted for clients in nearly 100 different countries
• Our lawyers are specialists in financial services, energy and utilities, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, real estate and transport.
• 43 of the FTSE 100 are our clients
• Last year, around the world, we acted for: 700+ Financial Services companies and Funds; nearly 500 well-known Consumer brands and Retailers; over 800 Real Estate businesses and Investors; 200 Energy clients; over 150 Healthcare industry clients; and 160 Transport sector clients;

About Eugene F Collins LLP

• Eugene F Collins LLP is a full-service business law firm, based in Dublin, Ireland. Established nearly 130 years ago, the firm has 25 Partners and more than 100 legal professionals. We advise many of Ireland’s leading corporate and international organisations across a breadth of industry sectors
• Eugene F Collins is a partner-led law firm which commits to partner involvement in managing each client’s legal requirements
• We are consistently recognised as a leading Irish law firm by independent legal directories, Chambers Europe, Chambers Global and The Legal 500. Key sectors include hospitality, retail, financial services, real estate, construction, life sciences and pharmaceuticals.