When reflecting on the Irish market in 2025, the overwhelming consensus among law firm leaders is that the year was chaotic, but ultimately fruitful. 

As Arthur Cox managing partner Geoff Moore sums up: ‘Notwithstanding all of the craziness geopolitically, business continues to be really good, and we’ve had one of our best years yet’. 

This is a sentiment shared by William Fry managing partner Stephen Keogh. ‘The Irish economy and the Irish legal market have continued to be very strong,’ he says. ‘Comparative to instability seen elsewhere, it is a very easy place to do business’. 

Leaders at Ireland’s ‘Big Six’ – A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox, Matheson, McCann Fitzgerald, Mason Hayes & Curran and William Fry – all agree that 2025 was a strong year for the domestic market, with international firms that have joined the Dublin fray in recent years also commenting on the draw of the Irish market for international opportunities. 

‘Ireland has emerged as a core part of many firms’ growth strategies’, says Pamela O’Neill (pictured), who took over as managing partner of Eversheds Sutherland’s Dublin office last September.

‘This reflects its strategic importance within the European legal landscape, its proximity to Europe and its long history and connection with both US law firms and the many US-headquartered companies in Ireland’. 

Adapting to change

While 2025 ended with firms feeling satisfied with how the year had gone, yet more geopolitical turmoil – driven in large part by US President Donald Trump’s threats of sweeping global tariffs – meant things started off on a less than ideal note. 

‘Ultimately, it was a tale of four months and eight months for us’, says A&L Goodbody managing partner David Widger. ‘Ireland is a very open economy and so we can be influenced by fluctuating external dynamics, and the impact of tariffs caused some uncertainty and slowdown in some practice groups early in the year, but the market recovered strongly and the rest of the year was very strong – and this has continued into 2026′.

Following Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcement last April, the EU-US trade deal agreed in July set out a 15% tariff on all EU goods, down from the previously threatened 30%.

And while the US Supreme Court recently struck down the tariffs as unconstitutional, the uncertainty they sparked presented an unexpected bump in the road for Irish business.

Moore (pictured) continues: ‘We definitely saw the classic phrase of ‘when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold’ being exacerbated last year. Liberation Day and the application of tariffs spooked an awful lot of people, but actually the world just got on with things again.

‘Lots of uncertainty is just the new norm – the world’s got to continue to spin, and the world’s got to continue to do business,’ he sums up. 

Mason Hayes & Curran managing partner William Carmody and Matheson managing partner Darren Maher both also acknowledge the ever-present nature of uncertainty and volatility in the post-pandemic market. 

‘This volatility makes long-term planning increasingly complex, and Irish firms must demonstrate agility in advising on cross-border matters as both Ireland and Europe continue to adapt,’ Maher says.

With regards to specific sectors driving business activity, tech is unsurprisingly cited as a priority for firms, while regulatory work is also making up a large part of the flow of work for many practices. 

‘The strongest areas for firms continue to be those where regulation, investment and risk intersect,’ comments Carmody, while Widger adds that government investment in infrastructure has also created notable workstreams for firms. 

At William Fry, banking and finance co-head Padraic Kinsella highlights the impact of Ireland’s housing shortage on workstreams, with real estate finance mandates creating a lot of work in recent years. 

Others cite the pharma, cyber and food and beverage sectors as notably active, with clients benefiting from Ireland’s role as a bridge between the UK, EU and US markets. 

‘Ireland tends to have a huge amount of cross-border activity, both inbound and outbound, and we’re seeing more and more international private equity funds looking at Ireland,’ comments William Darmody, who heads up the Irish corporate team at UK firm Browne Jacobson, which launched in Dublin in July 2022. ‘There’s been a lot of UK funds especially looking to Ireland, so having a joined-up UK and Ireland offering has been very helpful’.

Market movement

One of the biggest stories of the year was the mooted combination of William Fry with Eversheds Sutherland’s Ireland arm, news of which first emerged in December 2024. 

Initial discussions explored the possibility of William Fry absorbing the entirety of Eversheds Sutherland’s near-50 partner operation in Ireland, but the talks ultimately faltered, with a full combination proving unachievable.  

By September, the outcome for William Fry was the acquisition of a twelve-lawyer, four-partner corporate team, while Eversheds retained 26 partners for a new, fully financially integrated Irish practice across its Dublin and Belfast bases.  

Other Eversheds Sutherland lawyers splintered off, finding new homes at firms including Beauchamps, Fieldfisher, Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons and Byrne Wallace Shields, with former Eversheds Sutherland Ireland managing partner Alan Connell now a senior partner in the tax department at Philip Lee. 

‘The more instability we see elsewhere in the world only serves to highlight how stable Ireland is’

Despite the upheaval, Eversheds remains fully focused on the Irish market, and is bullish on the benefits of its newly integrated offering. ‘Since the integration, our Ireland team has grown by over 10%’, states O’Neill, who previously led the disputes team before succeeding Connell as managing partner of the new Dublin team. ‘We are in growth mode in Dublin and Belfast, and hungry and ambitious for continued success’. 

Within the domestic Irish market, there is some sense of missed opportunity for William Fry, given a full combination could have created one of the largest firms in Dublin. Other sources characterise the fallout from the deal as ‘difficult’ and ‘unfortunate’, pointing in particular to the impact on more junior staff and trainees, some of whom were left adrift. 

However, this was by no means the only combination on the table in 2025. In January, domestic duo Byrne Wallace and LK Shields finalised a tie-up to create Byrne Wallace Shields, which with more than 200 solicitors is now snapping at the heels of the Big Six.

Later in the year, Fieldfisher announced its expansion into the Cork market through a merger with local firm Regan Wall, building on its existing presence in Dublin, and 2026 kicked off with Philip Lee also adding a Cork presence through a combination with BHK Solicitors 

‘It’s very possible we’ll continue to see smaller mid-market mergers into the future’, comments Widger, ‘not necessarily to become challengers to the bigger firms, but in order to be more efficient and economic, and ensure a better offering for a certain segment of the market’. 

Keogh (pictured) adds: ‘The cost of doing business as a law firm isn’t getting any cheaper, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for those smaller firms to absorb the costs of technology and employment, so that does often cause people to look at where they might find synergies with others’. 

The influx of international firms seen in the early 2020s has also now begun to cool, with the likes of Browne Jacobson and Addleshaw Goddard – which also moved into Dublin in 2022 via the acquisition of Eugene F Collins – now settled in the market following periods of expansion and recruitment. 

Money talks

One challenge all Irish firms face is the battle for junior talent, with the lure of London salaries and attractive in-house opportunities among the temptations for lawyers who have cut their teeth at domestic firms. 

As Moore states: ‘The draw of London is still a challenge, and anyone who tells you it’s not isn’t being truthful – the rates on offer can be quite compelling for somebody at the start of their career’. 

Keogh adds: ‘In the last few years, London firms have been very keen to hire young Irish solicitors at any level of experience, from newly qualified up. We do now have a sense that this might be starting to ease off at the newly qualified level, with the firms operating out of London more anxious to focus on those with a few more years’ experience under their belt’. 

The proportion of lawyers working in-house has also continued to creep upward, with 23% of practising lawyers in Ireland now holding in-house positions, up from 2,600 to more than 2,800, according to the most recently released figures.

‘It’s fair to say that the Irish market has, in the last few years, had more and more opportunities for those in private practice to move in-house’, comments Widger.  

However, Irish firms argue they have plenty to offer for those looking for a more balanced career. ‘You have to try and offer something different’, states Jeanne Kelly, one of the founding partners of Browne Jacobson’s Ireland practice and head of the firm’s EU data, privacy and cybersecurity practice. ‘You have to offer a decent place to work, but arguably just as important, you have to offer interesting work, and there’s plenty of that to go around’. 

Maher continues, ‘Maintaining the right work environment is critical – focusing on work/life balance and employee wellbeing to retain talent by creating conditions where lawyers feel supported, valued, respected and genuinely motivated to perform at their highest level. In a competitive market, firms must balance demanding client expectations with sustainable practices that attract and retain exceptional people’. 

Technology and teams

Joining geopolitics, consolidation and talent retention at the top of the agenda is, of course, AI. With Legora, Harvey and Microsoft Copilot now mainstays among many major law firms, the use of AI is moving into newer and more creative spaces. 

‘While some of the leading firms in the market had already adopted automation products, the focus has turned to generative AI products, especially at the higher end of the market’, comments Keogh. ‘That being said, firms are aware of the issues around confidentiality and other potential pitfalls, including the quality of the work generated, so everyone is at their own stage on the AI journey’. 

That sense of caution is echoed by Carmody (pictured), who adds, ‘Technology matters, but it doesn’t replace judgement. The firms that struggle in this space are those that try to do everything at once or treat technology as a shortcut rather than a support for expertise’. 

Expectations around AI usage are also increasing on the client side, with Ciarán Markey, disputes partner and one of the founders of Browne Jacobson’s Dublin office, commenting that ‘sophisticated clients have come to expect it as part of the provided service’.

Moore agrees: ‘Clients are looking at costs and budgets, and efficiencies that service providers might be able to provide through the use of technology. They’re looking for those efficiencies to be passed on’. 

As to what 2026 will hold in store, partners are prepared for more of the new norm – uncertainty. 

‘Geopolitical risk is now increasingly factored into business planning, and businesses are operating under the assumption that conditions can, and will, change’, comments Carmody. 

Such pragmatism only serves to underline the prevailing view among Ireland’s law firm leaders – that the market offers a safe haven in an unsafe world.

‘At a more macro level, Ireland and its economy will, if anything, become even more attractive to global players’, asserts Keogh. ‘The more instability we see elsewhere in the world only serves to highlight how stable Ireland is’.