Byrne Wallace Shields now employs 430 staff, including 220 solicitors, following what is believed to be the largest ever merger in the Irish legal market.

In a statement today, managing partner Feargal Brennan said: “We anticipate further consolidation in the Irish legal market.

“For us, a principal goal in the merger was to enable significant investment in how the firm delivers complex and strategic advice to our clients.

“Clients are evolving and growing and facing an ever more complex legal and regulatory environment. They require a more expansive and re-imagined service.

“AI is having a very significant impact in the delivery of legal services, and this merger enables us to redefine and innovate and provide a better service to our clients.

“This includes AI-enabled and tech-driven solutions that enhance efficiency and facilitate to better deliver on larger, more complex work in areas such as due diligence, discovery, data analytics, transaction management, and compliance.”

The firm recently announced a new international trade offering, including the launch of a specialist trading desk for tariff and tax advice with a focus on Canadian and Irish businesses.

Jon Legorburu, the firm’s head of regulation and litigation, who is leading the new service, said: “The level of interest from Canadian companies in Ireland and Europe and from Irish and European companies in Canada has just transformed over the past six months.

“We are already working on a number of major mandates for Canadian businesses assisting them with their European and international trading arrangements with Ireland as a complimentary location in that regard.

“We are also investing heavily in artificial intelligence which will increasingly support our clients in terms of efficiency and service delivery particularly in relation to EU regulatory compliance and market access.”

The firm has also expanded its AI advisory capabilities with the creation of a dedicated team of specialist legal professionals focusing on evolving AI-related regulation.

Eoin MacAodh has joined the firm as a partner from Eversheds Sutherland, where he was a partner specialising in litigation.  

Mr Brennan said the merger has “so far exceeded expectations” and “already it has demonstrated that the sum is much more than the parts”.