Culture war

Dominic Carman

Dublin elite battles to recruit and retain the best

Following a sustained glut of new Dublin offices, the stampede of international law firms seeking to join them has ground to a halt – for now, at least. But, characterised by a significant number of lateral moves between firms, the Irish legal market appears to remain just as competitive. Among managing partners, interpretations vary as to what that means in practice. At K&L Gates, managing partner of the firm’s Dublin office, Gayle Bowen says: “Although still buoyant, the recruitment market is not as competitive as in previous years.” Ann Lalor, local manging partner of Pinsent Masons, adds: “It’s still competitive for good people, but the heat has gone. We’ve been mandated to grow as an office, continuing to focus on our sectors.”

Alan Murphy, head of EY Law Ireland, also suggests that the war still rages: “Demand for top legal talent continues to outpace supply, particularly at the senior end of the market,” he says. Meanwhile Stephen Keogh, managing partner at William Fry, notes that recruitment and retention persist as “the biggest challenges in the Irish legal market.” The recent uplift in William Fry’s bench strength, largely as a result of the firm’s high-profile recruitment of a 12-lawyer corporate team from Eversheds Sutherland Ireland, is outlined elsewhere in this report. Keogh adds: “We’re proud to have the best retention rate in town in respect of our qualifying trainees, but we’re subject to the same forces as everybody else.”

So, what does that mean for the other big Irish players?