Business of Law Firms
The Business Case for Dublin​

By Jake Rickman​

What do you need to know this week?

In this week’s The Business of Law Firms series, we look at the business case behind firms opening up a Dublin office.

We have in mind the common interview and application prompt, “Where should we open up our next office?” and figure this article might be give you some fodder to chew over in preparation.

We draw our inspiration this week from an article published by The Lawyer yesterday called “We know what Osborne Clarke will do next”. The essence of the article is that Osborne Clarke may follow a trend lately pursued by some of its competitors. (Hint: open an office in Dublin).

The Lawyer lists as examples of UK firms operating in Dublin Bird & Bird, Fieldfisher, and Taylor Wessing. Others include Simmons & Simmons, Hogan Lovells, Squire Patton Boggs, and Pinsent Masons.

Why is this important for your interviews?

Notably, nearly all the above firms’ presence in Dublin is comparatively recent. It used to be Dublin was exclusively dominated by Irish firms like A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox, and Matheson.

What has changed? Why are UK firms suddenly keen on Ireland? Unpacking these questions teases out several themes that make great material to analyse in an interview.

The Lawyer’s article draws a link between law firms with tech-focused practices operating in both Silicon Valley and Dublin. The connection here is that for at least the past decade and a half, Ireland has operated as the gateway for American tech companies operating in Europe. (See for example Google/Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Cisco, HP, IBM, Intel, Meta/Facebook, and Microsoft).

As to why these blue-chip companies have chosen Ireland as their European base can only partially be explained by a shared language. The real allure is that Ireland has historically operated one of the lowest corporation taxes in Western Europe, at 12.5% since 2003 (compared to the UK’s rate, which was 19% but moved to 25% this year). Additionally, Ireland’s government s government has pursued a variety of measures to entice foreign investment, most notably via IDA Ireland.

For similar reasons, Ireland is one of the preferred European jurisdictions for private capital and hedge fund fundraising.

How is this topic relevant to law firms?

This being the case, the obvious question is why UK firms (or US firms for that matter) did not pursue Dublin earlier. The answer is not entirely clear, but until 2020, UK firms could practice Irish law outside of Ireland from London. This made it easier for UK firms to access the Irish market without having a physical presence in Dublin.

But in November 2020, Ireland announced that solicitors qualified in England & Wales would need to be physically present in Ireland to practice. On the cusp of Brexit, many firms likely reckoned that opening offices in Dublin would be a hedge against the chance that regulatory divergence between the UK and EU might make London less relevant. While this worst-case scenario has not come to pass, it is undeniable that with each growing year, Ireland is becoming a more attractive place for law firms, especially those with strong practices in the areas like funds, technology, and aviation.