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Irish Times

William Fry in talks to hire some Eversheds partners after failed merger talks

Law firm William Fry is in advanced talks to hire as many as four equity partners from Eversheds Sutherland Ireland following the collapse of merger talks between the two firms last month, according to sources. Nine current and former equity partners at Eversheds Sutherland Ireland are also on track to join a new practice Eversheds Sutherland (International) is setting up in the Republic, other sources said. It is expected that about 150 of the existing firm's 290 employees will end up with the new practice. However, sources said that final numbers have yet to be determined as the fallout from the abortive merger talks continues to reverberate. London-based Eversheds Sutherland (International) put the existing Irish practice on notice that it was taking back the Eversheds name after it emerged late last year that Eversheds Sutherland Ireland was in tie-up talks with William Fry. READ MORE [ William Fry ends merger talks with Eversheds' Irish arm Opens in new window ] Eversheds Sutherland (International) confirmed last month that that two of the original 25 equity partners at Eversheds Sutherland Ireland, Pamela O'Neill and Gareth Planck, will lead the Dublin and Belfast offices of the new Irish firm, respectively, from September. A number of other equity partners are either planning to retire, join other law firms, or are weighing opportunities for in-house counsel in large corporations, sources said. Eoin Mac Aodha, a partner in Eversheds Sutherland Ireland's dispute resolution and litigation group, has signed up to join Byrne Wallace Shields later in the summer, according to sources. Spokesmen for William Fry and Byrne Wallace Shields and a spokeswoman for Eversheds Sutherland Ireland declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Eversheds Sutherland (International) did not provide comment when asked. Eversheds Sutherland Ireland's managing partner, Alan Connell, who spearheaded the merger talks with William Fry, did not respond to efforts to contact him. While Eversheds Sutherland Ireland is structured as a stand-alone firm within the Eversheds network, Eversheds Sutherland (International) has said that the new firm will be fully integrated into it. However, one of the options being suggested in some quarters is that the new firm could essentially reverse into the existing operations and premises of Eversheds Sutherland Ireland. The outstanding liabilities of the existing firm would need to be resolved beforehand. Eversheds Sutherland Ireland has a little more than a year to run on its existing lease at One Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin 2. The firm had been planning to move to a new office development, called Cadenza, at the junction between Earlsfort Terrace and Adelaide Road. It first emerged in December that William Fry, one of the largest corporate law firms in the State, was in tie-up talks with senior representatives from Eversheds Sutherland Ireland. However, William Fry walked away from the negotiations in late May, after the two sides failed to agree on commercial terms for a deal. This came as a surprise, as William Fry's managing partner, Stephen Keogh, highlighted the 'complementary mindset' of the two firms in an interview published only weeks earlier – and that the Eversheds team would 'hopefully be joining us some day soon'. William Fry had 216 practising solicitor certificates at the end of last year, making it the sixth largest law firm in the State, according to the Law Society. It employs about 500 people. It has been led since the start of November by Mr Keogh and is chaired by Liam McCabe. Eversheds Dublin had 107 practising solicitor certificates at the end of last year, placing it in 12th position among firms in the Republic. It had about 290 staff at that stage.