Addleshaw Goddard to merge with Irish law firm, in line with fast-paced EU expansion
London law firm Addleshaw Goddard is set to merge with Dublin headquartered firm Eugene F Collins (EFC), as it pushes forwards with plans for a fast-paced European expansion.
Addleshaw’s merger with EFC comes as the London firm’s first expansion into Ireland as it pushes forwards with plans to double in size over the next three years.
Speaking to City PM an Addleshaw spokesperson said the deal will see all of EFC 25 partners will joing the wider Addleshaw group on 1 March, after which point EFC’s Irish business will be known as Addleshaw Goddard.
The merger comes as Addleshaw continues its EU expansion, after opening its Paris office last year and launching offices in Germany the year previous.
First formed in 2003, through the merger of Manchester law firm Addleshaw Booth & Co and London law firm Theodore Goddard, Addleshaw has 297 partners in 14 offices across the globe – including ten outside the UK.
The firm currently has three East Asian offices – in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo – as well as offices in Qatar’s capital Doha, Dubai, and Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Outside of London, Addleshaw also has offices in Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen.
Addelshaw managing partner John Joyce said: “Ireland is a really key jurisdiction. It is a global hub for world-leading, fast-growing businesses in a range of sectors including FS, tech and life sciences and establishing a presence here fulfils a need we’ve been looking at for some time.”
Speaking to City PM an Addleshaw spokesperson said the firm’s plans for a European expansion are not specifically linked to Brexit, as they claimed the firm has been looking at an Irish expansion for years.
The spokesperson said Addleshaw is interested in Ireland due to it being one of the UK’s closest trading partners, but also due to the fact it is a “significant influencer within the EU.”