McCann FitzGerald LLP
McCann Fitzgerald LLP announces nine new Of Counsel appointments
We are very pleased to announce the promotion of eight Senior Associates to Of Counsel, as well as the addition of a new team member.
Back row from left: Orla Courtney, Grace Armstrong, Stephen Holst, Clementine Farrell, David Higgins, Caitríona Callanan, Emma Hinds
Front row from left: Catherine Walsh, Kate Clancy, Sarah Pickering
Those promoted include Grace Armstrong and Clementine Farrell in disputes, Orla Courtney and Emma Hinds in real estate and construction, Kate Clancy and Sarah Pickering in finance and Caitríona Callanan and Catherine Walsh in corporate.
In addition, the Firm has also welcomed David Higgins to the IMG Group as an Of Counsel last October.
Of Counsel positions are awarded to Senior Associates with exceptional technical expertise and a proven record of outstanding client service. These appointments highlight McCann FitzGerald’s growth ambitions and dedication to nurturing talent to address complex legal challenges across all sectors.
Stephen Holst, Managing Partner at McCann FitzGerald LLP, said: “We are delighted to congratulate such great colleagues, whose ambition, expertise and wider contribution is such an asset to the firm.
“Each has demonstrated leadership and deep technical knowledge in their respective practice areas, and we look forward to seeing them thrive in their new role and continue serve our clients.”
Grace Armstrong (Insolvency and Restructuring)
Grace has extensive experience in all corporate restructuring and insolvency procedures and has acted for insolvency practitioners, companies, directors, financial institutions and lenders with regard to contentious and non-contentious matters. Grace also specialises in commercial litigation, acting in a range of matters including shareholder disputes, challenges to enforcement and cross border debt collection and recovery proceedings.
Clementine Farrell (Employment, Pensions and Incentives)
Clementine works across the breadth of the Pensions & Incentives Group’s employer and trustee client list advising on all issues arising including trustee duties, the exercise of trustee discretions, the application of statutory regulations, administrative matters and review of service level agreements, pension adjustment orders, internal dispute resolution and referrals to the FSPO as well as clients’ strategic projects such as buy-outs, enhanced transfer value exercises, funding issues and parent company guarantees, mergers, and wind-ups.
She is the current Chairperson of the Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland and a Chartered Accountant.
Orla is a trusted senior lawyer specialising in real estate finance carrying out diligence and advising Lenders on the real estate aspects of financing the development and/or acquisition of commercial property including office, retail, industrial, hospitality, PRS, student and private residential accommodation, wind farm premises.
Emma Hinds has considerable experience in public procurement law, advising both public and private sector clients on all aspects of procurement processes. Emma’s advisory work encompasses the full lifecycle of procurement, from the initial structuring of competitions and preparation of tender documents, through to contract execution and post-award issues.
Emma’s contentious experience includes defending procurement challenges in the High Court and Commercial Court.
Kate specialises in banking and aviation finance and asset leasing transactions. Kate acts for many leading aircraft lessors and financiers on all aspects of aircraft financing and leasing including sale and leaseback transactions, restructurings, portfolio acquisitions and disposals and cross-border leasing transactions.
Sarah Pickering (Debt Capital Markets)
Sarah is experienced in advising prominent domestic and international financial institutions, non-bank lenders and corporates across a wide range of finance and debt capital markets products including corporate borrowing, structured finance, securitisation, corporate bonds, real estate finance, digital infrastructure finance and loan-on-loan finance.
Caitríona advises domestic and international clients on the Irish tax aspects of corporate transactions, as well as advisory matters such as establishing and structuring operations in Ireland. She has particular expertise in employment-related tax issues including share awards, tax‑efficient remuneration and reward programmes and severance payments.
In addition, Caitríona is Head of the Tax Compliance Unit and leads a team delivering comprehensive Irish tax compliance services across all tax heads including corporation tax, VAT, stamp duty, payroll taxes, share scheme reporting, betting duty and withholding taxes.
Catherine Walsh (Technology and Innovation)
Catherine is a member of the Technology & Innovation Group advising clients on data, technology law and outsourcing matters, with a focus on data protection, IP, digital regulation, cyber security law and commercial contracts. She advises clients across the public and private sectors, including those in life sciences and research sectors. She also supports the firm’s corporate transactions advising on issues in these areas.
David Higgins (Asset Management and Investment Funds)
David is Of Counsel in the Investment Management Group based in our Dublin office. David advises clients on financial services and asset management matters with an emphasis on the establishment, authorisation, operation and maintenance of investment funds, including AIFs and UCITS, and MiFID investment firms.
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