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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The tax team at Deloitte has been involved in a number of big transactions this year. The team led by Pádraic Cronin has stayed relatively stable numerically despite the downturn in the economy. Joan O'Connor who leads their transfer pricing group is ... [more]

The tax team at Deloitte has been involved in a number of big transactions this year. The team led by Pádraic Cronin has stayed relatively stable numerically despite the downturn in the economy. Joan O'Connor who leads their transfer pricing group is regularly cited in the market as a leading tax professional.

As well as transfer pricing, the practice has strength across nearly all areas of tax including VAT, corporate tax and R&D. Of those areas corporate tax, which includes international and business tax, makes up more than 50% of the firm's activity.

The M&A group has worked on some of the largest big-ticket deals in Ireland over the last year. Cronin and Declan Butler advised Greencore on their proposed merger with Northern Foods last year under the EU Cross-Border Merger Directive, though the board of Northern Foods eventually accepted a rival bid. The practice also advised on the Irish tax aspects of the Kraft-Cadbury merger after the European group won a tender bid.

The real estate and infrastructure group has been busy this year too, advising Indaver on the financing of the State's first waste-to-energy incinerator. The deal was important because of what it means for infrastructure development, but beyond that it raised a number of important tax considerations such as tax depreciation allowances and debt-equity ratios. Other work this year includes advising Electronics Arts on the establishment of a European customer service and operations centre for its bioware studio, and advising on the $350m construction of the new Aviva stadium in Dublin. Clients they have worked also include Doosan Infracore International and Kellogg Europe Trading.

KPMG has one of the strongest tax practices of the big-four accounting firms in Ireland. The practice is headed by Shaun Murphy and comprises around 400 fee-earners. Caroline O'Driscoll was promoted to partner this year; her focus is mostly on foreign ... [more]

KPMG has one of the strongest tax practices of the big-four accounting firms in Ireland. The practice is headed by Shaun Murphy and comprises around 400 fee-earners. Caroline O'Driscoll was promoted to partner this year; her focus is mostly on foreign direct investment. Otherwise the team remains similar to last year. A large number of their professionals are regularly singled out in the market as leading practitioners.

Mike Farrell was mentioned on several occasions as a leading figure for corporate tax work; Erin Wallace is also mentioned for the same area. Pat O'Brien and Michael Hayes are singled out for their capital markets and financial products skills, while Sharon Burke and Terry O'Neill are mentioned for cross-border structuring and indirect tax work respectively.

Work has has begun to increase again for the M&A group, though that has not been spectacular. This has been compensated for by the strength of the practice in other areas such as insolvency, where the team is led by Colm Rogers. The practice also served as the primary tax advisers to Nama this year. Foreign direct investment has also been increasing under the auspices of Conor O'Sullivan.

One advantage the practice has is its high levels of speciality, with an increasingly greater amount of concentration in certain areas. Olivia Lynch focuses on the pensions industry and is a leading practitioner in this area; Ken Hardy is also a leading figure in the field of tax credits.

The practice services clients across all the major global industries. Work in the energy sector has certainly increased this year. The team also sees a lot of inbound work from Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

PwC vies with the other firms in tier one to be regarded as having the strongest tax practice of the big-four accounting firms. Feargal O'Rourke heads the tax practice, which includes 33 partners and 450 professionals spread across their offices in seven ... [more]

PwC vies with the other firms in tier one to be regarded as having the strongest tax practice of the big-four accounting firms. Feargal O'Rourke heads the tax practice, which includes 33 partners and 450 professionals spread across their offices in seven cities – Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny.

The practice is structured across five business lines: domestic and international outbound, financial services, foreign and direct investment, indirect taxes and human resources services. A number of their professionals are regularly singled out as leaders in their particular fields. Denis Harrington is mentioned for his corporate tax work, while Enda Faughnan and George Reddin are mentioned for capital markets and M&A respectively.

The practice has a China Tax Desk in Dublin and Irish desks in New York, San Jose and London. The practice is particularly strong in servicing the US inbound market with O'Rourke, Liam Diamond, Joe Tynan and Susan Kilty to the fore in this area.

The practice is active in policy work, especially in the foreign direct investment sector. Pat Mahon was recently appointed to the Government Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare. The practice is also strong in transfer pricing and won Ireland Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year at International Tax Review's European Tax Awards this year.

A&L Goodbody's tax practice is led by Peter Maher. The team is made up of four corporate tax partners and eight other practitioners in total, all of whom are lawyers apart from Brian Butler who heads the VAT team. He previously worked at PwC before a ... [more]

A&L Goodbody's tax practice is led by Peter Maher. The team is made up of four corporate tax partners and eight other practitioners in total, all of whom are lawyers apart from Brian Butler who heads the VAT team. He previously worked at PwC before a spell as GE's European VAT manager. Both Maher and Butler are well known in the market as leading practitioners.

The practice focuses almost exclusively on corporate tax and M&A work. The volume and complexity of the work the practice has carried out this year is impressive. The practice has acted on nearly all of the significant transactions involving financial institutions in Ireland. James Somerville and Paul Fahy advised Allied Irish Banks in relation to its acquisition of the €12 billion ($17 billion) deposit book of Anglo Irish Bank in a highly innovative transaction which made use of the recently enacted Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act.

Examples of an increasing amount of M&A work include advising Elan Corporation on its $960 million cross-border merger of Elan Drug Technologies with Alkermes, and advising Aegon on the Irish tax aspects of the $1.4 billion sale of its life reinsurance business Transamerica International Re Ireland to SCOR. And in insolvency work the team has been advising Commerzbank on the restructuring of its Irish Oaktree vehicles.

Other clients they have worked for this year include TPG Capital, Permira, Bank of Ireland, Tim Hortons, Catalent, Morgan Stanley, Waha Capital, Banco Santander and Genzyme Group. The practice's success was recognised this year by being awarded Ireland Tax Firm of the Year at International Tax Review's European Tax Awards.

Arthur Cox remains at the forefront of Irish tax law firms for cross-border transactional work. Conor Hurley leads a practice of about 15 fee earners and is described by a competitor as "one of the best M&A practitioners in Ireland". Ailish Finnerty ... [more]

Arthur Cox remains at the forefront of Irish tax law firms for cross-border transactional work. Conor Hurley leads a practice of about 15 fee earners and is described by a competitor as "one of the best M&A practitioners in Ireland". Ailish Finnerty has moved to New York and Alan Heuston is now in London every week which is a sign of the firm's increasing profile in international tax.

The group has developed a particular strength over the last few years on advising US migrations into Ireland. Fintan Clancy and David Robertson are advising Alkermes on their merger with the Irish company, Elan Corporation in a deal valued at about $960 million. This deal was different since it involved a US company, as opposed to an operating company moving to Ireland.

Building on their experience as acting on more cross-border mergers than any other firm in Ireland since the EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive was introduced in 2008, Hurley, Heuston and Jonathan Sheehan advised Lloyds Banking Group on the $1.3 billion merger between Bank of Scotland in Ireland and the UK. This deal was complicated by a challenge to the transaction in the Supreme Court in Dublin by investors who claimed to be the creditors of Bank of Scotland in Ireland, however, the Arthur Cox tax team managed to conclude the deal successfully.

Other work this year includes advising Warner Chilcott on the Irish tax aspects of one of the largest dividend recapitalisations in history. The practice has also advised on a number of investments into and out of China seeking to make use of Ireland's favourable tax treaty with that jurisdiction. Additional clients include Stryker Corporation, Bank of Ireland, Cooper Industries and Accenture.

Ernst & Young's tax practice has grown impressively over the last few years. Kevin McLoughlin leads the team, which has been stable, with no recent changes at partner level. The practice has instead sought to add to their team at executive level in certain ... [more]

Ernst & Young's tax practice has grown impressively over the last few years. Kevin McLoughlin leads the team, which has been stable, with no recent changes at partner level. The practice has instead sought to add to their team at executive level in certain niche areas, for example the recent recruitment of an R&D credits specialists, which is a part of the tax practice that has engineers as part of the staff. A number of Ernst & Young's professionals in Ireland are are prominent in the global firm. Neil Byrne leads the global strategic indirect tax team and is particularly active in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. Joe Bollard is the Irish head of the firm's's global technology network and has a string ofclients from the US, where he spends a substantial part of his time.

The practice has experienced a substantial increase in work in a number of areas this year. Work has begun to pick up for the M&A team, which advised on the largest transaction by value in Ireland. International tax services is also a growth area, especially in transfer pricing after the new rules that came into force in January. The practice is headed by Dan McSwiney and is staffed predominantly by economists, which allows the practice to better serve their clients for documentation and benchmarking requirements.

The practice is particularly strong in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors, and to a lesser extent fast moving consumer goods and retail sectors. The group also performs strongly in financial services, where its work is a good example of the integration of the practice into the Ernst & Young network.

Matheson Ormsby Prentice is one of the strongest law firms in Ireland for tax advice. It has the largest tax practice of any law firm too. Turlough Galvin, who is also well known as a capital markets lawyer, heads the practice of about 35 fee earners. ... [more]

Matheson Ormsby Prentice is one of the strongest law firms in Ireland for tax advice. It has the largest tax practice of any law firm too. Turlough Galvin, who is also well known as a capital markets lawyer, heads the practice of about 35 fee earners. Shane Hogan is viewed by his peers as an up-and-coming tax professional. "A star tax partner at Ireland at the moment going forward," said one tax partner.

The tax group has had a strong year in M&A. Hogan worked with Greg Lockhart, a VAT specialist, for State Street, the US bank, on its €80 million acquisition of the Bank of Ireland Asset Management. This received widespread media attention as it was one of the first capital-raising disposals by an Irish bank. Ewan Henderson also advised William Grant & Sons on the €399 million acquisition and part-disposal of C&C Group's Irish spirits business.

The group is also particularly strong on the tax aspects finance transactions. Galvin chairs the Irish Securitisation Forum, for example. The group and their capital markets colleagues advised on more international debt issuance transactions in 2010 than any other law firm in Ireland. Work carried out by the finance tax practice this year includes private debt capital markets fund-raising by Irish companies such as Syncreon, and advising an Irish lessor on its European Export Credit Agency financings.

Tax litigation is another area that has grown this year and the team this year has represented clients in disputes both before the Irish authorities and also the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that have gone beyond their traditional strength in VAT controversy. Clients that the practice has worked for this year include Dreamworks Animation, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Aon, Colgate Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Peugeot, Credit Suisse and DIF Infrastructure II.

William Fry Tax Advisors - Taxand is headed by Martin Phelan and comprises 13 feeearners.Other professionals have speculated about the effect of some changes in the practice. But though Anthony Smyth has joined Walkers and Brian Duffy is on long-term ... [more]

William Fry Tax Advisors - Taxand is headed by Martin Phelan and comprises 13 feeearners.

Other professionals have speculated about the effect of some changes in the practice. But though Anthony Smyth has joined Walkers and Brian Duffy is on long-term sick leave, the strength of the Taxand global network and the addition of a number of new clients has meant that they have had little impact on the quality of advice from the practice.

Like the previous 12 months, the group has advised on a number of important and innovative cross-border transactions in the last year. Phelan advised BlackRock, the asset management firm, on the establishment of the first physically backed exchange traded commodities programme in Ireland outside the section 110 regime for securitisation companies. This builds on the strength of the practice group in exchange traded funds since they have advised on 80% of those domiciled in Ireland.

The practice also advised on the acquisition of Impress Cooperatieve by Ardagh Glass Group by, which involved the sale of about $2.3 billion worth of senior secured and unsecured notes and also a significant refinancing of Impress's debts and Ardagh's facilities with the stricken Anglo Irish Bank. Other work this year includes advising SCOR Reinsurance on the $1.4 billion acquisition of AEGON/Transamerica's global mortality risk life reinsurance business.

Some of the new clients the practice has added this year include Laura Ashley, Creative Recreation, a US footwear company, Pratt and Whitney Power Systems, LVMH. Other clients they have worked for this year are DCC, Communicorp Group, Afilias and Axa.

David Lawless heads the five-strong tax practice at Dillon Eustace. It is well known for its financial services, banking and capital markets capabilities. The practice has seen an increase in work from private equity funds using Ireland as a domicile ... [more]

David Lawless heads the five-strong tax practice at Dillon Eustace. It is well known for its financial services, banking and capital markets capabilities. The practice has seen an increase in work from private equity funds using Ireland as a domicile to establish funds or special purpose vehicles (SPVs). This year the group advised a client on the establishment of an Irish SPV to acquire a number of distressed loans secured on real estate and valued at €100 million. The group has also often advised on the use of Irish SPVs to acquire US life settlements.

Other work this year includes advising a private equity fund on its relocation from the Cayman Islands to Ireland. Clients they have worked for this year include Lone Star, Cargill, Natixis, Lazards, Legal & General, Grove Partners, Gazprom Bank and BNP Paribas Fortis.

Maples and Calder established a tax practice in Dublin this year. Andrew Quinn has joined from A&L Goodbody to head up a team of four. Senior associate William Fogarty has joined from Linklaters in London.The tax practice benefits from the firm's global ... [more]

Maples and Calder established a tax practice in Dublin this year. Andrew Quinn has joined from A&L Goodbody to head up a team of four. Senior associate William Fogarty has joined from Linklaters in London.

The tax practice benefits from the firm's global client reach and specialises in mostly cross-border work. This year the group advised Source UK Services, a specialist provider of exchange-traded commodities, on the listing of their precious and base metal platforms. The value of the last named is estimated at $1 billion.

Other work includes advising Morgan Stanley on the establishment of a series of section 110 SPVs for investing in portfolios of debt and equity securities, and the migration of a Caribbean-based fund for withholding tax purposes.

Mason Hayes & Curran's tax department has strengthened this year. The market had some doubts last year about the firm's ability to build a tax practice but under John Gulliver's leadership the amount of work has increased.The group focuses mainly on ... [more]

Mason Hayes & Curran's tax department has strengthened this year. The market had some doubts last year about the firm's ability to build a tax practice but under John Gulliver's leadership the amount of work has increased.

The group focuses mainly on cross-border corporate tax work. Gulliver and Robert Henson, who became a partner this year, advised Samsung on the Irish tax aspects of the $1.5billion+ sale of its worldwide hard-disk drive business to Seagate Technology. Henson is also advising Liberty Insurance on the acquisition of the general insurance business of Quinn Insurance, which is in administration. The deal is expected to close in late 2011 and involves structuring to make sure there is no VAT leakage.

Other deals this year include the leveraged acquisition of Irish pharmaceutical group, Bioniche and the acquisition by an Asian investor of distressed debt connected to a number of London hotels from Nama.

McCann Fitzgerald's tax practice advises mostly on corporate and banking matters. The practice sits within the corporate and commercial department of the firm, often providing transactional support work. Michael Ryan, who is described by his peers as ... [more]

McCann Fitzgerald's tax practice advises mostly on corporate and banking matters. The practice sits within the corporate and commercial department of the firm, often providing transactional support work. Michael Ryan, who is described by his peers as an "excellent practitioner" is on sabbatical until this September.

The group has worked on a number of innovative transactions this year. Justin McGettigan and the rest of the team recently advised on the €3.8 billion investment by the Irish government, made through the the National Pensions Reserve Fund, in Allied Irish Bank. This occurred only two days after the introduction of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act.

The group also advised Allied Irish Bank on the €2 billion sale of M&T Bank in the US. This involved the issuance of contingent mandatory exchangeable notes that were then listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The practice also benefits from a stream of referral work fromforeign law firms, such as Arendt & Medernach and Loyens & Loeff in Luxembourg.

Walkers Global is another law firm with strong foundations in international financial centres to set up a tax practice in Dublin. It was launched in March 2011 and is one to watch over the next few years. Anthony Smyth joined from William Fry to head ... [more]

Walkers Global is another law firm with strong foundations in international financial centres to set up a tax practice in Dublin. It was launched in March 2011 and is one to watch over the next few years. Anthony Smyth joined from William Fry to head the group and he is joined by Petrina Smyth, formerly of Maples and Calder. They work closely with another new recruit, Garry Ferguson, a partner in the structured products and capital markets group, who came from Matheson Ormsby Prentice.

The practice specialises predominantly in cross-border transactional work, which makes up 80% of all transactions, inbound investment and financial services. The group is particularly strong in asset finance tax, especially in the aircraft industry and also structured finance, especially with regards to the insurance industry.

They recently advised a group of investors on the leasing of an aircraft, which was the first deal to make use of the amendments to the section 110 securitisation regime in that area. The group is advising on on one of the first European CMBS transactions in more than four years. Life settlement transactions have also been an important source of work this year and the group is working on a transaction in this area, which will involve a listing on the London Stock Exchange.