Any Dublin sports lawyers with itchy feet should start polishing their CVs, with the arrival in town of London-based Kerman & Co likely to create considerable excitement in this niche but lucrative sector.
Kerman & Co, headed by Tipperary native Daniel O’Connell, opens its Dublin practice today and is set to recruit several lawyers to beef up its Irish team.
The company has already headhunted Sean Nolan from his partnership at McCann FitzGerald to head up the Dublin office on Fitzwilliam Square.
O'Connell, who trained with William Fry but headed to London in the 1980s, has significant experience in the resource sector, particularly in listings, and wants to win some of that business here in tandem with building up the sports practice.
In London, the firm has acted for bodies including the Ryder Cup (Europe) and the All England Lawn Tennis Club, better known as Wimbledon.
One of the firm’s Irish lawyers, Hilary Forde, is on secondment to the International Rugby Board but will join the Dublin office this summer. O’Connell says Kerman wants to have a “linked platform” in sports whereby the team could operate across London and Dublin. Lawyers with dual qualifications will be particularly valuable.
