Turnover at law firm surges to €28m

Turnover at leading law firm Mason Hayes + Curran hit €28 million in its last financial year. Corporate deals such as the Quinn Group takeover of Bupa Ireland and the Riverdeep-Houghton Mifflin merger helped drive growth at the law firm in the 12 months to March 31st.

Managing partner Declan Moylan said yesterday that turnover - largely made up of fees earned by the firm's lawyers - grew by "precisely 20 per cent" on the previous year to €28 million.

Mr Moylan singled out two key areas that contributed to growth during the period: corporate business and financial services.

Mason Hayes + Curran acted as legal adviser on a number of high-profile deals during the 12-month period. One of the biggest was Riverdeep's reverse takeover of Boston rival Houghton Mifflin, which was valued at €3.16 billion. The law firm advised Houghton Mifflin in that transaction.

Similarly, it acted for Seán Quinn's Quinn Group when it bought Bupa Ireland earlier this year. The UK health insurer's business was originally valued at €150 million.

Mason Hayes + Curran also acted for Largo Foods when it bought the Tayto crisps and snacks operation from publicly-quoted C&C.

Corporate business grew by 40 per cent during the year, as did financial services. Three areas were responsible for growth in this sector, namely banking, fund management and asset finance, including aircraft leasing.

Mr Moylan predicted that both corporate business and financial services would continue to deliver growth over the next 12 months. "I see no let-up in activity in either of those areas," he said yesterday.

Mason Hayes + Curran is the only Irish commercial law firm to reveal its turnover. It has more than 30 senior partners and is a leading adviser in most areas of business, including technology, construction and infrastructure project finance.

It is also branching out into two new areas. The first is public affairs, which will involve lobbying the Oireachtas on proposed legislation and advising clients on the potential impact of imminent changes to the law.

It has also launched a private clients' practice, which will focus on advising medium and high net-worth clients on issues such as estate and wealth management, taxation, and succession.

A second element of this business will be a family law practice, also aimed at higher-end clients, who face specific problems in judicial separation and divorce cases.

Mr Moylan said the move into private practice was a logical step for the firm because the economic growth of the past decade had created a huge increase in the number of high net-worth individuals who required specialised advice.