The Irish Legal Market
During the economic boom of the Celtic Tiger in the Nineties, Ireland's 'big five' witnessed a substantial rise in demand for legal work, which resulted with the expansion of their legal teams and new office premises to accommodate for the increased number of lawyers. Ireland's market leaders are known as the 'big five' as a result of their domination of top-end work in the corporate, commercial, competition, financial services and property markets. That perceived dominance has been recently questioned with the arrival of Maples & Calder who have an international focus and are considered to be the market leader in Funds law. As a result of this Ireland's 'big five' are now experiencing strong competition and the distinctions between Matheson Ormsby Prentice, McCann Fitzgearld, A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox & William Fry and Dublin's mid tier firms are becoming less substantive.
Ireland's Top Five firms are well established with the resource to handle domestic and international transactions and each have between 40-60 partners. As a result of market changes with the economic slow down, Ireland's mid tier firms are in unique position to compete with the Top 5 and have managed to expand their teams to deliver an equally high quality service. In recent months there is a demand for litigation, insolvency and funds lawyers from the UK and overseas to focus on these specialist areas.
Working in Ireland
Apparently Ireland has 7 million cows, 8 million sheep, and only 3.6 million people - more than a third of whom (the people!) live in or around Dublin! Therefore Ireland remains a beautiful and un-spoilt country in which to live. Ireland's reputation for quality of life goes before it and for lawyers it is undoubtedly a great place to work. The country's economy has grown rapidly in the last decade, and during the Nineties it regularly enjoyed gross domestic product growth of more than 5% per annum.
Dublin
Ireland can offer lawyers an amazing alternative to the stressful life in major cities. Even within the Dublin law firms there is far more emphasis on work-life balance. Many of Dublin's law firms have modern offices, set within imposing landmark buildings, offering excellent facilities. Dublin has a population of 1.6 million of which 4350 are practicing solicitors. The population of Dublin City is expanding rapidly, and it is estimated that it will reach 2.1 million by 2021. Dublin is the home of Ireland's top five firms and is the first port of call for expats to consider when relocating to Ireland.
Transport
Most of Dublin's top 5 firms can provide you with car parking spaces, so driving to work is feasible. Dublin remains one of the few European cities that remain car friendly. There are efficient motorways close to the offices and they connect Dublin’s centre with its suburbs and the countryside. The public transport system is also very effective with the efficient DART line serving Dublin and external commuter towns. The system is keeping pace with the city as it expands as there is a new metro/underground system which is expected to open in 2012 which will connect the greater Dublin area and its surrounds and will also provide effective links with the airport.
Climate
Dublin experiences a maritime temperate climate characterised by mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Believe it or not, Dublin has fewer rainy days, on average, than London.
Work Visas
EU nationals wishing to immigrate to Ireland should experience very few problems entering, living, and working in Ireland and won't require a residence or work permit when moving there.
Nationals from some other non-EU countries like Australia or the US won't need a residence permit. Ireland is always keen to attract lawyers with specific high end skills and there should be no problems for your employer to arrange a work permit for you.
For the past 10 years, Ireland has changed from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration. Unemployment has remained very low and 5% percent of lawyers in Ireland are foreign born.
While in most cases individuals from the European Economic Area (EEA) countries do not need a work permit to take up employment within Ireland, non-EEA nationals will require authorization from the government. In the past, the Work Visa/Work Authorization scheme, instituted in 2000, handled work permits for employment of non-EEA nationals in Ireland. The scheme however was recently replaced by new arrangements. The aim of these arrangements is to find high level skills which are strategic to the development of Ireland's economy and cannot be sourced from within the EU/EEA. Ireland prefers to work with a system based on job offers in skills shortage areas rather than quotas or points based systems, such as the UK.
