Department profile
William Fry LLP

Employment

Europe Guide 2026 : Ireland

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William Fry LLP

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About

Provided by William Fry LLP

Our Employment Group excels in providing practical and commercially focused advice on all issues arising in the course of the employment relationship.

Our clients include leading multinational and Irish companies, public sector organisations and senior executives.  Arising from William Fry’s prominence in M&A work, a significant portion of our practice involves the employment aspects of takeovers and business sales.

We represent clients in claims before the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Our longstanding clients include many of Ireland’s largest pension funds and major employers, plus a range of other stakeholders within the pensions industry, such as consultants, insurers, administrators and professional trustees. We have and continue to support them through the ever-changing regulatory landscape for pensions in Ireland.

Our clients appreciate our pragmatic approach and emphasis on keeping the complex simple. We are consistently ranked in the top tier of specialist pension lawyers by leading directories, including Chambers Europe and Legal 500.

As a full-service law firm, we can draw on our colleagues’ expertise in Tax, Employment, Insurance, Financial Regulation, ESG & Sustainability and other areas.

Clients (11)

  • SOLAS, The Further Education and Training Authority
  • Condair Limited
  • Uniphar Plc
  • Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
  • DCC plc
  • Benda Bili SAS t/a Sézane
  • Fujitsu (Ireland) Limited
  • Merck Millipore Limited
  • Valeo Foods Ireland
  • Neom Limited
  • J&E Davy

Industries (21)

  • Banks
  • Charities / Not for Profit
  • Commercial & Professional Services
  • Construction & Materials
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Financial Services
  • Food & Drink Producers
  • Government
  • Health Care
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Insurance
  • Media
  • Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences
  • Private Clients / Individuals
  • Real Estate
  • Retail
  • Technology, Hardware & Electronics
  • Telecommunications
  • Travel & Leisure
  • Utilities

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Employment - Ireland

Band 2

What the Team is Known For
William Fry LLP has a respected employment and pensions law practice that offers advice to domestic and international clients on complex corporate employment issues. The team members have particular experience in employee transfers, employee incentive schemes and top executives' severance packages. The law firm also possesses an acclaimed contentious practice with expertise in unfair dismissals, protected disclosure, discrimination claims and senior executive terminations. It offers comprehensive pensions advice for employers in the context of transactions, restructurings and wind-ups, in addition to related IORP II compliance.
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Work Highlights

Provided by Chambers

  • William Fry acted for DCC on the employment law aspects of its sale of its healthcare division to Investindustrial.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • The team demonstrates strong commercial awareness and an understanding of the practical realities clients face, which makes their advice easy to apply.

    Employment respondentEurope

  • The William Fry team does a nice job of explaining nuanced legal issues in a way that our business team can easily understand the advice being provided.

    Employment respondentEurope

  • The lawyers in the team are very knowledgeable in Irish employment law but their advice is never academic; it is grounded in practice and finding solutions that work for the business.

    Employment respondentEurope

  • The William Fry team is exceptionally knowledgeable and responsive.

    Employment respondentEurope

  • The William Fry Employment team is pragmatic and able to think outside the box and see the wider impact of proposed actions.

    Employment respondentEurope

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

  • Ian Devlin
    Ian Devlin

    Ian Devlin

    Ian Devlin is a leading lawyer in the market who advises on the pensions aspects of major M&A and capital markets transactions, also offering strong experience in scheme mergers, wind-ups and IORP II compliance. He advises both companies and trustees on matters including the transition to master trusts and restructuring of schemes.

    • Ian has strong experience and brings a considered viewpoint to his advice.

      Employment respondentEurope
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  • Alicia Compton
    Alicia Compton

    Alicia Compton

    Alicia Compton advises corporate clients and state entities on a range of employment topics, including redundancies, transfers, contract and policy drafting, and immigration aspects. She also represents clients in employment disputes before the High Court.
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  • Nuala Clayton
    Nuala Clayton

    Nuala Clayton

    Head of department Nuala Clayton represents clients in a broad range of employment matters, including allegations of bullying and harassment, investigations and unfair dismissal claims. She also advises on the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions and supports on redundancy strategy and processes.

    • Working with Nuala is very easy; she is very approachable and has a great command of the law.

      Employment respondentEurope

    • Nuala is very clear and direct, and provides answers in black and white.

      Employment respondentEurope
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  • Louise Harrison
    Louise Harrison

    Louise Harrison

    Louise represents clients in both contentious and non-contentious employment law issues. She assists with termination and redundancy disputes, as well as employment contracts and policy drafting.

    • Louise demonstrates huge sensitivity and commercial practicality when dealing with complex and unique employment issues.

      Employment respondentEurope

    • Louise gives advice with a lot of clarity in a really concise way.

      Employment respondentEurope
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Ranked Individuals at William Fry LLP (4)

Ireland

Members

Provided by William Fry LLP

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