What We Do

"A major player in the international arena"
Chambers Europe 2010

Ireland has succeeded in attracting some of the world’s largest organisations to establish operations here. This includes some of the most advanced and leading companies in the technology, pharmaceutical, biosciences, manufacturing and financial services sectors.

There are a number of key reasons:

• Ireland’s low corporate tax rate – corporation tax on trading profits is 12.5% which does not breach EU or OECD harmful tax competition criteria
• Regulatory, economic and people infrastructure of a highly-developed OECD jurisdiction 
• Benefits of EU membership and the only English–speaking jurisdiction in the euro-zone 
• As a common law jurisdiction, our legal system is similar to that of the US and the UK 
• Provision of a specific tax credit for research and development activity 
• Very limited transfer pricing rules 
• An extensive and expanding double tax treaty network with 46 countries, including the US
• We traditionally have had a strong, long-standing relationship with the US
  

Why Matheson Ormsby Prentice?

With a primary focus on serving the Irish legal needs of international companies and financial institutions doing business in and through Ireland, Matheson Ormsby Prentice represents 27 of the world’s 50 largest banks and more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. We are committed to having a strong presence where our clients are located. We were the first European law firm to establish a presence in Silicon Valley (in 1996), and together with our office in New York, we are proud to have the market-leading Irish presence in the US.

Our practice encompasses all aspects of Irish corporate and business law. We only practice Irish law although a number of our attorneys are admitted, and have practised, in the US with outside law firms and in-house. We provide a comprehensive service to an international client base. We have a leading corporate practice and have significantly the largest tax practice amongst Irish law firms. We are consistently ranked as the leading tax law firm in Ireland by all the leading journals including the International Tax Review.

Our US Business Group is a leader in its field, advising many leading US corporations and institutions on the legal and tax aspects of doing business in and through Ireland.

We have extensive experience in dealing with the government agencies and authorities which have a role to play in the establishment, taxation and regulation of different types of operations in Ireland. We have advised both the Industrial Development Agency of Ireland (IDA) and the Department of Finance on various matters concerning the legal and tax aspects of Ireland’s inward investment infrastructure. We have also assisted these government agencies in the drafting of appropriate legislation to this end.

We are a full service corporate law firm covering every aspect of corporate, financial and business law. We have the resources to successfully manage and implement transactions according to our client’s requirements thereby helping our clients achieve their business objectives. We are committed to providing clients with advice and assistance of the highest calibre. Our approach in supporting in-house counsel of companies doing business in Ireland, is to ensure accessibility and support at short notice with a particular emphasis on efficient same day response where practicable.  We also have offices in London, New York and Palo Alto, California and the interaction between those offices allows us to service the needs of clients across most major time-zones on a real time basis.

Our dedicated US Business Group and our Irish qualified lawyers in the US co-ordinate all of the firm’s US activities.

Our US Business Group is multi-disciplinary, drawing on the expertise of all relevant practice areas including corporate and commercial law, tax law, competition law, employment law, pensions law, property law, construction law, planning and environmental law, intellectual property and information technology law and banking and financial services law. We primarily advises on:

• Legal and tax aspects of doing business in and through Ireland
• Legal and tax aspects of restructurings and reorganisation projects involving Irish entities or assets 
• Establishment of operations and related structures in and from Ireland 
• Corporate and Regulatory compliance services for international clients.
  

This firm's standalone tax group has a strong identity on the market and offers strength in depth when it comes to skill and quantity of lawyers. Clients rate it as "a world-class service provider and a key partner in analysing our tax issues."
Tax: Chambers Europe 2011

Matheson Ormsby Prentice "sets the benchmark for standards in Ireland".
Corporate and Commercial: European Legal 500 2011

This firm attracts high-profile clients with complex business needs. The group has close links with US multinationals. Sources say: "It has a broad range of talent and wide knowledge base, and provides excellent client service."
Corporate/M&A: Chambers Global 2011

Matheson Ormsby Prentice "represents Big Four quality standards", attracting praise for its "solutions-oriented philosophy" and for "proactively constructing transactions to meet business objectives".
Tax: European Legal 500 2010

Matheson Ormsby Prentice is a major player in the international arena, fielding a dedicated seven-lawyer international business group that acts for many US corporations in particular, in a range of industry sectors. In addition, the M&A group is able to draw on the firm's market-leading tax practice in order to best structure complex transactions. Sources say: "It is an outstanding law firm with some first-class corporate lawyers and a great book of clients." "The group is incredibly creative, responsive and attentive."
Corporate: Chambers Europe 2010

Matheson Ormsby Prentice offers "a premier tax service – the firm has excellent reach into the relevant legislative and commercial bodies and, technically, the level of sophistication in its advice is very high."
Tax: Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2010

Matheson Ormsby Prentice attracts praise for "energy and dynamism"
Corporate and Commercial: European Legal 500 2010

Comfortably the largest tax department in Ireland, this group's "sheer size is always a talking point, but the partners live and breathe tax as well. They're commercially aware and give straightforward advice." Several commentators also remarked that the firm's New York and Palo Alto offices give the team an edge when it comes to winning new business. This is a "creative and technically excellent practice," where the lawyers are "a pleasure to work with and will always respond to your queries no matter how unreasonable the hour."
Tax: Chambers Europe 2009

"Ready availability and responsiveness is a constant feature of service".
Corporate and Commercial: European Legal 500 2009

The tax team at Matheson Ormsby Prentice leads the market in terms of size and clients. Put simply: "you can involve them in practically any international tax issue".
Tax: European Legal 500 2009

Commentators label this outfit "absolutely 10 out of 10 – full of enthusiastic people who look at the whole picture and are willing to work late nights and weekends." The international business group continues to bring benefits to the wider team, generating a large amount of inward investment work. Interviewees referred to the lawyers’ "good grasp of the corporate environment and excellent technical expertise," further highlighting the "excellent continuity between every group."
Corporate / M&A: Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2009

"Very commercially orientated"
Corporate/M&A: IFLR1000 2009

This "good all-round" firm’s strategy of targeting international corporates and inward investment clients is paying off with some spectacular instructions. "The team shows great flexibility, will go to the nth degree to win and is willing to put resources into the issues that matter to us."
Corporate / M&A: Chambers Global 2008