Recent Work by Practice Area

Recent work relevant to Dispute Resolution & Litigation   Yukos Capital SarL     Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority     On behalf of Yukos Capital SARL, we obtained freezing and disclosure orders against OJSC Rosneft Oil Company for €470 million so as to enable enforcement of arbitration awards against Rosneft. These included orders which had effect outside the Irish jurisdiction and, for the first time in Ireland, also included orders against the defendant's subsidiaries where these were under the defendant's control. The Russian courts had purportedly set aside the arbitration awards, but did so in circumstances which Yukos contended should persuade the Irish court not to give effect to the Russian courts' orders.     We successfully defended, on behalf of the Irish Financial Regulator, the first challenge to a decision made by the Regulator in the newly established Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal     Date : April 2010 Value : €470m     Partners :  David Clarke Solicitors :   Fiona O'Beirne     Date : July 2007 Partners :  Rosaleen Byrne                      Patricia Lawless                                       ACC Bank     Airtricity     We are advising ACC Bank, one of the major creditors of Michael Lynn, a Dublin-based solicitor, whose extensive property dealings and related financial arrangements saw him accused of premeditated fraud during 2007     Advised Airtricity in relation to a specific performance action taken in the Commercial Court arising from involvement in a wind farm project in Northern Portugal     Date : December 2007 Partners :  Jane Marshall                           Date : February 2008 Partners :  Grahame Walsh                                       McDonalds Restaurants of Ireland     VHI     Advising McDonald's in relation to a long-running dispute with the owner of the ILAC Centre concerning interference with its quiet enjoyment and rights arising on the reconfiguration of the McDonald's unit following redevelopment of the centre. The matter is currently before the Commercial Court     Representing health insurer (VHI) in a legal challenge to challenges in Irish and EC law to the statutory "pooling" or "risk equalisation" scheme.     Date : Ongoing     Date : Ongoing Partners :  David Clarke                                       Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority     Department of Defence     Acting for the Financial Regulator in the successful defence of Commercial Court judicial review proceedings issued by Ryanair seeking a number of orders to compel the Regulator to take certain steps in respect of the investigation of complaints in connection with allegations of breaches of the Market Abuse Regulations     We acted for the Department of Defence in preparing a new scheme of Rules of Procedure and Court-Martial Rules (SIs 204 and 205 of 2008) in light of wholesale changes to the provisions on military offences and military discipline in the Defence (Amendment) Act 2007 and provide a drafting service to the Courts-Martial Rules Committee     Date : Ongoing Partners :  Rosaleen Byrne                           Date : Ongoing Partners :  Seán Barton                                       National Roads Authority     O2 Ireland     Advising in judicial review proceedings taken by public interest objectors concerning various road projects including the M7/M8, the M3 (Hill of Tara), Galway outer bypass and New Ross bypass.     Represented O2 in successful appeals against decisions of the Commission for Communications Regulation     Date : Ongoing Partners :  Michelle Doyle                           Date : December 2005                 Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal     Mahon Tribunal     We prepared procedural rules for the conduct of appeals and applications to the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal established in early 2007     Defending the interests of prominent companies and individuals potentially adversely affected by the proceeding or findings of the Mahon Tribunal relating to historical corruption in the planning process.     Date : June 2008 Partners :  Seán Barton                           Date : Ongoing Partners :  David Clarke                      Seán Barton                      Helen Kilroy                                       Tobacco Litigation     Legal Metrology Service     Representing one of the major tobacco companies in defence of product liability claims.     We worked with the Legal Metrology Service (part of the National Standards Authority of Ireland) in completely revising the Weights and Measures (General) Regulations 1928 to establish a modern regime compliant with EU law for the supervision of compliance with, and enforcement of, weights and measures legislation and to implement in Ireland the EU Measuring Instruments Directive     Date : May 2004 Partners :  Roddy Bourke                      Karyn Harty                           Date : June 2007 Partners :  Seán Barton                                       Tara Mines     Laois County Council     We represented the successful party in the longest-running single piece of civil litigation in Ireland, which concerned mining rights in a substantial body of lead-zinc ore.     Acted in a ten week oral hearing in connection with the routing of the M7/M8 motorway.     Date : October 2009 Partners :  Seán Barton                           Date : Ongoing Partners :  Michelle Doyle                      Michael O'Reilly                                       NUI Maynooth         We represented National University of Ireland Maynooth in the leading High Court decision concerning fixed term employees in universities.           Date : Ongoing Partners :  Terence McCrann