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Hiring spree at DLA Piper sees legal directors installed

Corporate lawyer Edel O’Kelly has been promoted to the DLA Piper global partnership, and Declan Lavelle has been named as a partner in the firm's Irish tax practice.

The firm also announced the promotion of 74 new partners across 21 countries and 38 offices of its global business.

O’Kelly joined DLA Piper in 2019, and advises on international corporate transactions – including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, international corporate structuring, and reorganisations.

Chartered accountant

Lavelle joins the firm in July from William Fry, where he has been a partner since 2019, specialising in corporate and international tax matters. He is also a chartered accountant and tax advisor.

DLA Piper also announced the appointment of seven new legal directors in Ireland across the firm’s real estate, corporate, finance, projects and restructuring (FP&R), litigation and regulatory (L&R), and employment practices.  

Barry Noonan joined the real estate team in October from Allen & Overy in Dubai.

William Marshall joined the corporate practice in December, with a focus on the energy and natural resources sector, having previously worked at McCann FitzGerald. Greg Cooney joined the firm’s FP&R practice in February from A&L Goodbody.

Regulatory counsel

DLA Piper’s L&R practice welcomed Declan McBride into financial regulation in February. McBridejoined from Western Union, where he was EU regulatory counsel, and previously Of Counsel in financial regulatory at Arthur Cox.

Orla O’Leary joined the employment practice in April from Mason Hayes & Curran. 

Sean McGrenaghan will be joining the firm in July from Allen & Overy in London, while Brian Hunt will join the L&R practice in May.

DLA Piper in Ireland has also promoted three new legal directors:Conor McEneaney (IP and technology), Steven Duggan (corporate) and Marcus Walsh (L&R).