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Expertise

Pádraig is one of Ireland’s leading corporate lawyers and was Managing Partner of Arthur Cox from 2003-2011. He was named European Managing Partner of the Year in 2009. During his tenure as Managing Partner, Arthur Cox was recognised as European Law Firm of the Year (2006), Best Managed European Law Firm (2007), Best European Corporate Citizen (2007) and has been ranked by the Financial Times as one of the Most Innovative Law Firms in Europe in four of the past five years.

Pádraig specialises in public and regulated sectors, advising a range of public companies, private companies and State-related entities on their transactional and business issues. He trained in a Wall Street law firm prior to joining Arthur Cox as head of our New York Office, before returning to our Corporate Department in Dublin.

Pádraig is a director of Paddy Power plc and TVC plc.  He is also a member of the European Commission’s Insolvency Law Expert Group (ILEG), the advisory body to the European Commission on the development of an EU cross-border crisis management regime and resolution for the banking sector.  He is Chairman of Editorial Board of The European Lawyer.

Experience

Pádraig led the Arthur Cox team which provided legal advice to the Irish State and State entities in implementing policy relating to the Irish banking crisis. These projects included: 

• assisting  in the management of overall State legal risk;
• the refinancing arrangements between the Irish State and the IMF, the EFSF and the EFSM;
• the recapitalisations and equity structuring of Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and Irish Life & Permanent;
• legally implementing €5 billion burden sharing with subordinated debt holders through liability management exercises and application for a subordinated liability order;
• the nationalisation and restructuring of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society;
• the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency;
• assisting with the preparation of the Covered Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008, the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009,  the National Asset Management Agency Act 2009, and the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010.

Pádraig also leads the Arthur Cox team which is the Lead Service Provider to the Health Service Executive,  undertaking its corporate legal work and managing the 32 other law firms which undertake the Executive’s operational legal work.

Pádraig has advised on the initial public offerings of Paddy Power plc, eircom plc and TVC Holdings, plc. as well as on the €1.2 billion rights issue of CRH plc, the largest undertaken by an Irish company.