Overview
Whilst partnerships are a common business model in the medical, dental, legal and accountancy sectors, under Irish law, a partnership is automatically formed when parties are in business together, without having set up a company. Two or more individuals in business together, across all sectors of the economy, may be working together as a partnership without ever intending to do so.
Without a Partnership Agreement in place, the legal rights of parties will be determined by Irish partnership law, or alternatively by the Court, which can be a costly, public process for all involved.
Our highly experienced partnership law experts advise on all aspects of partnership law, from the formation of partnerships, legal issues that may arise between partners, to the dissolution of partnerships, including Limited Liability Partnerships and Investment Limited Partnerships.
We have significant Partner led expertise to assist parties to agree Partnership terms that match current best practice in your sector and also the individual needs of the business. A Partnership Agreement should not only set out how the governance arrangements including voting powers, meetings, capital structure and cash flow are established, and also how the partnership business will be managed and operated, how profits are distributed, but it should also include how partnership disputes are addressed and resolved, and ultimately, what happens to the assets and liabilities of the partnership at dissolution.
In advising established Partnerships we work collaboratively across the firm drawing on our wide specialist skills to provide both legal and practical strategic advice to partnerships and partners whether there is a dispute or where parties may want to make changes or move on.
Experience
- Establishing a practice: advising in relation to the establishment of partnerships across a wide range of sectors including medical, dental, accountancy and other professional service sectors
- Business structures: advising on the structure of partnerships including incorporation, LLP, ILP and limited companies
- Employment law: providing expert, instant employment law advice to partnerships including hiring staff and salaried partners
- Restrictive covenants: drafting and advising in relation to non-compete and non-solicitation clauses
- Discrimination: advising in relation to equality and age discrimination
- Regulatory matters: advising and representing partnerships and partners in relation to professional regulatory issues
- Dispute resolution and Mediation: advising in relation to disputes between partners including mediating disputes between partners
- Litigation: acting on behalf of and against partnerships, acting for and against partners
- Arbitration: advising on arbitration clauses in partnership agreements and representing partners in the arbitration process
- Practice expansions: advising in relation to mergers and de-mergers, new partners, employee hires and terminations, disciplinary and performance issues, and team moves
- Practice changes: advising on partner expulsions, retirements, performance issues, dissolution, and team moves
- TUPE: providing expert advice on the Transfer Regulations in the context of partnership business sales and team moves
- Transactional: advising on partnership business sales
- Dissolution of a Practice: advising on contentious and non-contentious endings
What clients say: Partnership Law
"Each member of the team provides excellent support and advice. Their response times are always excellent."
‘I would work most closely with David Phelan. I have been working with legal firms both in Ireland and abroad for over 30 years. I can say without hesitation, David is the very best that I have worked with in that time. He deals with a wide range of issues across a number of different spectrums all with the same poise and composure. He makes everyone on calls feel like he has nothing else on, only the work that he is working with you on. Clearly we know that this is not the case. He has built a level of trust with me and a number of teams that we work with that allows all of us to have the peace of mind that David is on it. All of that and he’s just a very nice human being.’
‘David Phelan – Very knowledgeable and reliable partner who leads from the front, always available for a consolidation and will get back to you!
‘Joe O’Malley brings with him an enormous wealth of experience across the whole spectrum of commercial litigation.’
‘David Phelan stands out in contractual and media matters. He has a very solid judgement and a calm approach to problematic situations.’