Joe O'Malley - Managing Partner
Joe is Managing Partner and Head of the Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution team at Hayes solicitors.
He is widely recognised as a leading professional in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, acting for clients in landmark, complex, high-value cases. He is a trusted adviser to major clients in a wide range of sectors on commercial and corporate matters and is a leading practitioner of media and defamation law.
Expertise
Joe is Managing Partner and Head of the Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution team at Hayes solicitors.
In his commercial litigation and dispute resolution work, Joe is recognised as a strategic and highly effective adviser in complex and sensitive cases. He acts for major clients from a wide range of sectors, including advertising and media, banking and financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, property, State entities and transportation. He advises on and represents client interests in a range of commercial and corporate matters, ranging from media law and reputation management to corporate restructuring and insolvency.
Experience
- Represented the Irish State and a global pharmaceutical manufacturer in the defence of vaccine claims concerning H1N1.
- Acted for a Swiss Bank in the defence of a multi-million euro claim recently before the Commercial Court.
- Represents M.U.T. 103 Limited (in liquidation) in relation to claims exceeding €100m arising from the Dolphin Trust investments in Germany.
- Represented IBRC (in special liquidation) in its €6bn claim against former directors of Irish Nationwide.
- Acted for one of Ireland’s leading businessmen in relation to commercial court litigation proceedings concerning the redevelopment of the Setanta Centre in Dublin city.
- Advises several State entities in relation to highly sensitive litigation, including civil proceedings arising out of the Disclosures Tribunal and Thalidomide litigation.
- Acted for a defendant in the Belfry litigation, involving more than 300 claims arising out of property investments in the UK.
- Represented one of Ireland’s main truck dealers in relation to mass litigation before the Competition Court arising out of a finding by the European Commission of a truck cartel.
- Advises a national newspaper on all aspects of media law.
- Represented a plaintiff in a defamation action involving the highest jury award ever made in the State.
- Acted for Worldspreads Limited (in special liquidation) in a high value (over GBP 20m) professional negligence claim against its auditors.
- Acted for the liquidator of Cork Medical Centre (in voluntary liquidation) in a multi-million euro claim against VHI for refusal to provide cover for this hospital facility.
- Advised on the winding up of the oldest stockbroking firm in the State and on related Central Bank investigations.
Other
Joe is former President of the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association and a former Council Member of the Law Society of Ireland. He is currently chair of the Law Society’s Litigation Committee and he also chairs Danske Bank’s Tracker Mortgage Redress Appeals Panel. Joe lectures to a number of professional and regulatory bodies on his practice areas including the Law Society of Ireland, the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland and Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
He contributes to various legal publications including The Parchment, published by the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association.
Qualifications/Education
- Bachelor of Civil Law Degree, University College Dublin
- Master of Laws in Commercial Law, University College Dublin
- Professional qualification as a solicitor, Law Society of Ireland, 2002
- Diploma in Applied Finance Law, Law Society of Ireland
Testimonials
‘My contact is Joe O’Malley whose experience and instruction is exceptional and always directed me to highly professional individuals within the firm. He is also well connected and put me in touch with financial backers and potential partners. I have recommended him to several other individuals and have no intention of moving from Hayes.’
‘Joe O’Malley brings with him an enormous wealth of experience across the whole spectrum of commercial litigation.’
‘Joe O’Malley is one of the best solicitors in the country, if not the best, due to his commitment to the clients’ interests, work-rate, expertise, and depth of knowledge.’
‘Joseph O’Malley is an excellent litigator, combining an excellent knowledge of the law with a strategic approach to achieving the best possible outcome for clients. Robbie Slattery will always know the case inside out, and has an ability to speak plainly to clients so that complex legal ideas are made easily comprehensible.’
"Joseph O'Malley is intelligent, commercial and exceptionally hard-working"
"He is a strong team leader and provides commercial advice"
"Joe is excellent at negotiating settlements and dealing with complex matters. He has excellent communication skills, perseverance and judgement"
"He is an excellent legal resource. He is very accessible, which is of great comfort"
‘Joe O’Malley is brilliant – very clever but also commercial and brilliant to deal with. Robbie Slattery is also a very good member of the team.’
'Joseph O’Malley is highly-intelligent, excellent with clients and extremely hard working – the complete package.'
‘Hayes Solicitors is world class. They are capable of handling complex, cross border litigation matters and are tireless and persuasive litigators. I trust partner Joe O’Malley with large and complex litigation matters.’
‘Jeremy Erwin and Joe O’Malley. Very high-quality solicitors.’
‘Michael Kelly is a great lawyer. He is a pleasure to work with and is very knowledgeable. He listens to the client and gives very sound advice. Joe O’Malley is very experienced. He is very good on litigation tactics, and he always looks ahead for pitfalls.’
‘Hayes Solicitors LLP delivers an excellent all round service with top class partners supported by highly efficient and hard working associates and solicitors. Joseph O’Malley is highly-intelligent, excellent with clients and extremely hard working – the complete package. Jeremy Erwin is also highly regarded. He is tenacious and diligent, always working for the client.’
‘Hayes are immensely experienced and pragmatic, very strong with clients. Joe O’Malley and Robbie Slattery are hugely experienced, savvy, down to earth, good with client management and great with detail and complexity.’