Squire Patton Boggs hires Dublin corporate partner from Philip Lee

Ero Partsakoulaki
01 May 2023

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Law firm Squire Patton Boggs has appointed George Kennedy as partner in its new Dublin office, bolstering its global corporate practice team.

The new office will be opening later this week, six months after the firm's announcement that it intended to expand to the Republic of Ireland, as reported.

Kennedy is joining the firm from Irish law firm Philip Lee, according to a press release. In his previous role as a partner, he specialised in corporate transactions and advisory work, particularly in connection with private equity, acting for funds, portfolio companies, sellers and management teams.

Prior to that, he was a partner with Holmes O'Malley Sexton and started his career with A&L Goodbody where he worked as an M&A adviser alongside Squire Patton Boggs' Irish office managing partner, Dennis Agnew. Agnew joined the firm in November 2022 from Pinsent Masons to lead the Dublin office, as previously reported.

Throughout his career, Kennedy has acted for private investors, trade buyers and sellers, regularly advising on investments, commercial contracts, as well as corporate governance matters. His experience lies across a broad range of industry sectors, from engineering, IT and renewables to insurance, healthcare and sport, the press release said.

Kennedy has acted for H&MV Engineering on the sale of a majority stake in the business to Exponent, and has advised British Growth Fund (BGF) on the acquisition of a stake in Croom Precision Engineering. He also acted for Irish private equity firm Renatus on the acquisition of its stake in Tipperary Crystal.

Squire Patton Boggs has identified Dublin as an increasingly key hub for various areas of the firm's business activity, including private equity, technology and life sciences. With the new office, it seeks to tap opportunities from corporates and other entities in its network, seeking to invest in Ireland, it said.

This is the firm's second new hire in the past month, after it appointed Rob Eke as partner in its financial services practice team, continuing the expansion of its funds practice in London, as reported.

Overall, the firm employs 1,500 lawyers across over 40 offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.