Dublin's A&L crosses border to launch in Belfast

Dublin-headquarted firm A&L Goodbody has opened a new office in Belfast
today (Tuesday, 20 March).

The firm has launched its new Northern Ireland outpost with the three
partners who left Dublin rival Arthur Cox last year (The Lawyer, 20 March).

The three - Peter Stafford, Mark Thompson and Patricia Johnston - formed
corporate and commercial boutique STJ Legal last March. Their exit was seen
as a reflection of growing confidence in the Belfast legal market.

A&L managing partner Paul Carroll echoed this when he outlined the firm’s
rationale for its Belfast launch.

“The move reflects a growing trend in the marketplace in which businesses
and clients are effectively ignoring the border and increasingly need an
integrated service for what is becoming an all-island business market,” said
Carroll.

“For many years we have worked with existing relationships in
Belfast but we felt it was not going to be the future and so wanted to set
up ourselves.”

The office will focus primarily on corporate, construction and
infrastructure matters.