International law firm Simmons & Simmons signs lease for new Dublin office, with potential to double workforce

London-based company has signed lease for fourth floor of One Molesworth Street, which will be able to accommodate 120 employees over time

Rachel Stanton, country head of the Irish office for British law firm Simmons & Simmons, alongside her predecessor in the role, Fionán Breathnach, at the time of her appointment in November 2022. File photograph: Maxwells

London-headquartered law firm Simmons & Simmons is gearing up to expand its presence in the Irish market, signing a lease on a new office that will give it the capacity to double its workforce here.

The firm, which has 55 employees, is planning to relocate to One Molesworth Street, near Leinster House in central Dublin. It has been based at Grand Canal Dock since 2019, having opened in Dublin in May 2018.

The 13,100sq ft office is located on the fourth floor and will have the potential to accommodate 120 staff, the firm said.

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Simmons said the move was designed to meet “increasing demand” for its services and “offers significant room for further expansion of the firm’s business in Ireland”.

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“We are delighted to have secured this superb office space in a key location where we will be in proximity to a number of our significant clients. It also offers a modern and collaborative environment that will enable our team to continue to thrive,” said Rachel Stanton, country head of Simmons’s Irish office.

The move will take effect in May 2024 with the lease due to run until 2038.

Lead counsel

Simmons specialises in asset management and funds, healthcare and life sciences and telecoms, media and technology. In May, the firm said that it had acted as lead counsel on Irish deals valued at more than €1 billion since the start of 2023.

In the past 12 months, the firm has advised Waystone on its acquisition of Link Fund Solutions, assisted Euronext Brussels-listed Aedifica on its acquisition, development, and leasing of 19 elderly care homes for over €500 million, advised Nasdaq-listed Flex on its $540 million merger with Anord Mardix Group, and assisted TMF Group on its acquisition of Goodbody Fund Management.

The firm was founded in London in 1896 by twin brothers Percy and Edward Simmons. It opened its first international office in Brussels in 1962 and now operates from 22 offices globally, opening in the US for the first time last year with a base in Silicon Valley. It has 320 partners and 2,400 employees.

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times