Arthur Cox agrees settlement terms with lawyer

Legal firm Arthur Cox has made a settlement with one of the most senior lawyers in its Belfast practice, several months after he took a High Court action against the partnership.

The reasons for the departure of solicitor Peter Martin are unclear.

Formerly the head of litigation in the Belfast office, he concentrated on commercial and litigious matters in employment, insolvency, marine and fishery areas.

"Settlement terms have been reached, the terms of which remain confidential," said an Arthur Cox spokesman in Dublin. He declined to make any further comment on the case.

The Irish Times was unable yesterday to contact Mr Martin, who had been with the firm since 1997.

Arthur Cox lost four partners from its Belfast office last year, which then amounted to half its partners.

Three of them set up their own company but they later joined the Belfast office of A&L Goodbody, one of Arthur Cox's biggest rivals in Dublin.

Mr Martin is believed to have initiated proceedings in the chancery division of the High Court in Belfast some time last year.

The case is listed for mention for September 10th and a hearing date was listed for November 27th.

Mr Martin was a partner in Belfast firm McKinty and Wright until 1990 and left that firm to establish Martin & Brownlie, a niche commercial practice.

Martin & Brownlie merged with Arthur Cox Northern Ireland in 1997, the year after Arthur Cox entered the market by merging with Belfast commercial practice Norman Wilson & Co.

One of the top firms in Dublin, Arthur Cox was once the only company with a practice on both sides of the Border.

The office concentrates on corporate and commercial work for national and international clients. The company's website says it now has 13 partners, 22 associate solicitors and a total staff of 60 in Belfast.

A&L Goodbody opened an office in the city last May.

Three of its top lawyers - Peter Stafford, Mark Thompson and Patricia Johnston - joined the firm with their staff last May from STJ Legal, a firm they set up last year after they left Arthur Cox.

Another solicitor who left Arthur Cox last year, Anne Beggan, joined Belfast firm Tughans, which has a formal association with Dublin firm William Fry. McCann FitzGerald also has a Belfast office. Other Dublin firms have alliances with Belfast firms.