Commercial law firm Philip Lee announces the appointment of Mr. John Given as partner

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Philip Lee is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. John Given as partner.

John has over 25 years’ experience in the legal and broader corporate sectors.  He occupied several leadership positions during his tenure as a senior partner with another leading Dublin based firm.  In particular, John was head of that firm’s M&A practice for a decade, during which time it was consistently ranked in international league tables as the number one Irish M&A law practice.

In more recent years John has supplemented his advisory experience by working as a senior executive and principal of a number of businesses, including:

• as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Irish headquartered, NYSE listed, global biotech company Elan Corporation plc, John led the company’s advisory team on three hostile takeover defences and ultimately on its successful $9bn plus sale to Perrigo Company plc;

• as co-founder and Chairman of Malin Corporation plc, John led the successful structuring and execution of Malin’s 2015 IPO, Europe’s second largest ever floatation of a life sciences company;

• as Chairman of Sigmoid Pharma (now Sublimity Therapeutics), John led the company’s strategic evolution, culminating with a successful US private equity-led fundraising in 2018.

Commenting on the appointment, Philip Lee’s managing partner Mr. Philip Lee said “John’s experience as a highly skilled corporate leader and a user of legal resources makes him a very valuable addition to our corporate team.  His top-tier legal expertise, having served both international and domestic clients across multiple sectors, adds tremendous weight and depth to our firm as we continue to disrupt the established order in the Irish legal market through a combination of brilliant people and constant innovation.”

Mr. Given said “I have watched Philip Lee rapidly grow from a specialist practice into a full-service law firm serving domestic and international clients in both public and private spheres.  From my more recent direct experience of working closely with the firm as lead advisors to Sigmoid Pharma I was greatly impressed with its breadth of vision, expertise and ambition.  I am delighted to join forces with the firm at this exciting time as it consolidates its position in the front ranks of the Irish legal and advisory community.”

Read article by Joe Brennan in The Irish Times here.