Patrick is a partner and head of the employment and pensions group.

Patrick’s experience in non-contentious employment law ranges from drafting contracts of employment and employment policies to advising on industrial relations disputes. He also advises our employment law clients in relation to health and safety issues, transfers of undertakings, equality issues and independent contractor arrangements.

His experience in contentious employment law runs from prosecuting and defending Workplace Relations Commission claims, participating in WRC conciliations to litigating cases in the courts. He also advises in relation to bullying and harassment claims, internal disciplinary investigations and unfair/wrongful dismissal claims.

Patrick advises a wide range of clients in both the public and private sectors. He is also an accredited mediator and is regularly asked to mediate in employment disputes.

He also has extensive experience in commercial litigation and worked for a number of years in the commercial litigation department of one of Ireland’s largest “big 5” law firms.

Patrick has been cited as a top-tier Irish employment law expert in Chambers Europe.

Patrick contributes regularly to the national press and speaks at employment law conferences in relation to a wide range of employment law issues. He is the Law Society’s employment law lecturer on the Inhouse Counsel Diploma Programme.

Recent Work

• • • Advising on the implications of the TUPE Regulations arising from the acquisition of three smaller undertakings by a major international pharmaceutical company operating in Ireland;
    • Advising on the collective redundancy implications of an employer disposing of 38 retail units in Ireland;
    • Advising on the merger of two significant semi-state entities;
    • Representing one of Ireland’s largest retailers in a complex and long-running high court action concerning employees’ property rights;
    • Advising Ireland’s largest employer on the employment status of third-party service providers and representing our client in the LRC in connection with this claim;
    • Advising a major public body on an unprecedented reorganisation of its pension scheme.