Key Contacts: Jonathan Kelly – Managing Partner
The following article featured in the Business Post on 20 April, 2025.
Philip Lee LLP has transformed from a boutique Irish law firm into a global player thanks to carefully cultivated specialisms with highly ranked and globally recognised partners.
With offices in Dublin, London and – just opened – New York, we are becoming a global leader in several important and growing sectors of the legal world. The firm had its beginnings in the 1990s as a specialist firm in construction and procurement and since then the group has advised public and private bodies on over 300 major infrastructure projects. These include some of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken in Ireland, such as the Port Tunnel and the waste to energy project.
While this is still very much a key practice area, the capabilities have widened to include many other specialisms. They include the climate change sector, with Lev Gantly ranked as a global leader by Chambers, making Philip Lee the only Irish firm ever to become a global leader in the sector.
“It’s a given that we have market leading core practice groups such as banking, property corporate – staples of any commercial law firm. We are particularly well known for several specialisms, including climate change, media, data protection, IP, planning, environmental, as well as our origins in trade and construction,” said Jonathan Kelly, managing partner at Philip Lee LLP.
“Our difference is that within our specialisms, we have a lot of the top-ranked talent. One study that looked at the ranking journals, Legal 500 and Chambers Europe in particular, identified the number of what you would call Tier 1 and Tier 2 ranked specialists. These would be recognised leaders in each specialist practise area. They identified that we had comfortably the highest per head ranking of any firm in Dublin.”
For instance, Philip Lee was ranked as Best Law Firm 2024 (Voluntary Carbon Market) by leading international publication Environmental Finance – the second year the firm won the prestigious accolade. Lead Partner Alice Whittaker is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Europe, and is part of Legal 500’s Hall of Fame. In media, the firm is ranked Band 1 alongside one other Irish firm. The firm is also consistently ranked among the top ten M&A advisors in Ireland in both Experian and Mergermarket.
In a stand-out project, illustrating Philip Lee’s prowess in the energy sector, the firm recently advised the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on the preparation and successful adoption in a timely manner of Ireland’s first DMAP, the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy.
Philip Lee is also one of Ireland’s leading litigation and dispute resolution practices, acting in complex and typically high-profile cases, frequently involving challenges to decisions of regulators who operate under both national and EU law regulatory regimes. These include the Data Protection Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, ComReg, and An Bord Pleanala.
Becoming a global leader in these specialisms has given Philip Lee an edge when it comes to attracting great talent – but the firm also places huge emphasis on a positive corporate culture and diversity.
“It’s all very well to specialise, but we also need to distinguish ourselves in the market for talent and staff,” said Kelly. “Our standout is that our very high level of talent is matched by the importance we place on maintaining an inclusive, positive and collegial culture. The recent trend of global professional services firms abandoning previously trumpeted policies around diversity and inclusion makes us even more resolute in maintaining our own culture and values. An inclusive firm is a better firm.
“A central policy in the firm is to hire people that who are likeable and straightforward, as well as being good lawyers. Almost everything falls into place if you can achieve that. I think we’ve been successful in that context. Of course I’m conscious that’s something that any firm could say, but in our case, it is borne out by very high staff retention figures.”
With staff levels heading towards 200, the firm is particularly proud of its gender mix, as Kelly says. “Professional services is a really tough world for achieving a gender balance, as essentially what most people are selling is their time and (to state the obvious) if you’re spending as much time as possible working it’s not generally conducive for someone who wants, for example, to grow a family. That’s a challenge for every company, but we tackle it by making sure we are flexible. At this stage we have approximately 46 per cent female representation at partner level.
“We are also members of the 30 per cent club, which aims to get at least 30 per cent representation of women in senior positions in companies. We already exceed this among our equity partners, which is especially challenging because you have to put so much of your life into the job to get to and stay at that level.”
For now, the focus is on sustainable growth for the company. In fact, Philip Lee has just expanded to New York, partnering with Skylight Law LLP, to operate as Philip Lee (US) LLP. The firms’ combined offering will initially focus on climate finance, carbon project development and climate-tech venture capital, amongst other decarbonisation-focused sectors.
“We’ve grown extremely fast so far and, while we’re generally cautious about expanding globally, there are opportunities in other markets, such as our new venture in New York. We believe our specialisms give us an edge that in time will enable us to establish a presence in other markets around the world.”
