William Fry, one of Ireland's largest law firms, has appointed Alma Campion as a consultant in its banking and finance department. Campion joins from Matheson, where she was a partner and most recently led the Knowledge Management and Innovation function in Matheson's Finance and Capital Markets departments. The appointment reflects William Fry's continued investment in its market-leading banking and finance practice amid rapid technological change in financial services.
Campion brings more than 18 years of experience as a finance and capital markets lawyer. She has advised domestic and international banks, financial institutions and corporations on cross-border leveraged finance, acquisition finance, project finance and real estate finance transactions, as well as deleveraging projects, restructurings and related regulatory work. At Matheson, she had joined the firm in 2005 and developed a specialist practice in acquisition finance, property and development finance, debt issuances, general secured and unsecured lending and syndicated lending. She also advised banks and financial institutions on regulatory matters and worked extensively with lenders on standard form documentation. In commenting on her appointment, Campion highlighted the firm's "strong commitment to investing in technology and new ways of working," noting that "AI and automation are changing how financial transactions are run, not just how they are advised on."
Matheson, established in 1825, is one of Ireland's oldest and largest law firms. The firm's Finance and Capital Markets team comprises more than 50 lawyers and is consistently ranked as a leading finance and capital markets practice in Ireland. Matheson frequently advises on syndicated and bilateral facilities for many of Ireland's largest corporate borrowers and is a major player in leveraged finance, acting on matters involving commercial real estate and development finance, bond issuances and securitisations.
William Fry, founded in 1847, operates with over 350 legal and tax professionals across offices in Dublin, Cork, London, New York and San Francisco. The firm has a particularly strong practice in banking and finance, equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, project development and restructuring, achieving top tier rankings in all these areas. William Fry's banking and finance team is acknowledged as a leader in the Irish market and is consistently ranked in the top tier by directories including Chambers Global and the Legal 500 EMEA. The firm was recently awarded a Standout ranking at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards.
Campion's move from Matheson to William Fry signals competitive recruitment activity among Ireland's largest law firms in banking and finance expertise, particularly as both firms navigate technological disruption in financial services. Her background in knowledge management and innovation at Matheson may suggest William Fry is positioning itself to deepen its technology integration and operational modernisation capabilities within its finance practice. The timing of the appointment, during a period when Irish legal services are seeing increased technology adoption and automation, indicates that William Fry may be seeking to enhance its advisory capabilities around how financial institutions themselves are transforming their operations and transaction execution processes.
