Dublin is attractive for firms looking for access to the European Union

Lawyers may be looking intently to Brussels and the European Commission as Brexit negotiations grind on, but just as keenly they are looking for a Plan B — or possibly Plan D for Dublin — to retain some form of access to the European Union.

Six months after the Brexit referendum in June 2016, 800 UK-qualified solicitors had applied for practising certificates in the Republic of Ireland. By July last year the “magic circle” firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer had almost cracked into the top ten of Irish law firms by the number of practising solicitors.

Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons have opened offices in the Irish capital, with others such as DLA Piper reportedly following. Eversheds Sutherland is already there, and makes the top