Expertise
Niall is a partner and head of the Competition and Regulation Group.
He has extensive experience advising Irish and multinational businesses on all aspects of Irish and EU competition law, but particularly on complex merger control mandates. He has developed an influential reputation in the market for delivering the right outcomes for clients in difficult cases (including leading on a number of the recent Phase II merger cases in the jurisdiction). His experience extends to both public and private deals, private equity and venture capital investments and to joint ventures and strategic alliances. Niall also advises on the new Irish foreign direct investment screening regime.
His behavioural competition law practice covers abuse of dominance, cartels and other restrictive arrangements, regulatory investigations, compliance issues and consequential litigation following on from allegations of breach of the competition rules. He has recently led multi-disciplinary teams on the highest profile competition law investigations in the jurisdiction.
Niall's broad practice has a particular focus on the energy, media & entertainment, insurance, agriculture & food, technology, sport and financial services sectors.
Prior to joining Matheson in 2022, Niall led the competition team at another Irish law firm. He also previously practiced with the EU and Competition team at Ashurst in London and with the Antitrust and Competition team at Latham & Watkins in London.
Niall is consistently ranked in the top tier of competition law advisers in Ireland by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 and was identified by Global Competition Review as one of the world's top competition lawyers under the age of 40 in their '40 under 40' feature. In November 2023, Niall was listed by Lexology as one of their WWL ("Who's Who Legal") Thought Leaders for Competition in Ireland.
Niall is also a committee member of the Competition Section of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Recent matters on which Niall has led and advised include:
- Advising a ticketing company on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's (CCPC) investigation into the ticketing sector
- Advising a major domestic insurer on the CCPC's investigation into the private motor insurance sector
- Advising a multinational textile company on its acquisition of one of its major competitors in Ireland, a complex Phase II investigation ultimately cleared conditionally by the CCPC
- Advising a major international media company on its entry into the Irish radio market, one of the most significant media transactions in Ireland in many years
- Advising a major agricultural and food processing business on various acquisitions in Ireland
- Acting in defence of a follow-on action for damages arising from the European Commission's decision in the 'Trucks' case
- Advising a major supplier of betting services to retail and online operators globally
- Advising various international media businesses on acquisitions involving review under the Irish media merger regime
- Advising on applications under the Irish Cartel Immunity Programme
IFLR1000 33rd edition 2023
EU and Competition: The Legal 500 2023
EU and Competition: The Legal 500 2023
University of Cambridge, Master of Laws (LL.M), Leonard Coling Scholar
University College Dublin, Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL)
Qualified as a solicitor in Ireland and in England and Wales