Philip Lee has named John Given as  a partner, moving across from another leading Dublin firm where he headed M&A practice

John has over 25 years’ experience and recently has supplemented his advisory experience by working as a senior executive and principal of a number of businesses, including:

• as general counsel and executive vice president of Irish-headquartered, NYSE-listed, global biotech company Elan Corporation. John led the company’s advisory team on three hostile takeover defences and ultimately on its successful $9bn plus sale to Perrigo,

• as co-founder and chairman of Malin Corporation, John led the successful structuring and execution of Malin’s 2015 IPO, Europe’s second largest ever flotation of a life sciences company,
• as chairman of Sigmoid Pharma (now Sublimity Therapeutics), John led the company’s strategic evolution, culminating with a successful US private equity-led fundraising in 2018.

Philip Lee’s managing partner Philip Lee said: “John’s experience as a highly-skilled corporate leader and a user of legal resources makes him a very valuable addition to our corporate team.  

Disrupt

“His top-tier legal expertise, having served both international and domestic clients across multiple sectors, adds tremendous weight and depth to our firm as we continue to disrupt the established order in the Irish legal market through a combination of brilliant people and constant innovation.”

John Given said: “I have watched Philip Lee rapidly grow from a specialist practice into a full-service law firm serving domestic and international clients in both public and private spheres. 

“From my more recent direct experience of working closely with the firm as lead advisors to Sigmoid Pharma I was greatly impressed with its breadth of vision, expertise and ambition.  I am delighted to join forces with the firm at this exciting time as it consolidates the firm’s position in the front ranks of the Irish legal and advisory community.”