Global law firm DLA Piper plans to double its existing workforce in Ireland just three years after launching in the country.

The decision is the latest to reflect a growing legal sector once dominated by a small group of established players but now a hotbed of activity, with a host of new UK and U.S. entrants.

DLA Piper established its Irish operations in 2019 and has since grown to a full-service law firm and in 2021 moved into a six-floor, 30K SF office on Molesworth Street, Dublin to accommodate the firm’s growing headcount.

DLA Piper said that it had delivered on its initial recruitment ambition of building a team of 100 lawyers and business professionals in Ireland, making the company the fastest-growing legal brand in Ireland.

“Today is another milestone for DLA Piper as we announce plans to double our workforce in Ireland over the coming years," DLA Piper Country Managing Partner David Carthy said. "We continue to be ambitious for our future in Ireland and look forward to growing the business further in the coming years and delivering change in the Irish legal industry.”

Traditionally, Dublin’s corporate law services sector was dominated by six legal giants: Arthur Cox, Matheson, A&L Goodbody, Mason Hayes & Curran, McCann Fitzgerald and William Fry.

However, that has changed over the past five years with the arrival of firms including London-based Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper, Simmons & Simmons and Ashurst, and U.S. practices such as Tully Rinckey, Covington & Burling and Dentons, plus US/UK legal firm Hogan Lovells.

Since its arrival, DLA Piper said that it had delivered a pro bono programme, Know Your Rights, in partnership with the Irish Refugee Council and supported groups such as the United for Changes initiative, which seeks to integrate temporary displaced Ukrainians into Irish society.