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Julie Murphy-O'Connor is "very personable and incisive, and a formidable litigator".

Chambers Global & Europe

Expertise

Julie is a partner in Matheson’s Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. Julie regularly advises on fraud claims, freezing orders, injunctions, asset recovery and tracing, trust issues, directors’ duties and enforcement matters.  Her practice includes high-stakes, complex Commercial Court disputes for international companies and financial institutions.

Julie was named Client Choice Award Winner for Asset Recovery (Ireland) in 2020. Julie is a strong advocate of alternative dispute resolution, which provides the means to resolve disputes in a cost-effective, time-efficient, confidential and creative manner. She is a Council member of the Irish Commercial Mediation Association.  Julie is consistently ranked as one of Ireland’s top restructuring and insolvency lawyers by international legal directories.  She was a council member of the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners from 2011 – 2014, acting as Secretary and as Chair of its Educational Sub-Committee during that period.  Julie is co-author of the Commercial Litigation Association of Ireland’s Practitioners’ Guide to the Commercial Court in Ireland and of the Law Society of Ireland’s Insolvency Law text book.  She is a frequent contributor to Irish and international legal publications and is regularly invited to speak at industry conferences. Julie is also a non-executive director of Coillte DAC.


Experience Highlights
  • Advising credit servicing firms and investment funds in relation to interest overcharging issues affecting acquired loan portfolios and associated remediation projects.
  • Advising lender and receiver on enforcement, trading and sale of private hospital group.
  • Advising a financial institution in relation to the design and implementation of a remediation scheme for customers arising out of mis-selling claims relating to certain investment products and assisting on their dealings  with the Central Bank of Ireland and the Financial Services Ombudsman.
  • Representing a major domestic bank in relation to the recovery of multi-million dollar losses arising from a major fraud in a US subsidiary.
  • Advising a vehicle brand corporate group in relation to the defence of complex inter-related commercial court proceedings arising out of the fire in Douglas Village Shopping Centre Cork.
  • Advising an Irish plc in relation to a number of civil claims arising from a highly publicised investigation by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement followed by the appointment of High Court Inspectors to investigate the company.
  • Representing a large Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas in a successful jurisdictional challenge to the enforcement of an Albanian judgment in Ireland, as part of a broader enforcement strategy (so far France, Luxembourg, Ireland, New York and the Netherlands) on the part of the Albanian applicant. 
  • Advising a large financial institution on professional negligence for breach of duty and breach of undertaking against the borrowers’ solicitors and issues surrounding the forgery of certain transaction documents.
  • Advising an international financial institution in its successful appeal of a High Court decision which overturned a decision of the FSPO concerning the bank’s right to adjust variable interest rates independently of ECB rates.
  • Advising private equity funds in relation to complex and novel litigation arising from and in connection with the sale of loan portfolios by divesting financial institutions to specialty funds and alternative acquiring entities.
  • Advising financial institutions in connection with the recovery of loans, enforcement of judgments, freezing orders and asset tracing.
  • Advising a stockbroking firm in its defence of in a highly sensitive case brought against it by one of its customers in respect of a CFD exposures.
  • Advising an international private equity company against an Irish plc oil company in a cross-border enforcement of a multi-million international arbitration award arising from a shareholder dispute in relation to a gas field in Poland.
  • Representing minority shareholders in an Irish company with significant property interests in the UK in an oppression action and related injunctive proceedings restraining the attempted removal of one of the director/shareholders from all executive functions with stg£40m of assets at risk.
  • Advising a Canadian private equity investor and noteholder in relation to a shareholder dispute with an Irish pharma company.
  • Advising an international financial institution in relation to resolving a highly sensitive and contentious matter involving a misselling claim by one of its ex-wealth managers and a related defamation.
  • Representing an Irish pillar bank and a receiver in successfully defending claim for misrepresentation, breach of agreement and alleged sale of secured assets at undervalue.
  • Advising the minority shareholder of a family business in connection with a petition for the just and equitable winding up of the company and in connection the ultimate resolution of what was a highly contentious shareholder dispute.
Accolades
“Julie and her team make me feel very valued as a client and I trust our collaboration. I know the advice and service is first class.”
Restructuring and Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2024

“Very knowledgeable and extremely responsive.”
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2023

"Julie Murphy-O'Connor is one of the most practical and commercial lawyers I have come across in the Irish market."
Restructuring and Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2023

"She understands exactly how we think and operate. She fully understands our objectives and sensitivities and she takes that into account in her advice. She is very responsive and accessible and she sees through issues to get the crux of them faster than anyone else. She has a great mix of deep legal knowledge and strong commercial acumen balanced with a great perception of risk. "
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2022

“Both Julie Murphy O’Connor and Karen Reynolds are exceptional. They are both so responsive and efficient. I am very impressed with their commerciality and work product. Their whole team are also very easy to deal with.”
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2022

“Julie Murphy O’Connor always provides excellent advice in what tend to be very difficult and tricky restructuring and insolvency cases.”
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2022

Recognised in the IFLR1000 Women Leaders Guide 2021

"Julie Murphy-O’Connor provides excellent commercial advice, cuts to the key issues very quickly, very responsive, very strong on lender side work and receiverships."
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2021

Julie Murphy O'Connor is recommended.
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2020

Julie Murphy O’Connor is named ‘Highly Regarded’
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2020

ILO Client Choice Award Winner: Asset Recovery
ILO Client Choice Awards 2020

Clients describe Julie Murphy-O'Connor as "very responsive, practical, collaborative and easy to deal with."
Restructuring/Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2020

Julie Murphy O’Connor is "energetic and focused".
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2019

Julie Murphy O’Connor is described as "somebody who has a lot of experience and is considered to be a very strong practitioner".
Restructuring / Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2019

"Julie Murphy O’Connor and Edward Kane don’t just passively take part in a fairly complicated process, but they take full control of it."
Restructuring/Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2019

"Julie is very good, very sharp, practical and responsive."
Restructuring/Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2018

"Julie is the go-to person for insolvency, advisory and contentious work."
Restructuring/Insolvency: Chambers Europe 2018

Julie Murphy O'Connor is named a Highly Regarded Individual.
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2018

“Excellent technical knowledge with consummate client relationship.”
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2018

Julie Murphy-O'Connor has "in-depth knowledge".
Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring: The European Legal 500 2017

Julie Murphy-O'Connor provides "excellent service and is highly competent in terms of insolvency and litigation advice".
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2017

Julie Murphy-O'Connor is named a leading lawyer.
Restructuring and Insolvency: IFLR1000 2017

Education

Qualified as a solicitor in Ireland

Academy of Private International Law, the Netherlands

Leiden University, the Netherlands (Erasmus)

Trinity College Dublin (LLB)