Matheson boosts its senior team with key partner appointments 

David Fitzgibbon takes on new role as head of corporate department with law firm Matheson

Matheson appointments: Christian Donagh, Joe Beashel, Caroline Kearns, Ciaran O’Boyle, Darren Maher, managing partner, Maireadh Dale and David Fitzgibbon.

Law firm Matheson has named David Fitzgibbon as head of its corporate department as it continues to enjoy steady growth.

Caroline Kearns and Joe Beashel have been appointed as co-heads of the financial institutions group, which also welcomes new partner Ciaran O’Boyle. Christian Donagh has been appointed as the new co-head of the finance and capital markets department.

David Fitzgibbon has been appointed as head of the corporate department. Since 2022, David had been co-head of the group with Darren Maher, who was named as managing partner in January. David also leads the firm’s Corporate M&A Group.

Caroline Kearns and Joe Beashel bring extensive industry expertise to their roles as co-heads of the financial institutions group. Joe will continue to head the firm’s London office, while Caroline will continue to lead the M&A team.

Ciaran O’Boyle brings strong expertise in M&A, private equity, venture capital fundraising, and corporate reorganisations.

Christian Donagh joins Maireadh Dale as co-head of finance and capital markets. He brings more than two decades of deep legal expertise advising global financial institutions and asset managers on a wide variety of asset-backed finance transactions.

Darren Maher, Matheson’s managing partner, said: “Our corporate, financial institutions and finance and capital markets teams are central to many of the most significant transactions in the market. These appointments reflect the strength and depth of leadership across the firm and our continued focus on delivering outstanding results for clients.” 

These new appointments follow the recent appointments of nine new partners across nine practice areas, bringing the total number of partners and tax principals at the firm to 128. Matheson also recently welcomed Marie McGinley, who joined the firm as a partner in late 2025 and took up the role of head of the technology and innovation group.