Byrne Wallace Shields LLP

Overview

Byrne Wallace Shields LLP describes itself as one of Ireland’s largest and most progressive law firms and positions itself as a full-service commercial law firm. The firm emphasises nurturing the next generation of legal talent through a structured Trainee Solicitor Programme and hands-on experience across a wide range of practice areas from corporate law and litigation to property and employment. The careers pages highlight work on high-profile cases and complex transactions and a focus on sectors including life sciences, public sector, retail, ESG and technology.

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Public Law
• Technology & Digital
• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Tax
• Family Law
• Commercial Contracts
• Competition & Antitrust
• Construction & Engineering
• Retail & Consumer
• Corporate & M&A
• White Collar Crime
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Immigration
• Fraud & Investigations
• Employment
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Environment & Planning
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Intellectual Property
• Pensions
• Data Protection & Privacy
• Housing & Social Housing
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Sports Law
• Real Estate
• Private Equity & Venture Capital

Geographic Focus: The firm is Ireland-focused and describes itself as one of Ireland’s largest law firms, serving Irish domestic clients across commercial practice areas and sector work in life sciences, public sector, retail, ESG and technology, while handling cross-border and regulatory matters for international-facing clients.

Training Contract

We seek passionate, driven, and academically strong individuals who are eager to learn and thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment. If you have excellent communication skills, a keen interest in the law, and a commitment to excellence, we want to hear from you.

• Application Deadline: 20 october 2025

Apply on the Byrne Wallace Shields LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

What Byrne Wallace Shields LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Passionate and driven
• Academically strong
• Excellent communication skills
• Commercial awareness / keen interest in the law
• Commitment to excellence
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment
• Teamwork and eagerness to learn

Evidence Signals

• Strong academic record
• Relevant commercial or legal work experience (internships, paralegal roles)
• Demonstrable communication skills (presentations, mooting, client-facing roles)
• Sector interest in Life Sciences, Public Sector, Retail, ESG or Technology
• Engagement with trainee insight content (videos, open days) and attendance at internship programmes

Benefits & Wellbeing

Awards & Recognition

• Firm ranked in 8 practice areas in legal directories; Tier 3 rankings include Commercial litigation, M&A (Smaller Deals £10m-£100m) and Employment (senior executives); Tier 4 listings include Fraud (civil) and Property litigation.
• Directory data shows multiple ranked departments and listed lawyers (directory counts: ranked departments counts and ranked lawyers counts appear in directory listings).

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Innovation

The firm lists Artificial Intelligence (AI) among its practice-area headings, indicating engagement with technology and digital regulatory/contractual issues.

Quick Application Angles

• Emphasise commercial awareness and sector fit with Life Sciences, Public Sector, Retail, ESG or Technology – the firm highlights these sectors across its careers/practice pages.
• Reference the firm’s full-service commercial offering and cite willingness to rotate across corporate, litigation and property – the trainee programme promises hands-on experience across those areas.
• Mention engagement with the firm’s trainee insight resources (trainee videos, the Managing Partner message) and, if possible, refer to the trainee programme page (your-traineeship.html) and the recruitment contact recruitment@byrnewallaceshields.com.
• Demonstrate examples of teamworking and client-facing communication skills, as the firm stresses excellent communication and learning alongside senior practitioners.