Legal Cheek Careers sits down with Dentons Dublin managing partner Eavan Saunders to discuss her return from London, launching an office in lockdown and nurturing a new generation of lawyers
“A lot of people do a few years over there, but very few have reached partnership in the City and come back,” says Eavan Saunders, managing partner of Dentons Dublin. After a successful career in London, Saunders made the rare move of returning to her native Ireland, not just to take up a role but to build one. Five years ago, she launched Dentons’ Dublin office under truly extraordinary circumstances — in the middle of a global pandemic.
“I launched Dentons Dublin, just me, from my house, right at the beginning of lockdown,” she recalls. “It was a very inauspicious start.” Interviews were conducted in her back garden, with masks on and social distancing in place. “But it didn’t really stop us,” she adds with a smile. The office grew rapidly from that solo start, and today Dentons Dublin is a fixture in Ireland’s legal scene. The firm has been nominated for Law Firm of the Year in Ireland three years running, with Saunders and several colleagues now counted among Ireland’s Top 100 Lawyers.
From the outset, Saunders was determined to shape the new office on her own terms. For her, firm culture isn’t a slogan on a careers page, it’s something that is lived and felt. “Culture has to be a lived experience,” she says, “and the cohesiveness and happiness of the Dublin team is my number one achievement.” That culture didn’t happen by accident. Saunders has maintained what she describes as “extraordinary quality control” in recruitment, taking time to hand-pick people who align with the firm’s values. “We’ve built the team carefully,” she explains. “We’ve grown deliberately, choosing people who want to work collaboratively and who enjoy what they do.”
The payoff is a close-knit team, free from the internal politics that plague many big legal players. “I forget sometimes how much politics and rancour there can be in other law firms. They’re rife with it,” Saunders says. “We have none of that here. As a new business, we spend our time thinking about our clients and building the practice, not on internal nonsense.” The result, she adds proudly, is a “terrific atmosphere” that continues to attract both talent and clients.
For trainees, that collaborative environment translates into a uniquely hands-on experience. The Dublin intake is small and closely mentored, while still connected to Dentons’ vast UK and international networks. “We’re very plugged into the UK early careers team,” Saunders explains. Irish trainees take part in many of the same training programmes and skills sessions as their counterparts in London and across the UK, creating what she calls “a lot of cross-pollination between Ireland and the UK”. That international exposure is balanced by day-to-day proximity to senior lawyers. “Every single day, trainees work with a partner,” she says. “They’re picking up know-how from some of the best people in the market.”
The office layout reinforces this accessibility. It’s fully open plan with no corner offices or closed doors. “We don’t have partners sitting in their gilded cages,” Saunders laughs. “Some laterals have to get used to that, but the trainees absolutely love it.” The result is a genuinely open, supportive environment where questions are encouraged, and learning happens organically. “Help is always at hand,” Saunders says. “It’s a great place to learn the ropes.”
As both managing partner and practising deal lawyer, Saunders juggles a demanding schedule. “That’s always a challenge,” she admits. But Dentons’ well-tuned support structure helps lighten the load. With dedicated operational and non-lawyer support teams, plus real-time data analytics, she can focus on leadership rather than admin. Even so, she’s never stepped away from client work, nor does she intend to. “I still like to do it. I keep more than my hand in,” she says. Roughly half her time remains devoted to transactions.
Staying hands-on matters to her, not just personally but professionally. Many clients, she explains, followed her to Dentons because of long-standing relationships she and her team had built. “People come for those individuals. They don’t just come for the brand,” she says. “There’s nothing more disrespectful to a client than promising to lead a deal and then disappearing.” Instead, Saunders stays close to matters, ensuring consistency and client trust while letting junior lawyers take on increasing responsibility. It’s a balancing act, but one that keeps her grounded in what she loves most about the job.
Cross-border collaboration is at the core of the Dublin team’s work. “We very often work with colleagues in other offices, and that includes trainees,” Saunders explains. “From early on, they’re part of multi-jurisdictional teams.” That global scope means trainees quickly develop strong project management and communication skills. “You have to be very crisp when you’re working across time zones,” she says. “Clarity becomes everything.”
And collaboration is a two-way street. Saunders recounts how US colleagues frequently take 6am calls to spare Dublin lawyers from late nights. “That spirit of flexibility is well understood across the firm,” she notes. This global network brings real advantages to clients too. Saunders recalls one investor client who needed specialised sanctions and trade advice for a venture in Kazakhstan. “Our lawyers on the ground there gave brilliant advice,” she says. “The client was amazed to have access to that kind of real, on-the-ground expertise.” In today’s turbulent geopolitical climate, that breadth of capability is increasingly valuable. “Complex issues like sanctions compliance play to our strengths as a global business,” Saunders says. “It’s where we can really differentiate ourselves from local competitors.”
As our conversation winds down, Saunders turns to advice for aspiring lawyers hoping to join Dentons Dublin. Her answer comes without hesitation: “Be yourself.” Preparation matters, of course. “Do your research, that always gives a good impression,” she says. But what truly stands out, in her view, is authenticity. “What really connects are the people who are themselves. So, fewer clichés,” she adds with a laugh.
Saunders is clear that there’s no script or perfect answer in interviews. “We never have an answer we’re looking for. We want to see how you think, what makes you tick, so let us see that.” Honesty, too, goes a long way. “There’s nothing more problematic in this job than someone pretending they know something they don’t,” she warns. Even with over two decades in practice, she often finds herself saying, “I don’t know. No one expects a trainee to know everything,” she continues. “The best lawyers are the ones who ask questions, who admit when they don’t know and then go and find out.” Her advice, ultimately, is simple: “come prepared, stay curious and show us who you are.”
Five years after that surreal lockdown launch, Dentons Dublin has evolved from a one-woman start-up to one of Ireland’s leading legal players. Saunders credits its success not just to strategy or brand, but to people — the ones she has carefully brought together and continues to champion. “I look around now,” she says, “and I see a team that’s cohesive, happy and ambitious. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
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