New York State Bar Association signs historic accord with Bar of Ireland

A new memorandum of understanding between the New York State Bar Association and the Bar of Ireland was signed in Manhattan this week, formalizing ties between the two legal communities and strengthening cooperation between Ireland and the United States in international law and business.

The memorandum was signed at the American Irish Historical Society by Taa Grays, President of the New York State Bar Association, and Seán Guerin SC, Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland.

"This MOU is an opportunity to collaborate, to partner, to advance our respective missions and to learn from each other," Grays said. "To work together and to bring harmony in the world."

For Guerin, the signing represented one of the most significant moments not only of the week's program, but of his two-year tenure as chair.

"Signing a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Bar Association is a real highlight," he said. "When we consider the shared legal history and legal culture, what's most important is not the ability to recognize procedural steps that look very similar in the other country as they do at home, or even a shared common-law background. It's a shared fundamental commitment to the rule of law which underlies all of that."

Guerin also placed the agreement within the long history of Irish influence on New York's legal life. Earlier that day, during a tour of the New York State Supreme Court, the delegation had passed the bust of Thomas Addis Emmet, the United Irishman who later served as New York State Attorney General and appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark case concerning the Commerce Clause.

There could hardly have been a more fitting venue in which to formalize those ties than the Fifth Avenue headquarters of the American Irish Historical Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Irish experience in America and recognizing the achievements of Irish people and their descendants in the United States.

The agreement was signed during Ireland for Law's 2026 business mission to New York, a three-day program that brought Irish legal professionals, government representatives and members of the judiciary to Manhattan to promote Ireland as an international center for legal services and a gateway to the European market. The mission featured eight events across Manhattan from September 8 to 10.

The delegation was led by Attorney General of Ireland Rossa Fanning SC and included Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Catherine Ardagh TD; President of the High Court Mr Justice David Barniville; and Chair of Ireland for Law and former Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Its final event, Common Law, Common Ground: Irish Law as the Gateway to Europe, was held at the American Irish Historical Society in partnership with the New York State Bar Association and the Consulate General of Ireland in New York.

Following the signing, two panel discussions explored the relationship between the Irish and American legal systems and Ireland's potential as a gateway to the European market.

The first, chaired by Guerin, brought together Paul McGarry SC of The Bar of Ireland; Joe O'Malley of Hayes Solicitors; Howard A. Fischer of Moses Singer; Helen Naves of the New York State Bar Association; and Edward K. Lenci of Hinshaw & Culbertson. The discussion examined Ireland's courts, choice-of-law provisions, and the country's growing potential as a center for international arbitration and dispute resolution.

The second panel was chaired by Gerard Angley, Consul General of Ireland in New York, and featured Fanning, Ardagh, and Kenny, who reflected on the achievements of the New York mission and the next steps in promoting Irish law and legal services internationally.

Ireland and the United States share legal traditions shaped by their histories under British colonial rule, both grounded in English common law. That shared foundation gives Ireland a distinctive position: an English-speaking common-law jurisdiction within the European Union, offering American businesses the familiarity of a common-law system alongside access to the EU market.

"American companies do business in Europe. That's not going to change," Fanning told the audience. "And when they do business in Europe, because they are global businesses, tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, financial services companies, they're going to have to make strategic decisions as to where they locate themselves."

Fischer said Ireland provided an attractive option for transactions involving both American and European parties. "It's a great choice post-Brexit for a transaction with an EU connection, whether that's GDPR or EU regulations," he said. "This is a gateway to EU law done in a common-law style."

The discussion also turned to the practical advantages Ireland is seeking to offer, including the efficiency and sophistication of its courts.

"At the end of the day, that's what we're here to do: to provide services to clients," McGarry said, arguing that conversations between lawyers about competing jurisdictions can sometimes overlook the interests of the businesses they serve.

O'Malley, managing partner and head of commercial litigation and dispute resolution at Hayes Solicitors, said international clients were frequently impressed after experiencing the Irish court system firsthand. "When they get to experience the Irish court system, the efficiencies of it, the dependability that they will get very fair and sophisticated judgments and final decisions, they're really, really impressed by what they experience," he said, adding that awareness of Ireland's legal remedies was growing among American judges, law firms, and international businesses.

The discussion took place against a backdrop of growing efforts by Ireland's legal sector to expand its international profile. Ireland for Law was established by the Irish Government in 2019 to promote Irish law and legal services internationally, particularly in commercial sectors where Ireland already has a significant presence.

For Kenny, the broader objective is to translate interest in Ireland's legal offering into tangible commercial decisions. "All I want to see is to bring that bubbling enthusiasm to a point where decisions are made, where investment happens, and that the word spreads: Ireland is the place to be," he said in his closing remarks.

The memorandum signed in New York offers a concrete expression of that ambition, one Guerin summed up simply: a relationship founded not on similar procedures alone, but on "a shared fundamental commitment to the rule of law."