Fieldfisher is set to open in Dublin through a merger with Irish firm McDowell Purcell, continuing its international expansion and sealing its aim to launch in the city.

McDowell Purcell is a corporate-focused outfit, comprising 16 partners and 50 lawyers. It also specialises in regulatory, renewable energy, banking and finance, and data protection work.

 The merger is set to take place on May 1, and will bring the number of Fieldfisher offices to 25.

McDowell Purcell managing partner JP McDowell said the office will grow this year with hires in technology, finance and life sciences.

Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick said in a statement: "Ireland was the last piece in our international growth strategy and we are now in all the key commercial centres across Europe. Ireland is also one of the most successful economies in the EU. Its corporate tax rate is the second lowest in the EU which, together with a young workforce, good infrastructure and English-speaking population, makes it an excellent investment for us.

"And of course with Brexit on the horizon, it will also help us to continue to deliver services to our European clients. Our US clients, and tech companies in particular, regard Ireland as a business-friendly EU jurisdiction. A large percentage of our client base have Irish operations and have used Ireland as their EU HQ when expanding across the EU markets."

Chissick spoke of the firm's aim to launch in the city last year, describing it as: "the last piece of jigsaw – the missing piece post-Brexit".

In 2018, it opened a new legal solutions hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and bases in Frankfurt and Luxembourg.

The firm has also seen continued economic success. In November last year, it announced it had grown its half-year revenues by 26 percent on the previous year, jumping from £76.7 million ($98 million) in 2017/18 to £97 million ($124 million) for the first six months of the current financial year.