ALAN RYAN
Position: Partner & Head of Investments
Email: ar@corporatecounsel.ie
Mobile: +353 (0)86 8158754
Personal Experience:
Alan leads one of Ireland's most active and highly regarded corporate and investment practices. He advises clients at every stage of their journey - from inception through to exit - with particular depth across venture investment, private equity, commercial restructuring and general corporate matters.
Prior to joining Wallace Corporate Counsel LLP, Alan gained extensive transactional experience on the corporate teams at A&L Goodbody, ByrneWallaceShields and an in-house role in Diageo.
Areas of Expertise Include:
Startup Advisory — Establishment to Exit
Alan acts as trusted legal counsel to startups from day one, advising founders on structuring, governance, equity arrangements and fundraising strategy, through to growth-stage transactions and ultimately exit events, including trade sales, secondary transactions and IPO readiness.
Venture & Growth Capital – Company side
Alan specialises in advising high-potential growth companies at every stage of their lifecycle. His investment expertise spans pre-seed and seed raises through to Series A, Series B, Series C, private equity, secondary sales and exit transactions. Alan has advised on thousands of transactions involving SAFEs, Advance Subscription Agreements, Convertible Loan Notes, Crowdfunding, Venture Debt and the full suite of Enterprise Ireland programmes, including Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) and High Potential Start-Up (HPSU), as well as NDRC / Dogpatch Labs and all of the principal VC funds operating in Ireland.
Investor side mandates
His team advise VCs, private equity funds, family offices and syndicate groups on acquisitions, investments and portfolio management matters, bringing the same partner-led, commercially minded approach that defines WCC's broader investment practice.
Corporate Reorganisations
Alan and his team advise clients on complex group reorganisations and corporate restructurings, including the design and implementation of holding company structures, intra-group transfers and share-for-share exchanges. Alan also advises on succession planning for founder-led and family-owned businesses, working closely with clients' tax advisers to ensure that corporate structures and transactional steps are implemented in a manner that gives full effect to underlying tax advice and achieves the desired commercial and fiscal outcomes.
Commercial Contracts
Beyond purely transactional work, Alan and his team advise on the negotiation and drafting of commercial contracts across a wide range of sectors.
Why WCC's Investment Team
WCC's investment team is top-tier. The firm holds a Mergermarket #1 ranking in Ireland by deal count, a true reflection of the team's exceptional deal volume and sustained client satisfaction.
The team has scaled significantly - built on a foundation of sound legal advice, unrivalled partner-led service levels and a pragmatic approach to fee structuring. Unlike many principal competitors, WCC's flexibility to take a longer-term, lifecycle view with clients means that fee arrangements can be structured to genuinely reflect the client relationship and growth trajectory.
In a market where many of Ireland's established corporate law firms have been subsumed by larger global practices, WCC remains proudly independent. As a dedicated boutique corporate law firm, WCC is not constrained by the structures, conflicts or overhead of a global network. This independence allows the team to remain true to its founding values by delivering agile, partner-led counsel with an unwavering focus on client outcomes.
Client Testimonials:
Seamus Larrissey - CFO, ENGAGE XR
“We found the entire team at Wallace Corporate Counsel to be exceptional. Our main contact, Alan Ryan, has guided us through our early private funding rounds to playing a huge part in our IPO process. Without his support our funding process would have been extremely difficult.
Nothing has ever been too much bother and one of the best aspects of the service is the personable nature of the team and their ability to explain complex legal matters in plain English for a management team with limited legal experience.
Outside of the funding rounds the team have provided invaluable commercial guidance around contract negotiations.
I, and the whole board of ENGAGE XR, would recommend Wallace Corporate Counsel to anyone requiring corporate legal services.”
Sharon Cunningham - CEO, Shorla Oncology
“Alan Ryan and his team are exceptionally good at what they do. At all times, I felt informed and comfortable that the team would help us reach the best possible outcomes. There were curve balls during the process and WCC's responsiveness enabled us to reach conclusions in a timely manner. I cannot recommend this firm enough - their strategic mindset together with impeccable execution make them among the best in the industry.”
Bettina Hoffet - Senior Legal Counsel, TX Group AG
“If you need transactional lawyers who truly care about their clients, have a genuine interest in the VC space, and deliver results, look no further than the Investments Team at WCC.”
Gerry Hassett - Chairman, Dimply
“Wallace are the go-to providers of advice to startups seeking funding - they understand the startup / VC world, are highly responsive and offer pragmatic advice with a focus on getting to completion quickly.”
Shane Lynn - CEO, EdgeTier
“WCC helped with our Series A fundraising activity and were a massive asset to the company in communicating with all of the relevant parties, advising the founders on negotiations, helping with complex deal terms, and ensuring a smooth process throughout. I would highly recommend working with Alan, Graham, and team for a professional, straight-talking, and very effective legal counsel when you are undertaking fundraising activities.”
Paul Healy - CFO & COO, SISU Clinic
“Wallace Corporate Counsel are excellent to deal with, a great partner to scale with.”
John Mackey – CEO, Mbryonics
“We engaged Wallace on the back of a very positive recommendation. Alan Ryan and the team were just superb throughout the process and executed flawlessly and to a very aggressive schedule. I can't recommend Wallace highly enough for your commercial transaction needs.”