Two lawyers specialising in defence insurance litigation, Aidan Murray and Christopher Walls, have joined Carson McDowell alongside two support staff.

The move comes three years after the firm brought in a defence insurance team from McCloskey’s, which acts for London underwriters, blue chip insurance companies and local insurers.

Carson McDowell now has 47 lawyers in its litigation team, making it the largest in Northern Ireland, and employs 169 staff and 94 lawyers in total.

Michael Johnston, managing partner at Carson McDowell, said: “Francis J Irvine is a firm with a long-established pedigree in defence insurance litigation, acting on behalf of several large insurance companies with a significant local presence.

“Carson McDowell had been keen to expand our defence insurance services for some time and we are delighted to have two very experienced and highly regarded practitioners in Aidan and Chris joining us. They have a level of expertise that is unrivalled in our jurisdiction and which I have no doubt will further enhance our presence in the local insurance market.”

He added: “The firm has been on a positive growth trajectory for the past number of years and this latest expansion will once again increase the depth and breadth of the services we are able to offer to our clients.”

Mr Walls added: “Aidan and I are delighted to be joining a very strong litigation team and a firm with significant resources to invest in the business. Francis J Irvine has developed specialist expertise in defence insurance litigation over a number of years. We believe we will grow further as part of Carson McDowell and make a substantial contribution to the firm which will also benefit our clients.”

Frances J Irvine Solicitors, based on the Dublin Road in Belfast, has assisted clients on a full range of legal matters for more than 40 years.