The firm’s new senior associates are Catherine Jane O’Rourke, Deirdre O’Sullivan, Una Lyons and Anita Puri, while Jennifer Havard has been appointed as an associate.

Commenting, Hayes solicitors’ managing partner Joe O’Malley said: “On behalf of the partners at Hayes, I am delighted to announce this year’s promotions across the firm.

“All of these appointments are very well-earned, with the candidates deserving enormous credit for their hard work and excellence for our clients. These appointments will help us continue to deliver an excellent service to our clients.”

Ms O’Rourke advises both employers and employees in relation to contentious and non-contentious employment matters, including contracts of employment, workplace policies, workplace investigations, statutory compliance, redundancies and dismissals.

Ms O’Sullivan acts on behalf of public hospitals and private medical and dental practitioners in the defence of clinical negligence claims. She has experience and expertise in medical negligence, defective product liability and personal injuries actions.

Ms Lyons practices in the defence of medical negligence claims on behalf of public and private healthcare providers. She has over 10 years’ experience working in the area of insurance defence litigation, providing strategic legal advice to state bodies, large insurers and private clients.

Ms Puri’s practice covers a range of disciplines, with a particular focus on defending professionals involved in regulatory and disciplinary proceedings. Prior to joining Hayes solicitors, she worked in London, where she specialised in healthcare law.

She has significant experience in defending healthcare professionals in the full spectrum of healthcare litigation including regulatory proceedings, hospital disciplinary investigations, inquests, criminal litigation and clinical negligence claims.

Finally, Ms Havard primarily advises clinical practitioners, hospitals and indemnity bodies on the defence of clinical negligence claims and has experience acting for indemnity bodies in respect of the defence of high value professional negligence claims.