Joan Byrne elected president of Southern Law Association

The SLA, founded in the 1870s, is a voluntary association of solicitors practising in Cork city and county. Its objective is to represent and promote the interests and welfare of its solicitor members.

At a time when 52 per cent of solicitors in Ireland are female, Ms Byrne is only the fourth woman president in the Association’s history.

Ms Byrne, part of the commercial property team at O’Flynn Exhams, previously held the offices of SLA vice-president and honorary secretary, as well as chair of its conveyancing, probate and taxation committee.

She told Irish Legal News: “It is a great honour for me, and my firm O’Flynn Exhams, to be elected as President of the Southern Law Association.

“I am looking forward to the year ahead and to the opportunity to represent our members in Cork, working with my great team of SLA Council officers on our goals for the next twelve months.”