The conference came to Northern Ireland between 7-9 April for only the third time, featuring US lawyer Jerry Buting as a keynote speaker.

Mr Buting, currently one of the highest-profile criminal defence lawyers in the US, rose to prominence after the sensational release of Making a Murderer, a Netflix documentary following the prosecution and trial of Mr Buting’s former client Steven Avery.

Mr Buting spoke about legal aid cuts and cameras in the courtrooms in his interview with Irish Legal News assistant editor Connor Beaton, published in yesterday’s edition of ILN.

Speaking after the conference, he said: “I’m very pleased with how well the European Young Bar Association Spring conference was received in Belfast. It was my pleasure to speak to so many young, enthusiastic legal professionals from across Europe who are creating a bright future for the profession. I hope everyone got something out of the conference and I was genuinely delighted to be invited. I look forward to visiting Belfast again soon.”

Julie-Anne McCaffrey, NIYSA chair, said: “As Chair of the NIYSA I am exceptionally proud to have been able to bring an event of this magnitude to Belfast. With the help of our sponsors, Herbert Smith Freehills, Brightwater Recruitment, Cleaver Fulton Rankin, the Law Society of NI and the Bar of Northern Ireland, lawyers from all across Europe and further afield got to sample this wonderful event and explore some of what Belfast has to offer.

“It was our pleasure to have Jerry Buting on board as guest speaker and we are grateful to him for accepting our invitation.”

The conference opened with a panel discussion on inward investment, featuring Commercial Dispute Resolution editor Ben Rigby, Herbert Smith Freehills’ Belfast office dierctor Lisa McLaughlin, Invest NI’s Brian Dolaghan and BLM partner Peter Campbell.

The second session, involving LinkedIn expert Derek Reilly and Cleaver Fulton Rankin associate Aisling Byrne, tackled business networking and gender. Ms Byrne discussed legal issues surrounding social media and employment law.

The third session was opened by Ronan Lavery QC, who discussed his experience of working with the International Criminal Court (ICC), and then heard from Charlene Dempsey from HHD Solicitors on the contribution of Northern Ireland to European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) jurisprudence.

Mr Buting then made his keynote speech before a Q&A in which he discussed Making a Murderer and the US criminal justice system.

Responding to a delegate’s question, he said that the inclusion of criminal justice issues in the US presidential election debate could be an indicator of change or reform coming in the future.

The session was live-tweeted by @IrishLegalNews.