Law Society president Brigid Napier, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan, Claire Sugden MLA and Law Society CEO David A. Lavery CB

The publication was officially launched yesterday at a ceremony in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings Stormont, attended by over 120 members of the legal profession and senior members of the judiciary, including the Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan.

Hosted by former justice minister Claire Sugden MLA, the event welcomed past presidents of the Law Society, members of the Law Society Council, representatives from local associations and contributors to the book.

There was a particularly warm welcome for solicitor James W. Russell, who will be celebrating his own centenary in November, and 94-year-old James Doran, who is the Society’s oldest surviving past president.

Family members of Heather Semple, the Society’s former librarian and guiding editor for the publication, who passed away in March after 32 years’ service, were also present.

Brigid Napier, the centenary president of the Law Society, told attendees that the commemorative publication would record the work of the Society and the contribution of its members to the fabric of legal, civil and commercial life in Northern Ireland over the last 100 years.

As well as acknowledging the team effort involved in bringing the book to print, she said the book would be dedicated to Ms Semple in recognition of her significant contribution.

Firms of solicitors in Northern Ireland will receive a copy of the publication “over the coming weeks”, the Law Society said.