Lawyer of the Month

When former League of Ireland footballer Michael Sheehan was awarded €505,000 in damages at the High Court last month, it was an unusual case on many levels. Mr Sheehan claimed that he suffered injuries after he was pepper-sprayed and assaulted by members of An Garda Síochána. He

Darren Lalor is one of life’s enthusiasts — and that approach certainly extends to his work as a criminal barrister. “It’s a job that enables me to make a real difference to peoples’ lives, people who often have very little and who need committed lawyers to stand u

The Synthesis Report published three weeks ago by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came as no surprise to many — including Dublin lawyer Rose Wall — when it stressed that climate-related impacts are hitting the world much more quickly than previou

It’s not the conventional opening to an Irish Legal News interview. Aonghus Kelly is speaking via Zoom from Kyiv and has recently emerged from the air raid shelter beneath his building. “I’m sitting in my kitchen and just got out of the shelter a little while ago as we’ve had

As a colleague once observed to her, Sinéad Corcoran is rather more than just a lawyer. “I think by that he meant the skill set that I've brought to the organisation — and it’s what any good lawyer brings to their client,” she says. “You're much more than simply

In legal circles it’s a rare occurrence when a rising young lawyer moves from a corporate law firm that advises multinational companies, financial institutions and government to one which provides free legal advice to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This, though, was the de

This has been another eventful month for Gavin Booth. On Friday 7 October, a judge at the High Court in Belfast ruled that the PSNI was in breach of a legal duty to carry out an effective investigation into a fatal loyalist gun attack on a pub in Co Down 30 years ago, which involved allegations of c

When global law firm Taylor Wessing opened its first Irish office in Dublin just over a year ago, it had strategic growth plans to support international technology and life sciences sector organisations with its own specialist advice. Its base in a Georgian townhouse in the city’s Ely Place by

It emerged in March that nearly two-thirds of disabled people employed in the Irish legal sector have not disclosed their disability status at work. Many in the industry believe this concerning statistic emphasises the need for more awareness around the topic. The worrying finding came from a survey

From martial arts to theatre, Lyn Harris, who was promoted to partner at Herbert Smith Freehills in Belfast last month, clearly likes to keep busy. As well as her day job in the Alternative Legal Services (ALT) disputes practice, Ms Harris has run theatre companies in her spare time and is currently

A business leader first and foremost is how Sarah Irwin, head of legal and company secretary at Tines, a fast-growing Irish tech start-up, describes herself – rather than a traditional in-house lawyer. And Ms Irwin, who has packed a lot of variety into her career, is now bringing like-minded p

In pursuing a career as a lawyer, Diego Gallagher, now senior solicitor at the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in Dublin, was following in his father’s footsteps. His dad Brian Gallagher had his own law firm, Gallagher Shatter, with Alan Shatter – a former minister for justice – an

Barrister Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh of Matrix Chambers in London is no stranger to high-profile or controversial cases. And one of her most recent trials is no exception. Ms Ní Ghrálaigh was the sole woman barrister to defend one of the 'Colston Four', representing the only wom

Coming from a legal family, Stuart Gilhooly SC, partner with HJ Ward & Co in Dublin, says it was always at the back of his mind that he was likely to pursue a career in that profession. But that didn't stop him from considering other options, in particular journalism when he was a young person w

School was such a positive experience for Jenny Moore, employment lawyer with Danske Bank UK in Belfast, that she didn't want to leave an educational setting. Becoming a teacher was the career path she thought she would choose from a young age. But that was only after she decided to take an academic