7 minute read
President’s year in brief
APRIL
On 21 April the President opened the new Carrickfergus & Larne Child Contact Centre. The new facilities will provide a modern, safe environment for families to meet during Children Order Proceedings. The President thanked Donna Thompson of James J Macaulay Solicitors for her ongoing work and support for the establishment of the new centre.
QUB Women in Law Networking Event
On 30 March the President spoke at the Women in Law networking event at Queen’s University at the invitation of Tamara Duncan and the QUB Women in Law Committee. She joined the Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan and Professor Joan Loughrey. The event provided an important platform to showcase the significant contribution of women to the legal profession in Northern Ireland.
MAY
IBA Mid-Year Leadership Meeting 2022
The President represented the Society at the IBA Mid-Year Leadership meeting which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania on 18 May - 21 May 2022. This was a meeting for IBA Officers and the senior leadership of representative legal bodies from across the world.
From left: IBA President, Sternford Moyo, Brigid Napier, President and Ignas Vegele, Lithuanian Bar Association Vilnius
JUNE
Four Jurisdictions Conference
On 21 June, the members of the Presidential team and the Chief Executive attended the Four Jurisdictions meeting hosted by the Law Society of Ireland at Blackhall Place in Dublin.
This biannual event is an opportunity to exchange ideas among the senior leadership teams of the Law Societies of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales.
The 50th European Presidents’ Conference
On 10 and 11 June 2022, the President attended the 50th European Presidents’ Conference in Vienna.
The theme of the conference was Laws of Power vs. The Rule of Law – How does the Rule of Law fit into the European security architecture?
The Presidents of European Bars discussed the current challenges to the Rule of Law, in particular the war in Ukraine, and expressed solidarity and support to the President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, Lidiya Izovitova.
During the conference the President signed a Declaration of European Lawyers in Support of the Rule of Law.
Seated from L to R: Ken Dalling (SVP Law Society of Scotland), Brigid Napier (President), Stephanie Boyce (President Law Society of England and Wales), Bernard Brady QC (Chair Bar Council of Northern Ireland), Mark Fenhalls, Chair of the Bar of England & Wales.
JULY
British Legal History Conference Dinner 2022
On 8 July the President attended the British Legal History Conference at QUB. The Conference dinner marked the penultimate day of what had been a fascinating conference organised by QUB in association with the Irish Legal History Society, and supported by The Law Society of Ireland, The Law Society of Northern Ireland, The Bar of Ireland and The Bar of Northern Ireland among others.
JULY
Lawyers participate in Belfast Pride Parade 2022
Solicitors from across Northern Ireland joined the Society’s President for the Annual Belfast Pride Parade which took place in July 2022. This was the first time that the Society has participated in the Parade which is a celebration of the LGBT+ community. Commenting the President said: “I was delighted that so many solicitors, their families and friends joined in supporting equality and diversity within the legal profession and our community. I would like to thank Lawyers in Pride for their support.”
AUGUST American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in Chicago
In August the President represented the Society at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association (ABA) which took place in Chicago from 3-9 August. The ABA Annual Meeting is the largest educational event of legal professionals. The meeting provided the opportunity to contribute to the debates while showcasing the solicitor profession in Northern Ireland.
From left to right - Brigid Napier, President, Michelle Ní Longáin, President of Law Society of Ireland,and Stephanie Boyce, President of Law Society of England and Wales. Source: Law Society of Ireland
OCTOBER
Law Society of Ireland Gala 2022
From left to right - Brigid Napier, Larysa Gerasko, The Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland, and Michelle Ní Longáin, the President of the Law Society of Ireland.
(Photograph courtesy of the Law Society of Ireland).
On 14 October the President attended the Law Society of Ireland’s Gala Dinner at the invitation of Michelle Ní Longáin, the President of the Law Society of Ireland.
OCTOBER
LawCare Celebrates 25th Anniversary
On 19 October the President joined the Lady Chief Justice and colleagues to mark the 25th Anniversary of the legal mental health and wellbeing charity, LawCare.
LawCare continues to provide an invaluable support service to the legal profession in Northern Ireland.
Thank you to Niamh Warnock and Elizabeth Rimmer for their invitation to join in the celebrations.
OCTOBER
From left to right - Brigid Napier, Michelle Ní Longáin, President of Law Society of Ireland,and Lubna Shuja, President of Law Society of
England and Wales. (Source: Law Society of Ireland)
At the end of October the President, Brigid Napier represented the Society at the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference in Miami alongside the Chief Executive, David A. Lavery CB and John Guerin the Society’s IBA representative.
The IBA Annual Conference is the leading international event for legal professionals worldwide.
Holywood actor RJ Mitte, star of the hit TV show ‘Breaking Bad’, was attending the conference and gave a very impressive talk on the challenges of disability in the workplace and encouraged members of the Bar associations to embrace those with disability.
From left to right - John Guerin, RJ Mitte, Brigid Napier and David A. Lavery CB.
NOVEMBER
10th Sports Law Conference 2022
Malone Golf Club was the venue for the Sports Law Conference which took place on Friday 18 November.
Now in its tenth year the conference has gone from strength to strength with more members of the legal, sporting, and academic professions attending the conference. Following a pause caused by the pandemic the conference was once again held in-person with over 150 attendees attending who an opportunity to hear from key note speakers including Lady Mary Peters and The Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE DL.
The conference was organised in conjunction with the NI Sports Forum, the recognised umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector of sport in Northern Ireland. Commenting the President said: “The Sport and Law Conference has become a firm fixture in the legal calendar providing a much-needed platform for sporting, medical and legal professionals to come together to discuss issues of importance and to work towards sharing best practice in sport and law. We were delighted to provide our support for the Sports Law Conference 2022”. Keith McGarry with Lady Mary Peters.
Speakers at the Sports Law Annual Conference.
NOVEMBER
Happy 100th Birthday James W Russell!
James Wilson Russell, solicitor, who was born on 18 November 1922 recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Known to many as Jay, he qualified as a solicitor in 1944 with a First Class Honours Degree, serving his apprenticeship with TG Mackintosh of Newtownards. He then established his own firm there (J W Russell & Co), adding partners until 1981 when he became the firm’s consultant.
He served as Coroner for North Down from the late 1960s until he took up the position of Assistant Director of the IPLS in 1978, becoming Director on the retirement of James Elliott. During his career, he was regularly instructed by colleagues as an expert witness where issues arose in conveyancing and probate cases. Peter O’Brien, Deputy Chief Executive of the Law Society, joins the President in presenting James with his special birthday cake.
