Barrister Profile

Main Areas of Practice

Extradition
Human Rights
Immigration

Biography

My career has been dedicated to criminal defence work. I have gained extensive experience in defending cases at magistrates’ and crown court level. I have a keen interest in Prison Law and have been involved in many successful Judicial Review challenges against the Prison Service on Human Rights grounds.

I have a particular interest in Court of Appeal cases which may involve miscarriages of justice. I have been involved in a number of cases referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission resulting in the convictions being
quashed.

Having a keen interest in Human Rights generally, I enjoy dealing with Extradition, Immigration Detention and Deportation cases.

I have experience in presenting cases before the Criminal Injury Appeals panel and the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland as well as acting for police officers in disciplinary proceedings.

More recently, I have gained experience in injunction cases involving breaches of privacy and confidentiality in the context of social media sites.

I undertook pupillage with an experienced barrister in the areas Chancery, Commercial and Information Rights.

I regularly speak at CPD events for the Northern Ireland Young Solicitors’ Association and the Law Society of Northern Ireland, most recently on the topics of the Police and Criminal Evidence (NI) Order (PACE) and Injunctions in the Context of Social Media.

Qualifications

2002; LLB Queens’ University Belfast

2006; Master of Laws in Human Rights and Criminal Justice, Queens’ University Belfast

2009; Admitted as a solicitor in Northern Ireland

2020; Called to the Bar of Northern Ireland

Professional Memberships:

Former Chair of the Northern Ireland Young Solicitors’ Association

Committee member of the Criminal Law Committee – Law Society of Northern Ireland until October 2020.

Committee member of the Belfast Solicitors’ Association until October 2020.

From 2018 to 2020 I was the Law Society of Northern Irelands’ representative on the working group set up to review the current Parole Rules in NI.

In 2018 I took part in the Gillen Review - Report into the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in Northern Ireland.

In 2019 I participated in the Victim Support Court Observers’ Project.

I was nominated to the Crown Court Rules Committee in 2019 until 2020.

In 2021 I became a Board of Governor at Glengormley High School.

Experience

Published Judgments:

R v Alan Greene [2010] NICA 47

R v Tonderai Chakwane [2013] NICA 24

ZY and Paul Higgins and Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service [2013] NIQB 8

Nicusor Belmont Blindu’s Application [2018] NIQB 21

Aiken (Kyle) Application for Judicial Review and Northern Ireland’s Prison Service [2020] NICA 44 (pending permission to the Supreme Court).

Publications

2019 - Bail Law and Practice in Northern Ireland (with Katie Quinn BL).