Carson McDowell

Cathal graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast with a degree in Law (LLB honours) in 2002 and a masters degree in Law (LLM) in 2004. He completed the Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School in 2008 and subsequently commenced employment with a specialist personal injury firm in England. Upon qualification as a solicitor, Cathal joined Weightmans LLP in their defence insurance litigation department. He returned to Belfast in 2014 and practiced in the litigation team of another leading Belfast firm before joining Carson McDowell in September 2017 and continues to work in the area of defence insurance litigation. Cathal specialises in the defence of employer’s liability and public liability claims in the High Court and County Court, with an expertise in all industrial disease claims, defending fraudulent claims and recovery actions. Cathal has been admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

Cathal O'Neill

Catherine Carton

Partner

Damian McElholm

Damian joined the Banking & Finance department in January 2022 from an international law firm operating in the local market where he led its recently established banking offering in Northern Ireland. Damian has developed considerable experience across a number of prominent sectors such as renewable energy, social housing and real estate from a banking and finance perspective. He regularly acts for a variety of key stakeholders in large value and complex real estate finance, leveraged finance, project finance and general corporate lending matters. He also has significant experience in debt restructuring, security enforcement strategies and loan sale transactions.

Darren Toombs

Partner within the commercial litigation team. Darren heads up the firm's insolvency, restructuring and debt recovery department, acting for a range of commercial clients ranging from banks and financial institutions, insolvency practitioners and commercial businesses. He also acts to enforce security and assists with asset recovery on regulated and unregulated agreements.

Dawn McKnight

Dawn is a partner in the corporate and commercial team at Carson McDowell. She has extensive experience in advising on a wide range of company law and commercial law issues for clients operating in a variety of sectors, including mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and buy-ins, private equity transactions, company reorganisations and spin-out projects. Dawn has particular expertise in the fields of both partnership law and non-contentious intellectual property. As a result she works extensively for clients in the Technology Sector, advising regularly in connection with spinouts, new business ventures, technology licences and collaborative development projects. Dawn heads the firms Commercial Contracts Team. Her extensive experience in commercial work helps her deliver effective contractual arrangements for her clients. She is adept at focusing in on the commercial needs of clients so as to deliver a bespoke, cost effective and insightful service which is not only addresses immediate needs, but also anticipates issues and areas that will need to be addressed going forward.

Dawson McConkey

Dawson is a partner at Carson McDowell and advises clients on a full range of property matters, including acquisitions and disposals, development work, landlord and tenant matters and investment work. He has a specialist interest in the property aspects of energy and renewable projects and has been personally involved in the majority of wind energy developments in Northern Ireland to date. Dawson also represents a number of clients in the food and agriculture sector.

Declan Magee

Declan is a partner and jointly heads the dispute resolution team. The team has enjoyed continuous growth during his tenure and is widely recognised within the legal sphere as being at the forefront of the niche practice areas it covers. Declan specialises in commercial disputes including procurement disputes, judicial review, intellectual property, professional negligence defence work, fraud, regulatory matters and defamation. He has a strong client base both in the public and private sectors. Declan is regularly involved in high value, high profile matters. His breadth of expertise extends to matters at an appellate level before the Northern Irish Court of Appeal to a successful challenge before the House of Lords which has set a new test on judicial review discovery obligations. He has successfully represented a private company in a challenge to the awarding of a significant public sector contract which also set a leading authority on the issue of award criteria for contract procurement. Defending a challenge to a release decision of the Parole Commissioner for Northern Ireland will see Declan again before the Supreme Court, as will the defence of a challenge to a public sector pension provider. Declan’s ability to provide prompt advice, to present solutions and to relate complex legal issues into real terms readily understood by clients greatly enhances and secures his footing as one of Northern Ireland’s forefront litigators.

Emma Cooper

Partner commercial property. Advises in respect of the acquisition, disposal and leasing of commercial property within Northern Ireland and England and Wales, with a particular specialism within the energy sector and advising energy companies in respect of the acquisition and disposal of property interests and property aspects of energy projects. Recent cases/clients: advising various companies including ESB, SSE, Infinis, TCI Renewables respectively in respect of the acquisition of various energy interests within Northern Ireland and advising generally in respect of the property aspects of energy projects; advising Bord Gais and Storenergy in respect of the property aspects of the development of an underground gas facility, acting on behalf of several developers in respect of the leasing, acquisition and disposal of property interests in Northern Ireland and England and Wales, including interests within the leisure sector and various shopping centres.

Faye Phillips

Faye is a Senior Associate in the Planning and Environmental team at Carson McDowell.

Fergal McGoldrick

Fergal is a Partner in the Media, Communications & Reputation, and Litigation & Dispute Resolution teams, specialising in media and communications, commercial litigation, and public and administrative law. He regularly acts for leading national, regional, and local news publishers and websites in the defence of libel claims, private and confidential information claims, personal data claims, and pre-publication injunction applications. He also assists publishers with Anonymity and Reporting Restriction challenges, contempt matters, and individual journalists facing a variety of criminal and civil proceedings. In addition he acts for a significant number of US headquartered social media platforms on legal issues in Northern Ireland. Apart from his media litigation defence work, Fergal acts for various corporates, SMEs, prominent/public figures and professionals in maintaining, defending and vindicating their reputations. Outside media and communications he maintains a significant public law practice, acting for, amongst others, a large non-departmental public body charged with producing numerous sensitive decisions annually. He has also assisted in the preparation of various CEOs, senior civil servants, academics, and lawyers for appearances before statutory hearings and inquiries. In addition to his litigation experience, he regularly delivers guest lectures on media and communications law to students on the MA in Journalism at Ulster University, was consulted on the Northern Ireland chapter of McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists, (26th Ed., July 2022), provides commentary to the media on media law matters, and was invited to address the Society of Editors Annual Conference in 2020. Fergal graduated with a (LLB honours) degree in Law and Marketing where he was awarded the Sweet and Maxwell University Law Prize, before completing an LLM in International Human Rights Law and a masters degree in Business Studies. He subsequently qualified as a Solicitor from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (Queen’s University) with commendation, and was awarded the Mills Selig Prize on qualification.

Francesca Lowry

Francesca is a partner in the litigation department at Carson McDowell LLP and works within the healthcare litigation team. Francesca has extensive experience defending dentists, doctors and pharmacists in relation to clinical negligence claims and at Inquests. Francesca’s clients include the Medical Protection Society, Dental Protection, the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland and the National Pharmaceutical Association. Francesca also has significant experience in acting on behalf of local hospital Trusts and the NHSLA.

Gary McGhee

Partner with specialist areas of practice in planning and environmental law. Types of work undertaken include: the co-ordination of major planning applications for commercial clients; representation of clients at planning and enforcement appeals; instigation/defence of judicial reviews of planning decisions. Mr McGhee is currently involved in a series of judicial reviews on behalf of commercial clients, challenging and defending decisions of the Department of the Environment. His clients include Tesco Stores plc, the Port of Belfast, Belfast International Airport, Northern Ireland Electricity and House of Fraser.

Gavin Kerr

Gavin is a senior associate in Carson McDowell's Construction and Engineering team. He is involved in all aspects of non-contentious contract drafting and negotiating, as well as contentious construction disputes involving adjudications, arbitrations and litigation in the High Court.

Gerard Armstrong

Gerard is a member of Carson McDowell’s corporate and projects teams. A partner in the firm’s corporate finance department, Gerard has experience of acting for some of Northern Ireland’s most commercially sophisticated companies in relation to corporate sales and acquisitions, as well as advising on a wide range of commercial arrangements and ventures. As an integral member of the projects unit, Gerard has extensive experience of advising clients in relation to a number of schemes and projects, including PPP, PFI, DBFO and DBFOM projects and refinancing projects, having advised funders, public bodies and the private sector in relation to a number of projects which have successfully been negotiated through to financial close and beyond. In addition, Gerard has advised a number of clients in relation to non-PFI projects including windfarm projects and energy from waste developments.

Grant McBurney

Partner. Grant advises on planning and environmental matters with an emphasis on waste and contaminated land matters, renewable energy projects as well as providing planning and environmental due diligence support to the corporate team within the form. He also provides planning law advice to one of the new local planning authorities in Northern Ireland. Recent highlights have included a successful appeal of a noise abatement notice served upon a client and assistance in the acquisition of planning permission for Dunluce Visitor Centre on appeal. Types of work undertaken include: the co-ordination of major planning applications for commercial clients; representation of clients at planning and enforcement appeals; instigation/defence of judical reviews of planning decisions.

Hilary Griffith

Hilary’s main areas of practice are in corporate, corporate finance and equity investment with particular experience in the manufacturing and technology sectors. She has advised a range of leading local SME’s, national and international businesses, private equity funds, international investors and public sector organisations on a full range of corporate finance matters. Hilary has also worked as an external course adviser at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in Belfast in the area of advanced company law. She is a member of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, the Institute of Directors, Women in Business and has been a council member of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. Hilary is very involved in the start-up community and advises a range of companies at all stages of the growth cycle. She has been closely involved with the work at Catalyst Inc. and sat on the judging panel for the Invent awards for the last 2 years.

Hugh McGrattan

Partner

Jacqueline McAleese

Jacqueline is a partner in the litigation department at Carson McDowell LLP and works within both the healthcare and commercial litigation teams. Jacqueline has extensive experience of defending doctors in relation to clinical negligence claims, of mixed but primarily high value on behalf of Medical Defence Organisations and Insurers, including Medical Protection Society, the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland and Lloyd’s Underwriters. Jacqueline’s breadth of experience also includes defending other (non-clinical) professionals in relation to High Court negligence claims to include surveyors and architects on the instructions of their professional indemnity insurers; defending personal injury/industrial disease claims on behalf of various insurers, loss adjusters/self-insured companies and defending claims arising from general accidents (including catastrophic injury/fatal accidents). Jacqueline also has experience of conducting judicial review proceedings associated with various healthcare matters and of assisting/advising doctors/corporate bodies in relation to public inquiries/inquests. In addition, Jacqueline has very significant experience in defending companies in relation to health and safety investigations/criminal prosecutions following serious work-related accidents and deaths, which has involved assisting with site investigations, representation at formal interviews with the police/the health and safety executive Northern Ireland (HSENI), and advice and representation in relation to HSENI prosecution proceedings. Jacqueline regularly provides bespoke seminars in relation to healthcare law and health and safety law.

John Dugdale

John Dugdale is a Partner in Carson McDowell specialising in construction and property disputes. As regards construction, John advises on the entire project delivery process from end to end. He is familiar with the drafting and negotiation of all of the standard forms of contract used in Northern Ireland and elsewhere including the JCT, NEC and FIDIC forms. He has extensive experience of working with contractors, subcontractors, consultants, clients, funders and insurers in a wide variety of market sectors. John's dispute resolution expertise includes mediation and negotiation, adjudication, arbitration and litigation. His recent experience has included insurance coverage disputes, negligence claims and bond claims in addition to general construction claims. John also has extensive experience in property litigation, having worked for a number of high profile clients on a variety of contentious real estate issues, including security of tenure, lease termination and dilapidations. He also frequently advises clients on issues such as nuisance, breach of quiet enjoyment and derogation from grant arising out of active and proposed property developments.

Kerry Teahan

Kerry is Partner and Head of the firm’s Procurement and Competition teams. In terms of procurement, Kerry specialises in all aspects of the procurement and contracting process, from structuring and pre-procurement market engagement, through to conduct of the tender process, supporting evaluation and contract negotiations. Kerry is trusted to advise on some of the most complex and challenging projects in procurement, both within Northern Ireland and beyond, and has extensive experience in working with NDPBs, local authorities, universities, transport bodies, utilities and private contractors in a wide variety of market sectors. Kerry has particular expertise in advising on the procurement and supply of technology solutions, and at an early stage of her career undertook a secondment to the in-house legal department of a major CRM supplier. Kerry also has extensive experience in competition law, having worked for a number of high profile clients on a variety of competition issues, including anti-competitive arrangements, abuse of dominance, joint selling and promotional arrangements. She also frequently advises clients on competition compliance programmes, including advice in relation to dawn raids.

Laura Cunningham

Laura is a Partner in the Commercial team at Carson McDowell. She is qualified to practice in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and England and Wales. Laura specialises in all aspects of information law including: privacy, confidentiality, data protection, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and freedom of information (FOIA). Laura graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast in 2008 with a First Class Honours degree in Common and Civil Law with French. She subsequently graduated from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies with Distinction in 2009 and qualified as a Solicitor in 2010. Laura obtained a Masters degree in Human Rights Law in 2014. Prior to joining Carson McDowell, Laura worked for another leading Belfast firm for over a decade specialising in defamation, privacy and data protection. She has acted in a number of high profile libel and privacy actions before the High Court in Belfast, Dublin and London.

Leigh Linton

Partner and specialises in defending professionals in regulatory proceedings brought by the General Medical Council, General Dental Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, as well as a range of disciplinary proceedings. Clients include the Medical Protection Society, Dental Protection and the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland.

Mary-Kim Doherty

Partner in Carson McDowell’s real estate team. Mary-Kim has experience in all areas of real estate law including, site assembly and disposal, landlord and tenant law, land law disputes, rates appeals, refinance and compulsory acquisition. Mary-Kim acts for many retailers, landlords, developers and both advised public and quasi-public bodies. Mary-Kim’s retail tenant clients include B&M, JD Sports, Molton Brown, Trespass, Pandora, Fat Face, the Body Shop, Regatta and The Original Factory Shop. Her landlord clients include the owners of Faustina Retail Park, Londonderry and Park Centre, Belfast. Mary-Kim also acted in the sale of Clandeboye Retail Park, Bangor, on behalf of her client Threadneedle. Mary-Kim has experience in acting for a number of high-profile waste clients within the jurisdiction including River Ridge Recycling and Irish Waste. Mary-Kim has extensive experience in student accommodation schemes having been involved in the disposal of a number of schemes throughout Belfast on behalf of her client McAleer and Rushe. In addition, she has advised Investec plc with respect to the financing of a number of other student accommodation schemes financed by third-party developers. Mary-Kim acts for a number of food manufacturers, including Finnebrogue Foods, in the acquisition and development of production facilities and acting on behalf of Greggs plc in respect of their Northern Irish stores.

Neasa Quigley

Neasa is Senior Partner at Carson McDowell. She specialises in mergers and acquisitions and also has considerable experience in management buy-outs and buy-ins, private equity transactions, company reorganisations and corporate governance matters. She works across a range of sectors with particular experience in technology and renewable energy fields. Neasa also heads up the firm’s energy and renewables team.

Neil Bleakley

Partner in private client department, specialising in administration of estates, wills, trusts, estate planning and mental capacity-related issues.

Niall Hargan

Nial is a partner in the real estate team advising on the acquisition and disposal of commercial property and on the law of landlord and tenant. Specialises in offering advices in relation to licensed premises as part of the Licensing sub-team and on the application of the Telecommunications Code to land.

Olivia Carroll

A Senior Associate at Carson McDowell LLP, Olivia defends professionals in a range of regulatory matters brought by the General Medical Council, General Dental Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. Olivia also advises in disciplinary matters. Olivia advises in health and safety matters, including providing compliance advice, providing corporate support on due diligence projects and acting on behalf of companies in relation to investigations and prosecutions for breaches of health and safety legislation.

Orlagh O'Neill

Orlagh is a partner and head of the employment team. She has extensive experience in both the contentious and non-contentious fields and advises a broad spectrum of employers in the private and public sectors. Orlagh has a particular interest in advising employers in relation to sensitive discrimination cases and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases on behalf of her employer clients. The education field is also of particular interest to Orlagh and she advises institutions across the first, second and third level education sectors.

Peter Guzhar

Peter is a partner in the commercial litigation team at Carson McDowell and heads up the firm's contentious IP practice. Peter has extensive experience of advising and acting in company, shareholder and partnership disputes to include minority shareholder petitions, breach of directors’ duties actions and partnership dissolution actions. Peter’s breadth of experience also includes defending and prosecuting intellectual property actions in the High Court in Northern Ireland to include a number of high value and complex patent infringement cases for clients in the technology and manufacturing sectors; advising and acting in copyright and trademark infringement matters, and further misappropriation and misuse of confidential information actions which have necessitated applications for injunctive relief to include mandatory injunctions and search and seizure orders. Peter also has experience of advising in complex contractual disputes relating to supply and manufacturing defect issues and has defended a number of Commercial Agency Regulations claims brought by agents. In addition, Peter has successfully prosecuted a judicial review action on behalf of interested parties against a Health Trust in respect of the failure to properly consult on the proposed closure of a hospital facility.

Rachael McAdorey

Rachael is a senior associate at Carson McDowell LLP. She specialises in healthcare, assisting Doctors and Dentists in regulatory proceedings brought by the General Medical Council and General Dental Council. In addition, defends Doctors in relation to disciplinary proceedings and complaints. Clients include the Medical Protection Society, Dental Protection and the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland.

Rachel Penny

Rachel is a partner in the highly regarded employment team at Carson McDowell. Although she practices a broad range of non-contentious and contentious employment law, Rachel’s particular expertise is in providing clients with advice on strategic and advisory employment law matters, including sensitive investigations, executive appointment and termination, outsourcing transactions (particularly those involving the public sector), large scale ‘change management’ and redundancy programmes. Rachel is also known for her work on transactional employment matters, particularly acquisitions involving TUPE and trade union issues.

Richard Gray

Richard is a partner and heads Carson McDowell’s corporate team. His main areas of practice are in corporate and finance work. He has more than 20 years experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance work. He has advised on numerous high value transactions in recent years both in Northern Ireland and Britain and has been recognised as a leading figure in corporate law in Northern Ireland.

Roger McMillan

Managing partner of Carson McDowell and head of the healthcare team. Considerable experience dealing with mixed but primarily high-value clinical and dental negligence cases on behalf of Medical Protection Society (MPS), Dental Protection Limited (DPL), Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS), Association of Optometrists (AOP) and Lloyd’s Underwriters. Claims included failure to refer, failures to diagnose, delays in diagnosis, failures to treat, medication errors and intra-operative complications. Extensive experience in representing the interests of healthcare professionals at inquests, statutory inquiries, disciplinary hearings, matters before the Ombudsman and PSNI investigations. Many cases successfully defended and significantly reduced settlements negotiated on behalf of clients. Presentations given on all aspects of healthcare law. Considerable previous experience acting on behalf of many hospital trusts and the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA).

Sarah Cochrane

Sarah is a partner in the employment team advising clients on contentious and non-contentious aspects of employment law. She advises clients in a wide variety of industries across both the public and private sectors throughout the UK. Sarah regularly defends claims in the industrial and fair employment tribunal and advises clients on matters such as TUPE, restructuring, bullying and harassment, grievances and redundancy. Sarah also assists Carson McDowell’s corporate team in relation to the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

Sarah Dunlop

Sarah is a Senior Associate at Carson McDowell and specialises exclusively in the Planning and Environmental Law team.

Sinead McGrath

As a partner at Carson McDowell, Sinead heads the banking and finance team. She acts for a wide variety banks, financial institutions and borrowers in relation to general acquisition finance, real estate finance, general corporate lending, project finance and restructuring. Key clients include Barclays Bank, Ulster Bank and Danske Bank.

Stuart Murphy

Stuart heads up Carson McDowell’s construction practice and works on a dedicated basis on construction and engineering matters. Stuart has experience of drafting and negotiating construction contracts, warranties and other documents necessary for the building process and of vetting and carrying out tender analyses. He has advised clients during the progress of construction works, to resolve issues as they arise and try to avoid disputes escalating. Where disputes are unavoidable, Stuart has a wide range of experience in the variety of different dispute resolution processes, including litigation, arbitration, adjudication and the increasingly frequently used alternative dispute resolution techniques such as mediation, expert determination etc. Stuart also lectures regularly on legal topics of interest to the construction and engineering industry. Stuart’s major clients include the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, several of Northern Ireland’s Housing Associations and the Construction Employer’s Federation of Northern Ireland and their members.

Stuart Nelson

Stuart is a partner at Carson McDowell LLP. Stuart advises corporate, individual and institutional developers and investors on all property aspects of commercial property transactions and has considerable experience in acting on renewable developments in Northern Ireland. Regularly acts on the negotiation of initial land documentation and the acquisition, disposal and ongoing management of large real estate portfolios involving both commercial and residential properties. Stuart works closely with partners Dawson McConkey and Emma Cooper.

Timothy Cockram

Timothy is a partner with Carson McDowell LLP. He works closely with Hugh McGratton advising solicitors, surveyors, architects, accountants and other professionals in the defence of claims issued against them in both the High Court and County Court.

Orlagh O'Neill

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