Employment

Byrne Wallace Shields

LK Shields Solicitors LLP and Byrne Wallace merged at the beginning of 2025 to form Byrne Wallace Shields, which houses a deep bench of seasoned specialists in its employment law practice and is singled out as being a go-to for public authorities. In particular, the firm is known for its expertise in Protected Disclosures advice. Head of the firm’s public sector group Michelle Ní Longáin leads the practice and specialises in equality law. Having garnered over three decades of experience, core to Michael Kennedy's practice is wrongful dismissals and trade disputes, while Lorraine Smyth’s areas of specialty include restraint of trade and change management matters. Aoife Bradley has significant experience with unfair dismissal claims, disciplinary proceedings, and with disputes involving senior executives. Litigation lawyer Suzanne Keenan, who joined in June 2024, is well placed to advise on employment disputes. Other highlighted members of the team are Emmet Whelan and Loughlin Deegan. Ciara Ruane departed the firm in January 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Emmet Whelan is a very good employment lawyer that we have worked with for many years. He consistently provides good clear advice, is very available and turns work around quickly.’
‘Loughlin Deegan goes well beyond expectations. He is superb, very responsive and provides excellent advice. Most of all, he goes beyond the norm to provide excellent customer service.'
‘The teams in Byrne Wallace Shields are subject matter experts, creative and practical and work to find the best solution to fit your company and the issue at hand. They keep up to date with what is happening in employment law and anything that impacts on this. I deal with Elaine Kelly, Michael Kennedy, Michelle Ní Longáin, Loughlin Deegan and I highly recommend them.'
‘Elaine Kelly - I would like to especially call out Elaine Kelly. Elaine handles our employment litigation and also advises us on the non contentious side. Elaine adopts a partnership approach anticipating our needs and finding practical creative solutions to employment issues. She is super responsive, thinks around corners, and is an adept and tough litigator.'
‘Byrne Wallace Shields has provided employment law advice to our company for 30 years. Although this means we are not well placed to compare them with peers, we have found their support and guidance invaluable during that period on all aspects of employment law. They are regarded as a market-leading practice in this field.’
‘Michael Kennedy is confident, accurate and sure-footed as an adviser in this area.’
‘Byrne Wallace Shields is arguably the leading employment practice in Ireland. The practice is equally strong across advisory and contentious work - its litigators feature consistently in leading, ground-breaking cases and its advisory practice is superb at pro-actively supporting clients in analyzing and addressing the ever increasing range of employment related issues arising from new caselaw and legislation.'
‘Elaine Kelly is outstanding by even the highest standards. She is utterly dedicated to her clients and is relentless in her pursuit of the best possible outcome for them. She is a formidable opponent and will battle furiously for her client but always within the bounds of what is ethical and professionally correct and she is never afraid to tell a client what they need to know, tactfully and with empathy.’

Key clients

The Irish Civil Service
CRH plc
The Irish Times
The Law Society of Ireland
Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland
Local Government Management Agency
Smurfit Kappa
The Central Bank of Ireland
The Irish Prison Service
Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency
Bulgari Ireland Limited
Universal Music Ireland Limited
Hertz Europe Service Centre Limited
CFC Underwriting Limited
Alltech Inc.
All-Technology Ireland Limited
Alltech Beverage Division Ireland Limited
The Employee Representative Group of Indeed.com
Stepstone Group
Louis Vuitton Ireland Limited
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Via Global Ventures Limited
Poundland & Pepco

Work highlights

Represented the Supreme Court in the matter of Article 26 of the Constitution and Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022.
Advised the Department of Public Expenditure NPD Delivery and Reform on the Protected Disclosures Act Statutory Guidances for public bodies and prescribed persons.
Advised the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence on employment equality, maternity, harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying matters.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.