New committee elected by Northern Ireland in-house lawyers

Seven lawyers have been elected to the committee of the In-House Lawyers’ Group Northern Ireland (IHLGNI) for 2022/23 following its AGM yesterday.

The new committee is made up of Ciarán Fegan of Graham Group; Sean Grego of Citibank; Anne MacRandal of Autism Initiatives Group; Julie-Ann McCaffrey of Greentown Environmental; Emma O’Donnell and Holly Lyons, both of BT; and Ciara Marley of Coca-Cola. Committee positions will be determined in due course.

Niall McPeake, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, and Kathryn Walls of Allen & Overy have stepped down from the committee and were thanked by IHLGNI for their commitment.

Mr McPeake, the outgoing chair, thanked local law firms for their support, including Pinsent Masons, A&L Goodbody, Eversheds Sutherland, TLT Solicitors and Gateley Solicitors, as well as Abacus Recruitment.

He added: “I have enjoyed five incredible years with the IHLGNI committee, and I was very grateful to serve my last year as chair.

“I’d like to thank the outgoing committee for all their hard work over the past year. We saw great engagement and strong membership growth this year, which I believe reflects the committee’s dedication to promoting the interests of in-house lawyers in Northern Ireland.

“I wish the newly appointed 2022/23 committee all the success for the term ahead.”

The AGM — the IHLGNI’s first in-person event since the outset of the pandemic — was followed by a CPD session hosted by A&L Goodbody focusing on commercial contracts, data protection and ESG, delivered by Mark Stockdale, Aisling Byrne, Ciaran McCorry, Keith Dunn and Niamh Collins.

Following the presentations, members enjoyed food and drinks kindly provided by A&L Goodbody,

Ms Byrne, an employment partner at A&L Goodbody, said: “The IHLGNI is a fantastic network for in-house lawyers in Northern Ireland. A&L Goodbody are always happy to lend support and share knowledge with our IHLGNI colleagues and we look forward to planning ahead for another legal update in 2023.”