Barrister Profile

Main Areas of Practice

Employment Law
Insolvency
Land Law
Personal Injury

Biography

Louise was called to the Bar in 2014 and will accept instructions from 6th March 2015.

During her pupillage Louise gained experience in civil litigation in both the County Court and High Court, covering a broad range cases including road traffic collisions, personal injury, employer’s liability, hearing loss claims and breach of contract and construction disputes.

Much of Louise’s pupillage was also focussed on employment law. She has a thorough grounding in the law on dismissal and discrimination and a sound knowledge of the practice and procedure adopted by the Industrial Tribunal in hearings, case management discussions (CMD) and pre hearing reviews.

Louise also spent time shadowing barristers specialising in chancery, judicial review, family law and criminal law, and is experienced in making applications in the Queen’s Bench Master’s Court.

Prior to her call to the bar, Louise was a PhD Candidate in Queen’s University Belfast, undertaking research in the area of landlord-tenant law with particular focus on the application of contractual principles to disputes between landlords and tenants. These studies are currently on hold, and Louise is keen to use her expertise in this area to develop a chancery practice.

Qualifications

2014; Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Studies, with Distinction; Queen’s University Belfast

• Awarded the JPB Maxwell Scholarship, for the top bar trainee
• Awarded the Eoin Higgins Memorial Prize, for highest overall mark in Institute Bar examinations
• Awarded the Tughans High Court prize, for highest overall mark in the Institute High Court Litigation exam

2010 – 2013; PhD Candidate, Landlord – Tenant Law; School of Law, Queen’s University, Belfast (Currently on hold.)

2009; LL.M in Human Rights Law, with Distinction; Queen’s University, Belfast

2007; LL.B Honours; Queen’s University, Belfast

Experience

Teaching

Louise has completed the Small Groups Teaching Course in Queen’s University, Belfast, and has undertaken the following teaching:

• Guest Lecturer, 2012, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast – developed course content and delivered a series of lectures on Landlord and Tenant Law as part of the Contemporary Issues in Property Law module.
• Teaching Assistant, 2010-2012, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast – led tutorials in Land Law and Contract Law modules, set and marked coursework and exams.
• Private Tutor, 2012 – Louise has also provided private tutoring in Land Law and Contract Law for the Queen’s University and Oxford University Land Law syllabi.

Conference Presentations

Louise has delivered a number of conference presentations on areas of law connected with her PhD research:

• Most notably, the opening presentation of the inaugural Modern Studies in Property Law Postgraduate Conference in the University of Southampton, 2012; ‘Increased Recourse to Contract in the Modern English Law of Landlord and Tenant’.
• ‘The Implication of Covenants in a Lease: a Contractual or Proprietary Interest?’ - International Graduate Legal Research Conference, Kings College, London, April 2011.
• ‘Historical Evolution of the Landlord Tenant Relationship from 1066 – 1500’, Queen’s University School of Law Postgraduate Research Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, June 2010.

Publications

‘The Right to life shall be secured to everyone by law’; the extent to which the European Court of Human Rights has developed the concept of positive obligations in relation to Article 2., 2 King’s Student L. Rev. 1 (2010) at 103.

Editorial Experience

Sub-editor, 2010-2012 SLS Bulletin of NI Law, Queens University, Belfast responsible for noting decisions of the Lands Tribunal and Valuations Tribunal.

Additional editorial experience in association with the European Journal of Law and Technology - assisting with structure, formatting and presentation in preparation for publication.