Barrister Profile

Main Areas of Practice

Commercial Law
Company Law
Insolvency
Land Law

Biography

Maria was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 2010. Maria has experience in Civil, Licensing, Employment and Family law.

Within the civil sphere Maria has particular experience in Commercial law, Public Procurement law and Land law.

Maria regularly appears in the County Court and the High Court in relation to finance disputes and claims for possession of assets and monetary judgments.

Maria also has experience in alternative dispute resolution and in particular Commercial Mediation.

Maria was appointed to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland’s Newly Qualified Panel in 2013.

Qualifications

First Class Honours in Law from Queen’s University Belfast in 2009

Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Legal Studies with credit from the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University Belfast in 2010

Experience

In 2010 Maria was involved in the Public Procurement action Traffic Signs and Equipment Limited v Department for Regional Development & another [2011] NIQB 25;[2011] NIJB 322. On behalf of the Plaintiff and as part of a three Counsel team Maria played a key role in researching the law and in written advocacy as the case involved extensive written submissions.

In January 2014 Maria made a successful application for a protective costs order on behalf of a Respondent to an appeal by the Commissioner of Valuation before the Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland in Commissioner of Valuation v Doherty VT/4/2012, 2014 WL 320359. The protective costs order sought and subsequently granted by Coghlin LJ sitting as the President of the Lands Tribunal, was for the Appellant to bear the Respondent’s costs, together with its own costs, in any event.

In March 2014 Maria went on to successfully defend the appeal in Commissioner of Valuation v Doherty VT/4/2012, 2014 WL 1219700, which concerned agricultural rate relief in the context of a retired rate payer who let a small holding of agricultural land in conacre. The key question for the Lands Tribunal was whether the primary occupation of the Respondent was carrying on agricultural operations so as to entitle her to rate relief under the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 (as amended). Coghlin LJ rejected the argument of the Appellant that the Respondent’s primary occupation was that of a housewife and held that after she retired the agricultural operations performed by the respondent constituted, in practical terms, her sole and, therefore, her primary occupation in accordance with the policy of the legislation.

Publications

In 2011 Maria co-authored two chapters of the Oxford University Press publication “Public Inquiries” by Jason Beer QC with Joseph Aiken BL.