We have created two new positions in our Belfast team, expanding the intellectual property, media law and commercial dispute resolution elements of our practice.
The latest hires mean that the firm now employs a total of 60
lawyers, paralegals and support staff in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast dispute resolution team works with a wide range of
commercial clients, helping to manage the risk areas of their
business and implement effective solutions to resolve disputes
quickly.
The growing team is led by partner Mathew Forde who says that the
latest expansion comes from growing demand for the provision of
high-quality services in Northern Ireland.
“Lewis Silkin’s Belfast operation is home grown,
and that means providing local knowledge and specialisms to
businesses and individuals in Northern Ireland, while benefiting
from Lewis Silkin’s much broader GB and Ireland-wide
networks, experience and depth of know-how. The majority of our
team are either dual or tri qualified meaning that they can work
across a range of jurisdictions.“
“As a team we’ve been growing and evolving to stay
ahead of the ever-changing nature of the industries we work across,
to ensure we are providing clients with the legal protection and
advice that they need across different
jurisdictions.”
The team advises clients across a range of sectors, in particular,
digital media, technology, manufacturing, product design, food and
drink.
The growth sees the appointment of Emma Wightman as a senior
associate, joining with extensive expertise and experience as a
commercial litigator in managing complex legal cases and providing
strategic counsel to a diverse range of business clients.
Last year, Megan Kerr joined our dispute resolution team as an
associate after completing her training contract. Megan was one of
Lewis Silkin Belfast’s first homegrown solicitors after being
offered a training contract in 2022.
In addition, Katie Major recently joined our London team as a
senior associate. A graduate of Queen’s University Belfast,
with both NI and ROI qualifications and expertise, media law
specialist Katie will also support the Belfast team in
multi-jurisdictional disputes relating principally to defamation,
privacy, harassment and data protection.
The team includes not only litigators experienced in High Court and
intellectual property tribunal work but also experts in alternative
dispute resolution, international and domestic arbitration, and
mediation.