THE DUBLIN SOLICITORS BAR ASSOCIATION
FAMILY LAW UPDATES AND DEALING WITH DIFFICULT FAMILY LAW CLIENTS
25th February 2025: 2.00 – 5.00pm
VIA WEBINAR
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BROCHURE
The LSRA and Complaints in Family Law,
Updates in Family law,
S.32/47 Reports Updates,
Discussion and Q&A
SPEAKERS
Brian Doherty is the Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Service Regulatory Authority. A former barrister he was called to the Bar in Northern Ireland in 1996 and initially practised in Belfast. He joined the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland when it was set up in 2000 as one of the first civilian investigators, working on allegations of misconduct against the then RUC, later the PSNI. In 2007 he moved to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission as a Senior Investigating Officer, later progressing to Acting Deputy Director of Investigations. He returned to the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland in 2014 to run the Current Investigations Directorate. Brian took up the post as the CEO of the LSRA in September 2017. Brian holds a Masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice Management from Queens University Belfast and a Doctorate in Criminology from the University of Portsmouth.
Keith Walsh Solicitor, Mediator & Collaborative lawyer. Keith has practiced in the area of legal separation, divorce in Ireland, relocation, civil litigation and family law cases with an international element since 2001.
In February 2017 he and his team in Keith Walsh solicitors were nominated by their peers for the Family Law and Mediation Team/Lawyer of the year Award in Irish Law Awards 2017 which they won based on their work over the past number of years. They won the same award again in 2018 and in 2019 were honoured to win the Dublin Family Law and Mediation Team Award. He recognises that legal costs must be transparent and estimates legal costs in a clear manner at the start of every case and advises clients as to the likelihood of recovering their legal costs from the other side. He has been recognised as a leader in family law in Ireland and appointed to the Law Society’s Family Law Committee. He is a past Chairman of the Law Society of Ireland’s Child & Family Law Committee.
Ruth Moore O Ferrall, Ruth qualified as a social worker in 1998. She is trained in the forensic interviewing of children and has been interviewing and assessing children for court proceedings since 2000.
Ruth has worked as a Guardian ad Litem and Family Law Assessor since 2007. She provides workshops to social workers and Guardians ad Litem about undertaking direct work with children. Since 2016 Ruth has been the registrant member of the CORU Fitness to Practice Conduct Committee. In June 2017 Ruth was appointed to the National Review Panel, reviewing cases of death and critical incidents of children known to state services. In September 2017 Ruth was appointed as the Social Care Expert to the Farrelly Commission. Ruth is currently undertaking training to become an accredited mediator.
James Richardson BL has worked as a Barrister for the last 18 years and has represented clients in all jurisdictional courts in Ireland as well as representing clients in the Private Residential Tenancy Board (PRTB), Rights Commissioners, the Labour Court, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the Equality Tribunal. James has represented clients in many areas of law from personal injury, family law, childcare law, criminal, debt collection, employment, equality, landlord & tenant and revenue/tax law. James has worked as a Chairperson of the Mental Health Commission in Ireland, which adjudicates on affirming or revoking involuntary Orders of detainment for persons suffering from a diagnosed mental health illness. Currently the Treasurer of the Family Lawyers Association of Ireland and have been a member of the executive board in various roles, including Secretary for 4 years.
CHAIR
Cliona Costelloe is principal Solicitor of Cliona Costelloe & Company Solicitors a private client law practice specialising in Family Law. Cliona has specialised and has over 22 years of experience in Family law. She commenced practice in a specialist Family Law Practice in Smithfield, Dublin and moved to Mc Keever Rowan Solicitors in 2009 as a senior associate Solicitor and became Head of the Family law Department in 2016. She left to establish her own specialist Family Law practice some years ago. She specialises in the area of Matrimonial and Family law since qualification and has been involved in many of the leading cases over the years. She is a member of the Law Society of Ireland and the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association and the Family Lawyers Association. She is the current Chair of the Family Law and Minors Committee of the DSBA. She has also been admitted to the role of Solicitor in England & Wales since 2011