Carson McDowell Grows

Carson McDowell Grows with the Appointment of Four new Partners in Belfast and Dublin

Carson McDowell partners (L–R) Richard Dickson, Hilary Griffith, Neasa Quigley, Roger McMillan, Kathleen Byrne and Damian McElholm.

As it embarks on its latest growth phase, Belfast law firm Carson McDowell is more focused than ever on ensuring it remains a great place to work.

The firm is Northern Ireland’s largest independent law firm, with 120 solicitors and more leading individuals and topranked practice areas than any other local firm in respected industry guides Chambers and The Legal 500.

It has continued its recent expansion with the addition of four new partners in Belfast and Dublin over the past few months.

Hilary Griffith has joined as a corporate partner, Richard Dickson has become a partner in its real estate division, Damian McElholm joined as a partner in its banking & finance team and Kathleen Byrne has become a partner in

its healthcare team, based in the firm’s Dublin office.

“The growth of the firm remains closely aligned to the growth of our clients and at the moment it is a very active market,” explains Neasa Quigley, senior partner at Carson McDowell.

“We are fortunate to represent a large number of commercially sophisticated local businesses, high-profile international clients and prestigious organisations in education and the public sector.”

Carson McDowell achieved the ‘Band one’ rating in 21 out of 25 practice areas ranked in the 2022 Chambers guide and had 13 partners given the top accolade on an individual basis, more than any other Northern Irish law firm. It also had 11 practice areas ranked as tier 1 in the 2022 edition of The Legal 500 guide, also higher than any other local firm.

But in the wake of the pandemic, Managing Partner Roger McMillan explained that it is staff wellbeing which is very much at the top of the list for the firm’s senior team.

“As an employer of 200 people, the wellbeing of our colleagues is of utmost importance and striving to make this a great place to work is a major focus for us. Carson McDowell has a strong track record of attracting and developing the best talent and retaining that talent is key as we look to the future.”

Carson McDowell was recently awarded the Bronze Diversity Mark and has signed up to the Charter on Mindful Business, which commits it to respecting boundaries between work and leisure time and holidays.

Internally, the firm has launched a staff wellbeing hub to ensure its team has a range of resources available to help with managing mental health and wellbeing and has trained a number of wellbeing ambassadors.

Roger added, “It’s important we have high levels of satisfaction if we want to have high retention. A lot of time has been spent looking at how we keep making this a better place to work and how we look after our colleagues. We’re listening closely to the team and see this as the start of the journey.”

EXPANSION

As it announced the continued growth of its team in Belfast, Carson McDowell also confirmed that it will shortly move to bigger premises in Dublin in order to accommodate the expansion of its healthcare team.

The new partners in Belfast and Dublin bring a range of experience with them to add to Carson McDowell’s existing capabilities.

New corporate partner Hilary Griffith was formerly a partner in another Northern Ireland commercial law practice. Her main areas of practice are in corporate, corporate finance and equity investment with particular experience in the manufacturing and technology sectors.

She has advised a range of leading local SMEs, national and international businesses, private equity funds, international investors and public sector organisations on a full range of corporate finance matters.

Damian McElholm joined Carson McDowell’s banking & finance department from an international law firm operating in the local market where he led its recently established banking offering in Northern Ireland.

Damian has developed considerable experience across a number of prominent sectors such as renewable energy, social housing and real estate from a banking and finance perspective. He regularly acts for a variety of key stakeholders in large value and complex real estate finance, leveraged finance, project finance and general corporate lending matters.

Richard Dickson joined the firm as a partner in the real estate team having previously been a partner of a longestablished Belfast firm. Richard has considerable experience in dealing with all aspects of property law transactions and continues to act for a wide range of clients in relation to property acquisition, disposal, landlord and tenant as well as commercial, residential and mixed use property development. He regularly advises retail tenants and commercial property landlords and has overseen key residential, commercial and mixed use property developments in recent years from site acquisition through to disposal.

In Dublin, Kathleen Byrne has joined Carson McDowell’s healthcare team, specialising in medical malpractice and healthcare law.

Kathleen joined the firm from Clyde & Co LLP in London. She is an experienced healthcare lawyer with a proven track record in defending complex and high value claims. Kathleen has acted on behalf of multiple NHS Trusts, the largest medical defence organisations in the world and healthcare insurers.

Kathleen is also an experienced advocate, having represented clients before multiple Coroners and Masters of the High Court. She has also acted on behalf of clinicians at Fitness to Practise Inquiries before the Irish Medical Council and the Dental Council.

Roger McMillan, managing partner, said: “I’m delighted to welcome four new partners to the firm who add significant experience and expertise to a marketleading team that remains as focused as ever on delivering for our clients and helping them to take advantage of opportunities for growth.

“As well as continued growth in Northern Ireland it is fantastic to see the further expansion of Carson McDowell’s specialist healthcare team in Dublin. We now have a team of 12 with two wellregarded partners in Dublin and there continues to be significant demand for our services.”

The firm recognises that its clients face a range of challenges in the current environment, not least the significant impact that rising costs are having on the operations of many businesses. Concerns around the lack of a functioning executive, skills shortages and a planning system that is not fit for purpose all serve to exacerbate the situation.

Neasa Quigley, senior partner, adds: “As we look forward, it’s clear that many areas of the economy that were constrained during the pandemic are coming back stronger and the publication of the energy strategy should translate into enhanced investment in renewable energy and the hydrogen economy. We continue to see plenty of interest in NI businesses from private equity and trade buyers in sectors such as life and health sciences, ICT, and financial services. We are looking at the rest of the year with cautious optimism.”

“As we look forward, it’s clear that many areas of the economy that were constrained during the pandemic are coming back stronger.”