Shirley Blair > A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP > Belfast, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile

A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP
42-46 FOUNTAIN STREET
BELFAST
BT1 5EF
United Kingdom

Work Department

https://www.algoodbody.com/belfast/our-services/employment-incentives-belfast

Position

Of Counsel

Career

Shirley Blair is an Of Counsel in A&L Goodbody’s Employment and Incentives group in Belfast and has over twenty years’ experience advising on Employment and Education law. She advises on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters for clients in all sectors. Shirley specialises in complex discrimination proceedings in NI Court of Appeal and is a qualified Solicitor Advocate. She has gained substantial expertise in High Court litigation, particularly disputes pertaining to restrictive covenants, injunctions and Judicial Reviews concerning schools. Shirley is the NI Chamber of Commerce representative on the Employee Relations Roundtable – a federation of the Chamber, CBI, IoD and the LRA that lobbies the NI Government. She is the NI contributing author to the book “Professional Secrecy of Lawyers in Europe”.

Experience Advising:
  • Defended 499 holiday pay claims for Poundland in the Tribunals.
  • CCMS in advising its Schools on the full range of employment and education law related matters.
  • Advised on the NI employment matters of Pilgrim Pride Corporation’s £788m acquisition of Kerry Group’s meats and meal business.
  • Asda in relation to all NI employment law related matters.
  • Defending a secondary level school in complex defamation proceedings in the NI Court of Appeal.
  • McCloskey International in relation to all employment law issues.
  • ABP in relation to employment law and trade union related matters.

Memberships

ELA (former NI elected Representative)

ELG NI

NI Chamber of Commerce representative on the LRA Employment Relations Roundtable Confederation

NI Contributing Author of Professional Secrecy in Europe

Regular speaker at Legal Island

Education

  • Solicitor, Law Society Northern Ireland
  • Solicitor, Law Society England & Wales
  • Higher Rights of Audience (GB)
  • CPE & LPC Law (Distinction)
  • Postgraduate Diploma Administration and Law
  • BSc Psychology

Lawyer Rankings

Northern Ireland > Employment

(Next Generation Partners)

Shirley BlairA&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP

The A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP employment team offers strong services spanning the whole range of employment law, including tribunal cases, internal investigations, and immigration matters. With the firm’s all-Ireland presence and strong relationships with London law firms, the practice has built up a strong international client list. The ‘exceptionalGareth Walls leads the practice. Walls is a CEDR qualified mediator and looks after an extensive portfolio of financial services clients. Aisling Byrne specialises in data protection. Of counsel Shirley Blair often defends employers in tribunals concerning discrimination. At the associate level, Rob Tubman is a key contact for corporate immigration work, while Johanna Cunningham supports the practice on the full range of employment issues, including employment aspects of acquisitions.