Carson McDowell > Belfast, Northern Ireland > Firm Profile

‘You just know that they do not accept ‘second best’’

‘This practice is unique in the fact that they have the ability to undertake work and offer the same services that the magic circle practices would offer, however, they make it accessible to SMEs such as ours.’

‘Even though Neasa Quigley is a senior partner, her dedication to projects and guidance during them is much greater than any other senior partner that I have come across.’

‘The client service we receive is exemplary across all the departments.’

‘Level of service and attention to detail is outstanding.’

‘Gerard Armstrong works with an almost unique level of speed and intensity, relentless, but at the same time is always highly personable and a pleasure to collaborate with.’

‘Rosie Timoney is a first class associate. She is highly professional, calm under pressure, applies a high level of attention to detail and is very commercial. A star.’

‘I was always sure I was getting sound and advice with creativity where needed. The rest of the team were both culturally easy to work with and efficient in all of the tasks and activities needed.’

‘Client relationship and management is spot on. Always available when required.’

‘Declan Magee is superb. Responsive, on the ball and knows our business, and our needs as a business. Not scared to push the boundaries when required.’

‘Excellent knowledge and experience of the litigation process. Highly collaborative approach with exceptional team-working skills.’

‘Declan Magee – highly empathetic approach with exceptional interpersonal skills.’

‘Depth of knowledge and experience within the team is second to none, the ability within the team to engage the correct specialist people when and where required.’

‘Declan Magee – depth of knowledge and wide spectrum of experience, also knowledge of our business and understanding of how any query we would raise applies specifically to our business.’

‘Depth of knowledge and experience within the team easy to get proper advice promptly.’

‘The firm is lovely to deal with. I have met many people within the firm and can at they all give clear and concise advice and are always responsive. I have no problem recommending this firm.’

‘I work closely with Orlagh O’Neill and Sarah Corchrane. Both are excellent solicitors. They listen to their clients’ needs and give commercial advice with the solution being the main objective, rather than discussing obstacles.’

‘I find Carson McDowell very professional and great to work with.’

‘My experience of the employment team in Carson McDowell is that they are commercial, responsive, easy to deal with and really good at what they do.’

‘Undoubtedly the pre-eminent employment team in Northern Ireland. They are particularly strong on industrial relations issues, but their know-how makes them leaders across all areas of employment law.’

‘They have proven themselves to be incredibly responsive, despite the unprecedented challenges created by the impact of the COVID pandemic, and have delivered a first class service throughout.’

‘Rachel Penny is in a league of her own; indeed others aren’t even playing in the same game.’

‘Roger McMillen leads a very strong team who are the premier clinical negligence specialists in Northern Ireland.’

‘Roger McMillen is very well regarded and the doyen of clinical negligence in Belfast.’

‘Very knowledgeable team.’

‘Focused on achieving the best outcome.’

‘The legal expertise of Carson McDowell LLP is second to none. However, what really makes them stand out is their commercial awareness and their ability to tailor their advices to deal with the commercial realities of the matter on which they are advising.’

‘The individuals we work with at Carson McDowell have a clear understanding of both our industry and our requirements. They are ALWAYS on hand to provide advice when called upon.’

‘Very good team and always available.’

‘The Carson McDowell private client practice is run well by Neil Bleakley. Both he and his staff are very knowledgeable and personable and they are the largest independent firm in Northern Ireland that can provide for all potential legal needs that our clients may have.’

‘Neil Bleakley is a consummate professional. His attention to detail, knowledge, and experience, and his personable nature means that clients are confident in both him and his team to do what they say to a very high standard.’

‘In my view Carson McDowell offers an excellent service and can be relied on upon to address matters in a timely fashion.’

‘The Carson McDowell private client team in Northern Ireland stand out from their peers due to their extensive technical knowledge combined with a very personal approach in dealing with delicate and technical client matters.’

‘It is led by Neill Bleakley who has a extensive track record of working closely with clients, and consistently delivers high quality client outcomes.’

‘They are primarily excellent listeners and then provide wholly appropriate legal advice.’

‘I without hesitation recommend the Carson McDowell, energy and renewable team to anyone looking for legal assistance.’

‘Neasa Quigley is our main point of contact in the Carson McDowell team and a pleasure to work with, a leader in this field. Le-ann Campbell works alongside Neasa and is definitely an associate to watch.’

‘Carson McDowell’s expertise and experience in this sector is exceptional. We have worked with them on a number of transactions and found them to be easy to work with and highly efficient.’

‘Excellent team providing top quality advice and for reasonable fees. Very open and approachable. Make difficult concepts straightforward and always work well to achieve our goals within the required timeframes.’

‘Excellent at forming and cementing relationships. Availability is excellent. Fees are reasonable. Dawson McConkey is really stand-out in terms of client service and value for money. Quality of work is high.’

‘Excellent at forming and cementing long-lasting relationships. Great at giving practical advice and making complex matters as straightforward as possible.’

‘Dawson McConkey has carried out our work for a significant number of years. Very down-to-earth, approachable and reliable.’

‘Have found the team to be very efficient and approachable and able to offer advice on all aspects of a transaction.’

‘Main contact in the organisation is Mary-Kim Doherty who is technically competent and willing to go the extra mile to provide advice and information to faciltiate any decisions that need to be made.’

‘Carson McDowell provides us with a range of legal services covering all aspects from property to business services, construction and litigation. They are an exceptional practice that provides the highest quality advice at all times.’

‘Dawson is an exceptional lawyer and manager of his staff. His team’s attention to detail and efficiency was outstanding.’

‘Knowledge and understanding of key issues.’

‘John Dugdale gets to the crux of a problem quickly, nothing phases John.’

‘Carson McDowell provides a very comprehensive and thorough service across all their disciplines. They embrace forward- and positive thinking throughout their business practices.’

‘Without question John Dugdale is an outstanding individual in his field of expertise.’

‘Dedicated, insightful team.’

‘Gary McGhee has a wealth of knowledge and experience in environmental planning. He has a fantastic work-rate and ethos. He works long days to make sure our milestones are hit.’

‘Sarah Dunlop showed brilliant attention to detail, and excellent knowledge of the subject area in reviewing our documentation – a highly capable and motivated solicitor.’

‘They think broadly about client strategy and how best to get a good result for the client. Nothing is ever a trouble and however grinding the workload (particularly in the run up to a hearing) they always seem to provide their best.’

‘CMcD is a ferocious planning team. They have incredibly experienced and talented lawyers on their team which is not matched by any other team in NI.’

‘I would credit Gary McGhee for excellent creative legal and strategic thinking. He really knows how to get the best for a client; and calls on a lot of lateral thinking to formulate the right strategy both for litigation but also taking into account the wider client interests.’

‘Gary McGhee continues to be the best planning partner in NI. You will find that whenever a complex high profile planning or environmental case is in the High Court CMcD will be representing at least one of the parties and that is due to the practice Gary has created.’

‘Gary MaGhee was the partner we dealt with his wealth of experience and knowledge of the issue was outstanding.’

‘The practice contains laywers that know their information on the top of their head.’

‘I would highly recommend this company to anyone, especially the smaller businesses as the value returned surpasses the costs.’

‘Dawn is approachable, on time and highly organisdd and motivated. She understands our business and IP even though it is not necessarily tangible.’

‘For such a large company, I get a boutique service. They have a can do attitude and are very accommodating with their time. Throughout the pandemic their service levels remained very high.’

‘Dawn McKnight is an outstanding professional, always “free” with her experience, prompt with her turnaround and knowledgeable about the specific nuances.’

‘One of the few genuinely expert firms in IP in NI.’

‘Peter Guzhar is one of the top litigation solicitors in NI.’

‘Overall the team has a strong understanding of our business – which is relatively unique. They have built strong relationships with several key personnel across the business, which enables our work with them to be more collaborative than most.’

‘Strong local law firm. Lack of national firm locations doesn’t reflect depth and strength of this firm.’

‘Sinead McGrath and Damien McElholm deserve particular mention.’

‘Sinead has an unrivalled depth of experience in banking and finance, and has built a strong team for delivering client assignments.’

‘The quality of the personnel is outstanding, and clearly some of the best people in the market.’

‘Darren Toombs: highly commercial and tactically astute. Richard Grey: exceptional experience and black letter legal knowledge. Declan Magee: a market leader.’

‘A strong and experienced team.’

‘Darren Toombs is a very efficient and well-regarded partner in insolvency.’

‘The team at Carson McDowell has been very helpful in guiding me, and ensured that we work empathetically with individuals, whilst ensuring that all stakeholders requirements are met.’

‘I work with Shane McVeigh. I rate his understanding of the situation and ability to respond as I want in a timely manner. Good to work collaboratively with.’

‘Very efficient, client focused firm. High standard of partners and associates. The detail and clarity of instructions to barristers is second to none.’

‘The team is very well managed and there is appropriate supervision of junior members of the team at all times. However, they are also utilised effectively. They are good at discerning what we as an organisation actually want and need from them and they respond appropriately. When necessary they work well with their IT colleagues to come up with solutions to assist. For example, during a recent trial their IT department brought monitors to court and set them up so that the other parties could look at medical scans in a meaningful way.’

‘Jacqueline McAleese is a thorough, excellent and incredibly hardworking solicitor. She is a pleasure to work with and for. She utilises a collaborative approach to solving problems arising during the course of litigation. She is smart and practical and a true people person.

‘Jacqueline McAleese is an extremely capable lawyer- one of the best I have come across. She is forensic and insightful in her analysis of cases and yet at the same time she is friendly and easy to work with. She always tries to take the pressure off those instructing her. She is definitely someone you would want on your side.’

‘Principally I deal with Claire Harmer. She is always prepared to go the extra mile. Her technical knowledge of personal injury litigation is first class. Claire communicates in detail and regularly. She has good social skills and relates well to our clients. Cathal O’Neill is also an excellent solicitor, particularly in handling liability claims and NIHL cases. He is also prepared to take on board our views and that of the client.’

‘Claire Harmer: exceptional, expert and always available.’

‘Cathal O’Neill: exceptional in knowledge and response times.’

‘Sam Francey is very smart, responsive, always available and very hard working. He is a pleasure to work for.’