Declan Magee > Carson McDowell > Belfast, Northern Ireland > Lawyer Profile
Carson McDowell Offices

MURRAY HOUSE
MURRAY STREET
BELFAST
BT1 6DN
Northern Ireland
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Declan Magee

Work Department
Litigation.
Position
Declan is a partner and jointly heads the dispute resolution team. The team has enjoyed continuous growth during his tenure and is widely recognised within the legal sphere as being at the forefront of the niche practice areas it covers. Declan specialises in commercial disputes including procurement disputes, judicial review, intellectual property, professional negligence defence work, fraud, regulatory matters and defamation. He has a strong client base both in the public and private sectors. Declan is regularly involved in high value, high profile matters. His breadth of expertise extends to matters at an appellate level before the Northern Irish Court of Appeal to a successful challenge before the House of Lords which has set a new test on judicial review discovery obligations. He has successfully represented a private company in a challenge to the awarding of a significant public sector contract which also set a leading authority on the issue of award criteria for contract procurement. Defending a challenge to a release decision of the Parole Commissioner for Northern Ireland will see Declan again before the Supreme Court, as will the defence of a challenge to a public sector pension provider. Declan’s ability to provide prompt advice, to present solutions and to relate complex legal issues into real terms readily understood by clients greatly enhances and secures his footing as one of Northern Ireland’s forefront litigators.
Career
Trained Carson McDowell; qualified 1996; associate in commercial litigation department 2003; partner 2005.
Memberships
Panel member Law Society’s mediation service; ICTA.
Education
St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena; Queen’s University, Belfast (1994 LLB); Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast (1996).
Lawyer Rankings
Northern Ireland > Dispute resolution
(Hall of Fame)Carson McDowell’s broad commercial litigation practice has standout strengths in handling procurement challenges as well as assisting manufacturing companies in disputes concerning their commercial agreements with suppliers and other parties. Declan Magee heads the ‘professional, efficient and thorough‘ commercial litigation and dispute resolution team and has extensive experience in procurement challenges, counting Translink as a key client. Another key area of expertise is insolvency litigation, with head of debt recovery Darren Toombs regularly acting on restructuring and debt recovery cases. Commercial litigator Peter Guzhar is another key name in the team; he acted for Tayto in a widely publicised trade mark infringement case against a supplier which was selling the Republic of Ireland’s similarly named yet separate crisps in bars and restaurants in Northern Ireland. Head of insurance Hugh McGrattan and head of construction Stuart Murphy are also highly recommended for disputes in their respective areas of expertise.
Northern Ireland > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
Advising on contentious and non-contentious matters, Carson McDowell is a highly respected name for IP work and recently assisted Linen Mills Studios with its agreement with HBO for the new Game of Thrones tour. The team has also carved out a niche in the university sector, and advises Queens University and Ulster University on IP matters. Other sectors of interest include the life sciences, technology and financial services industries. Co-chair Declan Magee is highly experienced in IP disputes, especially patent litigation. Dawn McKnight also leads the team and advises on the IP aspects of commercial agreements and corporate transactions. Peter Guzhar, who excels in trade mark litigation, is also recommended.
Lawyer Rankings
- Dispute resolution - Northern Ireland
- Hall of Fame - Northern Ireland > Dispute resolution
- Intellectual property - Northern Ireland > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Commercial property
- Real estate > Construction
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and M&A
- Dispute resolution
- Employment
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Energy, project finance and PFI
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Insurance > Personal injury and clinical negligence: defendant
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Planning and environment