Declan Magee > Carson McDowell > Belfast, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile
Carson McDowell Offices
MURRAY HOUSE
MURRAY STREET
BELFAST
BT1 6DN
United Kingdom
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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 > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
The intellectual property team at Carson McDowell offers a full range of expertise to various sectors, particularly within the education industry, where the firm advises several universities as well as the Education Authority. Declan Magee and Dawn McKnight co-head the practice. Magee has a broad range of IP litigation experience, while McKnight is well regarded for her expertise in drafting and negotiating complex IP contracts in the manufacturing, technology, and life sciences sectors. The ‘market leader’ Peter Guzhar is well versed in trademark and patent infringement proceedings, while the ‘stand-out associate’ Helen Cosgrove provides support on a number of contentious IP matters at the High Court level.
Northern Ireland > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
Carson McDowell’s technology sector team is adept at providing IT providers with a wide range of advice. Dawn McKnight leads the practice. Notably, McKnight was recently instructed to complete a procurement for the Education Authority, which included drafting the contract and advising on the terms of a gain share mechanism between the Education Authority and Fujitsu. Declan Magee has around thirty years of litigation experience; he provides support on the contentious aspects of some of the practice’s most sensitive matters. At the associate level, Helen Cosgrove specialises in contractual telecommunications disputes, while James Milliken provides ‘meticulous attention to detail and insightful strategies around master service agreements.’
Northern Ireland > Dispute resolution
(Hall of Fame)Carson McDowell‘s Belfast team offers a wide scope of dispute resolution services, handling large volumes of IP and breach of confidence litigation, regularly working with insurers on professional and clinical negligence claims, as well as internet providers, manufacturers, and contractors on commercial litigation. Declan Magee, Stuart Murphy, Darren Toombs, and Hugh McGrattan are respectively the heads of commercial litigation and dispute resolution; construction; debt recovery; and professional indemnity. The ‘personable’ Peter Guzhar acts in a wide variety of commercial litigation, including corporate and partnership disputes, and contractual disputes. Guzhar works alongside senior associates Lucy Clarke and Helen Cosgrove.
Lawyer Rankings
- Dispute resolution Northern Ireland
- Hall of Fame Northern Ireland > Dispute resolution
- Intellectual property Northern Ireland > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
- IT and telecoms 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 and projects
- 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