Ranking tables
Employment | UK
Northern Ireland
Rankings overview for Lawyers
Senior Statespeople
Eminent Practitioners
Band 1
- Aisling Byrne A&L Goodbody15 Years Ranked
- Ciara Fulton Lewis Silkin11 Years Ranked
- Gareth Walls A&L Goodbody20 Years Ranked
- Jan Cunningham Millar McCall Wylie12 Years Ranked
- John McShane McCartan Turkington Breen8 Years Ranked
- Julie Anne Clarke Elliott Duffy Garrett17 Years Ranked
- Orlagh O'Neill Carson McDowell21 Years Ranked
- Paul Gillen Lewis Silkin11 Years Ranked
- Rachel Penny Carson McDowell16 Years Ranked
- Rosemary Lundy Arthur Cox14 Years Ranked
- Louise McAloonWorthingtons
Band 2
- Kiera Lee Mills Selig9 Years Ranked
- Michael Black Cleaver Fulton Rankin15 Years Ranked
- Patricia Rooney Tughans14 Years Ranked
- Rosemary ConnollyRosemary Connolly Solicitors
Band 3
- Christopher Fullerton Arthur Cox2 Years Ranked
- Niall McMullan Edwards & Co2 Years Ranked
- Sarah Cochrane Carson McDowell3 Years Ranked
- Shirley Blair A&L Goodbody10 Years Ranked
- Ian McFarlandEversheds Sutherland
- Paul UpsonNapier Solicitors
- Rachel RichardsonDWF
- Seamus McGranaghanO'Reilly Stewart
Up and Coming
- Katie BuchananWorthingtons
Star Associates
All Lawyers profiles
Senior Statespeople
S Adam BrettLewis Silkin | Employment2025 | Senior Statespeople | 27 Years RankedAdam Brett represents clients in employment tribunal matters and also handles corporate advisory work. He has significant experience in the full range of employment law work for employers.
Eminent Practitioners
E Adrienne BrockElliott Duffy Garrett | Employment2025 | Eminent Practitioners | 26 Years RankedAdrienne Brock is managing partner and head of the employment practice at Elliott Duffy Garrett. She is a highly experienced and respected employment lawyer who handles contentious and non-contentious matters for a range of employer clients.
Band 1
1 Aisling ByrneA&L Goodbody | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 15 Years RankedAisling Byrne regularly represents employers in employment disputes involving discrimination, whistle-blowing and unfair dismissal claims. She is additionally well placed to advise on non-contentious employment matters.1 Ciara FultonLewis Silkin | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 11 Years RankedCiara Fulton handles TUPE matters and general employment advisory work, as well as disciplinary and grievance issues. She leads the employment team and is head of Lewis Silkin's Belfast office.1 Gareth WallsA&L Goodbody | Head of Employment2025 | Band 1 | 20 Years RankedHead of the employment team at A&L Goodbody, Gareth Walls has a broad practice, providing businesses with advice on their day-to-day operations as well as contentious issues relating to discrimination and harassment.1 Jan CunninghamMillar McCall Wylie | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 12 Years RankedHe approaches every situation with an open mind, ensuring he never casts judgement but instead focuses on uncovering the most effective strategies tailored to our distinctive requirements.1 John McShaneMcCartan Turkington Breen | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 8 Years RankedJohn McShane leads the employment practice at McCartan Turkington Breen and has extensive experience in employment litigation matters. He has particular expertise in holiday pay and wage deduction cases.1 Julie Anne ClarkeElliott Duffy Garrett | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 17 Years RankedI regularly recommend her to anyone seeking employment law advice. She treats us as peers, asks questions and cuts through lots of information. She makes difficult situations feel manageable.1 Orlagh O'NeillCarson McDowell | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 21 Years RankedOrlagh is an excellent legal sounding board and always makes time to ensure that she supports us with queries and issues. She has excellent business partnering skills and feels like one of our team.1 Paul GillenLewis Silkin | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 11 Years RankedPaul Gillen has a wealth of experience assisting clients with a broad range of employment matters including TUPE and post-acquisition restructuring, in addition to day-to-day HR support. He is well placed to provide cross-jurisdiction advice across the UK and Ireland as he is tri-qualified.1 Rachel PennyCarson McDowell | Employment2025 | Band 1 | 16 Years RankedRachel Penny frequently advises clients on a range of matters including industrial relations, disciplinary procedures and dismissals.1 Rosemary LundyArthur Cox | Head of Employment2025 | Band 1 | 14 Years RankedRosemary Lundy handles tribunal matters and other disputes, as well as corporate transactional support and TUPE issues. She has a strong industrial relations practice and also specialises in equality law issues.
Band 2
2 Kiera LeeMills Selig | Employment2025 | Band 2 | 9 Years RankedKiera Lee heads the employment team at Mills Selig and is a highly experienced employment law specialist with a broad practice acting for employers. She handles day-to-day employment matters as well as restructurings, redundancy programmes and TUPE issues.2 Michael BlackCleaver Fulton Rankin | Head of Employment2025 | Band 2 | 15 Years RankedMichael Black leads Cleaver Fulton Rankin's employment and immigration team. He advises clients across a broad range of contentious and non-contentious employment matters.2 Patricia RooneyTughans | Employment2025 | Band 2 | 14 Years RankedPatricia Rooney handles a wide range of employment law matters, including advice on unfair dismissal and discrimination matters, disciplinary processes and TUPE and outsourcing issues.
Band 3
3 Christopher FullertonArthur Cox | Employment2025 | Band 3 | 2 Years RankedChristopher Fullerton specialises in non-contentious matters, including contracts and incentive plans, as well as TUPE and wider employment aspects of commercial transactions. He has additional strengths in handling disputes.3 Niall McMullanEdwards & Co | Employment2025 | Band 3 | 2 Years RankedNiall McMullan is an employment partner at Edwards & Co with experience acting for both employees and employers on contentious and non-contentious matters. His expertise spans unfair dismissal and discrimination claims to TUPE and due diligence of commercial transactions.3 Sarah CochraneCarson McDowell | Employment2025 | Band 3 | 3 Years RankedSarah expertly handles complex matters for us and provides her expert knowledge. We value her no-nonsense approach and her ability to translate complex legal matters into plain English.3 Shirley BlairA&L Goodbody | Employment2025 | Band 3 | 10 Years RankedShirley is phenomenally talented at what she does. Her instructions are clear and pragmatic, and delivered in a friendly manner.
Up and Coming
Star Associates
- Craig PattersonPinsent Masons Belfast LLP | Employment2025 | Star Associates | 5 Years RankedCraig Patterson is a senior associate in the employment team at Pinsent Masons who is dual-qualified to practise in Northern Ireland and in England and Wales. He advises on both contentious and non-contentious issues, including TUPE matters and redundancy and terminations.
Associates to watch
- David MitchellMillar McCall Wylie | Employment2025 | Associates to watch | 2 Years RankedDavid Mitchell is an associate in the employment practice with an impressive level of experience in employment litigation, including unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. He has further strength in advising clients on a range of non-contentious matters, including reviewing contracts, policies and commercial agreements.
- Kevin GallagherLewis Silkin | Employment2025 | Associates to watch | 4 Years RankedBelfast-based Kevin Gallagher is a senior associate in the employment practice at Lewis Silkin. He handles employment litigation matters for prominent employers and also handles advisory work.
- Nathan CampbellCleaver Fulton Rankin | Employment2025 | Associates to watch | 3 Years RankedNathan Campbell is an associate in the employment team with experience spanning the public, private and third sectors. He is capable of advising on a host of contentious and non-contentious matters from drafting and reviewing contracts and policies to senior exits and grievance processes.