Thursday 11th June 2026 – 4:00pm-5:30pm
In-person event at Inn of Court, Old Bar Library, Belfast
Free

You are invited to the Employment Lawyers Group (NI) June event. Sarah Cochrane (Partner, Carson McDowell LLP) will be speaking on ‘AI and Employment Law’ with a focus on potential pitfalls for clients.  The event will be in-person at 4:00pm on 11th June 2026  in the Inn of Court, Old Bar Library, Belfast. Light refreshments will be available. 

If you are planning to attend this event (which is a free of charge), please email elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info. 

Immediately following the event, we will hold our Annual General Meeting. Please see the notice below. Nominations for officers and committee members are invited by Monday 8th June 2026 at 5:00pm. Please send any such nominations to sarah.cochrane@carson-mcdowell.com.

See details here.

ELG (NI) is delighted to welcome Jason Galbraith – Marten KC from Cloisters Chambers, London (Jason Galbraith-Marten KC — Cloisters) who will deliver a talk on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. 

Jason was called to the bar in 1991 and made silk in 2014. He has been involved in a number of landmark cases which have changed the employment law landscape in GB and NI. Such cases include Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew,   Uber BV v Aslam and Varnish v British Cycling Federation. 

The talk will take place at the Inn of Court on 19^th February 2026 at 1pm. This is an in-person only event. 

If you would like to reserve a place, please rsvp to elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info.

Our next event will take place on 4^th December 2025 from 4pm in the Inn of Court.

We are delighted to welcome Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Director of Operations, Employers for Disability NI. 

Gabrielle will speak on: 

• Understanding what neurodiversity is
• Key issues facing neurodivergent people
• How to support the recruitment and retention of neurodivergent employees
• Examples of good practice
• Sources of support

This will be an in-person only event. Please confirm your attendance by emailing elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info.

Thursday 16th October 2025 – 1:00pm-2:00pm
Hybrid event – in-person at Law Society House, Belfast, and remote via Microsoft Teams
REGISTER HERE
Free

About the Event
ELGNI welcomes Mrs Tiffney, Vice President of the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal, to speak to members about practical elements of effective case management in the Tribunals, with particular focus on the role of the agreed Legal and Factual Issues document. The Vice President would welcome any questions from attendees to be sent in advance of the talk, which should be sent to elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info no later than midday on Tuesday 14th October 2025.

About the Speaker
Mrs Clare Tiffney was appointed as the Vice President of the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal in June 2025, having been a full time Employment Judge since her appointment in February 2020. Prior to becoming a judge, Mrs Tiffney was a solicitor for 19 years, specialising in employment law and working both in the public and private sectors.

Questions
Questions are welcomed in advance. Mrs Tiffney will also take some questions at the end of the event.

Join ELG
Details of how to join are set out on our membership page.

After last year’s hugely successful event, the Employment Lawyers’ Group (Northern Ireland) 2025 Conference and Dinner will take place on Friday 28^th March 2025. The half-day conference will run from approximately 9.30am – 1.30pm at the Inn of Court (Old Bar Library). We are delighted to have Rachel Best KC, Peter Hopkins KC and James Laddie KC (Matrix Chambers, London) confirmed as our speakers together with a panel of Employment Judges. The dinner will take place at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast from 6pm and is sure to be a great night. Further details regarding the conference and dinner will follow.

Ticket costs per person are as follows:

Conference only – £50
Dinner only – £85
Conference and Dinner – £120

If you would like to attend, please email (elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info) and we will send you bank details for payment. Once you have made payment, please email us (elgevents@carson-mcdowell.info) and confirm: 

• Name(s) of the attendee(s);
• Confirmation as to whether they are attending the conference, the dinner or both events;
• Details of any dietary requirements
• Payment has been made.

Sponsorship opportunities available. If you would like to enquire about sponsorship or have any other queries, please contact Alexander Redpath (Alexander.Redpath@kennedyslaw.com), Sarah Cochrane (sarah.cochrane@carson-mcdowell.com) or Hannah McGrath (hannah.mcgrath@carson-mcdowell.com).

See the timetable for the conference here.

We hope to see you there!

The Employment Lawyers Group Northern Ireland thanks you for your support in the 2023/2024 legal year. We will be in contact in relation to our forthcoming events in early September 2024.

Wednesday 18th October 2023 – 4:00pm-5:00pm
Hybrid event – in-person at Law Society House, Belfast, and remote via Microsoft Teams
Register here
FREE

About the Event
Welcome to our October Employers Lawyers Group NI (ELG NI) Event where David McMillen KC and Peter Hopkins BL will be giving us their takeaways from the Agnew decision recently published by the Supreme Court.

You have the option to attend in person at Law Society House Belfast (4th Floor Lecture Room -tickets limited) or join us online via Microsoft Teams.

For those attending in person tea/coffee and refreshments will be available after the meeting at 5pm.

About the Speakers
David McMillen KC
David McMillen KC was called to the Bar in 1985. He has been involved in a broad range of high-profile civil actions. In over seven years as Junior Counsel to the Attorney General he acted for Government Departments and other public bodies in major judicial review applications. These included a broad spectrum of Human Rights issues, from adoption to prisoners’ rights and freedom of the press. He also advised Ministers and Government Departments on the lawfulness of proposed actions and legislation. In addition, he acted in many procurement cases of great complexity and very high value. Further he has appeared for public bodies and private clients in a variety of commercial and construction cases. Since taking Silk he has continued to act in these areas for a broader range of clients. His practice has expanded to encompass personal injury actions, particularly those with a high value or particular complexity.

Peter Hopkins BL
Peter Hopkins BL was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2007; Bar of the Republic of Ireland in 2016; Bar of England and Wales in 2017. He previously worked as a Solicitor for seven years both in London (Gouldens; Jones Day) and Northern Ireland (L’Estrange & Brett). A General civil practitioner with a particular focus on Commercial and Chancery actions. Ongoing representation of Facebook Inc. in interim and final proceedings as to privacy/defamation/data protection claims. He has significant experience in the Fair Employment and Industrial Tribunals, as well as having appeared before the Information Tribunal in matters relating to Freedom of Information and Data Protection. Particular interest in insolvency-related proceedings, intellectual property claims and construction disputes.

Questions
Whilst there will be a live Q&A function during the meeting, we would welcome questions in advance. Please email any questions by midday on 17th October to employmentlawyersgroupni@gmail.com.