In our first legal series of 2023 we are delighted to bring together three voices from the Irish legal scene and one from the UK bar.  We discuss the challenge of employment law and its evolution, how to build a branch office of a law firm from scratch through focusing on values, the benefits of professional sport and legal practice and the burgeoning and fast-paced development of the field of Sports law.
 

Aonghus Kelly is a lawyer who has a focus on the rule of law, international criminal law, human rights and the intersection of those areas with climate justice. He is presently Executive Director at Irish Rule of Law International, (IRLI) which is the legal NGO founded by and representing the bars and law societies from both jurisdictions from the island of Ireland which works overseas

Kate Colleary is the director at Pembroke Privacy, a data protection consulting practice, a firm she established in 2019. To assist organizations and their data protection officers achieve compliance with privacy laws. She is the country leader of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as well as a practicing solicitor.

Olga Hancock is Deputy Head of Responsible Investment at The Church Commissioners for England. She also holds a position of chair of the policy committee at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, and is co chair of the Indonesia workstream of the Investors Policy Dialogue on Deforestation. She previously worked as a solicitor and started her career in Australia.

Nancy Stern is CEO and board member at Allston Holdings LLC. She has had a 27 year career starting as a lawyer and transitioning to a financial and business oversight role. In her latest role, which saw her assume the CEO position in 2020, she led a successful sale of that company that closed in 2021. Nancy holds a number of board roles. She was the recipient of the Woman of Achievement Award granted by the anti Defamation League in 2019. 

Meriam Nazih Al-Rashid is Global Co-Chair of International Arbitration and Co-head of the Latin American Arbitration practice at Eversheds Sutherland and is based in the New York City area. She is also an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University Law School, a peer review board member of the American Review of International Arbitration, a committee member at the Cyrus R Vance Center for International Justice, and the holder of numerous other arbitrator roles. Her areas of focus on international dispute resolution, international trade and commercial arbitration, as well as human rights and international law.  She is also the President and Co-Founder of Allusionist Pictures, a film production company.

I. Stephanie Boyce is President of the Law Society of England and Wales. She is its 177th President, the sixth female and the first person of color to hold the role. She has had an extensive career in law, including periods of The Pensions Regulator in her own consulting firm, and as a former clerk at the disciplinary and regulatory committees at the Association of Chartered certified accountants. She also holds a number of board and Trustee roles, including commissioner of the National Preparedness commission. She’s a member of the socio-economic Task Force, transforming women’s leadership and the law advisory boards, among other roles.