The Branch’s Annual Mock Tribunal Event

About this event

Join the CIPD in Northern Ireland branch team, along with Lewis Silkin and Ulster University for the return of this hugely popular event!

This event, organised in partnership with Lewis Silkin and Ulster University, will give attendees a valuable insight into the practicalities of proceedings and is a worthwhile addition to 2025 CPD plans for all People Professionals.

Participants will also receive a “bundle” in advance of the event to provide them with an overview of the facts of the case.

Speakers bio:

Paul Gillen, Partner, Lewis Silkin

Paul is a partner in Lewis Silkin’s Employment, Immigration and Reward division based in Belfast. He is qualified in England & Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and provides cross jurisdiction and comparative law advice to clients throughout the UK and Ireland.

He advises clients, across a wide range of sectors, on contentious and non-contentious matters, including HR support, mergers & acquisitions, restructuring, executive management, performance management, TUPE, outsourcing, discrimination law, and a full range of employment litigation, including complex discrimination cases.

Prior to training as a lawyer Paul had more than a decade of experience working in in-house HR roles, including being Head of HR, across sectors covering retail, construction, manufacturing and logistics.

He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and past-Chair of the Northern Ireland CIPD Branch. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and IoD Ambassador for Diversity and Inclusion. He is also a visiting Professor to the school of law at Ulster University.

He regularly runs cases in the Employment Tribunals, both in GB and NI and has also been involved in Alternative Dispute Resolution in employment matters.

Dr Esther McGuinness - Head of School of Law - staff, Head of the School of Law, Ulster University

Dr Esther McGuinness is the Head of School of Law at Ulster University.

She holds a degree in law and a PhD from Ulster University and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.

Esther is a founding member and Co Director of the multi-award winning Ulster University Law Clinic, where she supervises LLM students and practices/advises on all areas of employment law.

A qualified mediator, with 20+ years’ experience in the employment law field, she is also a founding member of the Social Justice Hub/Foyle Family Justice Centre, which specialises in providing advice and support to victims of domestic violence and their families.

She is has received research funding from the British Academy, The Nuffield Foundation, the Legal Education Fund and Horizon 2020.

She has been a Visiting Professor at Guelph Humber University Toronto, Canada, and is currently the Northern Irish Correspondent for the Irish Year Book of International Law and an External Examiner of Employment Law Programmes at Dublin City University (DCU).

Esther is a member of the Board of Directors of Law Centre NI and Mediation NI.

Martin O’Brien, Barrister at Law – Participating as Employment Judge for the Hearing, The Bar of Northern Ireland

Martin O’Brien has been a practising barrister at the Bar of Northern Ireland for 34 years, specialising in employment and discrimination law. He has a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Emergency Law, and was an academic lecturer at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast, for 19 years. Martin is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Martin was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1998 and served as a part time Judge of Employment Tribunals from 1998-2009. He is also a part-time Judge of Appeals Tribunals, and an Adjudicator of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal Panel. The Minister for Justice appointed Martin a Parole Commissioner in January 2017.

In addition to sitting on a number of boards and committees, Martin was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of St. Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon, until December 2019, and was a member of the Board of Governors of St. Mary’s University College, Belfast (a College of The Queen’s University, Belfast) until 2020. He is also the Chairman of a children’s Safeguarding Advisory Panel.

Martin has been a qualified Mediator since 2010 (Mediation Institute of Ireland) and is a mediator with Concord Resolutions. He qualified as an International Arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London in 2018, and is a member of the arbitration panel of CCODR.

Kevin Gallagher, Managing Associate at Lewis Silkin – Acting as Representative for the Respondent

Kevin is a Managing Associate in Lewis Silkin’s Employment, Immigration and Reward division based in Belfast. He has extensive experience of advising employers across a broad range of sectors in Northern Ireland including the insurance industry, local government, construction, the charitable sector and the manufacturing industry.

Kevin provides day to day advice and guidance to employers on a wide range of internal employment related issues including drafting of contracts and policies, the conduct of internal procedures and compliance with statutory requirements. He regularly advise clients on matters such as grievances and disciplinaries, dismissals, restructures, collective consultations and TUPE transfers.

Kevin has particular expertise of defending claims on behalf of employers in the Industrial Tribunal and Fair Employment Tribunal to include unfair dismissal claims, discrimination claims, whistleblowing and claims arising under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations/Service Provision Change (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006. Kevin also regularly act for Employers in the defence of employment related claims issued in the County Court and High Court in Northern Ireland.

Leeanne Armstrong, Managing Associate at Lewis Silkin – Acting as Representative for the Claimant
Leeanne is a dual-qualified employment law expert practising in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales.

Leeanne has extensive experience advising a range of regional, national and international employer clients on various contentious and non-contentious employment law issues. Leeanne also regularly provides content and training to external organisations and education providers such as Legal Island and Ulster University.

Leeanne assists HR, management and in-house legal teams with a range of day to day employee relations issues, such as poor performance, ill health, disciplinary and grievances. Leeanne also provides advice and guidance to clients on redundancy exercises, contract and policy reviews, senior employee exits or the transfer of employees under TUPE.

Leeanne has particular experience in representing clients at all stages of employment tribunal litigation, covering various complaints such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and equal pay, across a broad range of sectors, but have particular experience with those in the retail, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors.

Emma Grossmith, Managing Associate at Lewis Silkin

Emma is a Managing Associate specialising in employment law. She is qualified in both English & Wales and in Northern Ireland and has also worked extensively in Scotland, so although based in Belfast, Emma regularly advises clients with staff all over the UK.

Emma has over 20 years' experience advising on employment matters, including equalities issues, employment documentation, capability, disciplinary and grievance management (including advising on complex investigations), dismissals and settlement negotiations, collective and individual redundancies and defending clients from tribunal claims (including those in the industrial and fair Employment Tribunals in Northern Ireland).

Emma particularly enjoys helping clients manage the HR issues which can arise from corporate restructures, out- or in-sourcing or when making a disposal or acquisition. This often includes advising on TUPE and the employment aspects of corporate transactions as well as on the retention or exit of founders or other key members of staff.

Manus Kearney, Associate at Lewis Silkin

Manus is an employment Associate based in Belfast practising in both Northern Ireland and England and Wales jurisdictions. He has experience advising on both contentious and non- contentious employment matters across these jurisdictions.

Manus is experienced in representing clients in employment tribunal litigation in claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination and whistleblowing. Manus has also advised clients on employment issues such as grievances, disciplinary procedures, absences and capability and has particular experience advising clients in retail, telecoms and the public sector.

Aoife Bourdet, Paralegal at Lewis Silkin

Aoife joined Lewis Silkin in 2023 as a Paralegal and assists on a diverse range of employment issues, covering both NI and GB. Aoife is involved in a number of varying tribunal cases, drafting correspondence and pleadings, reviewing legal documentation and conducting research into relevant case law and publications.

Aoife previously worked as a cross-area paralegal undertaking work across many different practice areas including employment, immigration, data and personal injury. She has also completed an LLM in International Commercial Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Venue: The room number is LT2 in BC-LG-304. This is a lecture theatre on the lower ground floor (there is lift access). It is located in the main building (Mary Ann McCracken Building) on York Street.

Details of nearby parking can be found here: York Street Belfast parking - Car Parks, Street Parking, Private Garages

Refreshements: Tea, Coffee and pastries will be served during registration.

There will also be a short mid morning break.

Please note:

1. Reminder emails will be sent to you the day before, with a further reminder on the day of the event.

2. Photography and video production may be taking place at the event, and these images may be used in the CIPD newsletters.

3. By attending the event, you are giving consent for your image to be used on any CIPD promotional materials.

4. As we are supplying refreshments, if you can no longer attend, please cancel your place either on Eventbrite, or by responding to the confirmation email.

5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.

6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to the confirmation email and we will do our best to accommodate.