Lewis Silkin continues expansion in Northern Ireland with employment partner hire

Commercial law firm, Lewis Silkin has appointed Paul Gillen as a partner in the firm’s Belfast office.

Advising on both contentious and non-contentious matters, Paul advises on all aspects of Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Republic of Ireland employment laws. Paul works with clients including SMEs and multinationals in IT and technology, FMCG, manufacturing, energy, retail, universities and financial services, as well as public sector entities, on domestic and cross-jurisdiction employment issues.

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. Paul 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 is IoD Equality and Diversity Ambassador. He is a visiting professor to the school of law at Ulster University.

Paul specialises in advising on issues relating to workplace diversity and inclusion, and acts on matters ranging from insolvency, mergers and acquisitions and TUPE, to employment tribunal cases and HR policy and procedure.

Paul’s arrival comes at a time of significant growth for Lewis Silkin’s offering across the island of Ireland, which has expanded in recent years to include a cross-section of specialisms across employment law, business immigration, commercial, IP and data, technology, and media law.

Taken together, the firm now has nine partners across its offices in Dublin and Belfast with Paul joining, and a 16-strong team in Northern Ireland.

Ciara Fulton, partner and head of Belfast office at Lewis Silkin, said: “Paul brings with him an outstanding track record and immensely valuable experience from his years of working in-house in HR management and leadership roles. Our offering across the island of Ireland has grown rapidly in a short space of time in line with growing demand, and Paul joining the team further enhances our ability to provide seamless, market-leading employment law advice to our domestic and international clients.”

Paul Gillen, partner at Lewis Silkin, added: “It is an exciting time to be joining Lewis Silkin, with the firm growing its presence in Belfast, and Dublin, exponentially over recent years – which is a real testament to its dynamic client base and commitment to doing business on the island of Ireland. Employers and HR departments are continuing to face numerous challenges when it comes to their people, whether the implications of evolving work-life priorities, or regulatory hurdles stemming from the UK’s exit from the European Union, and Lewis Silkin is uniquely positioned to help businesses navigate these issues. I very much look forward to working with the team.”

Paul joins Lewis Silkin from Pinsent Masons where he headed the firm’s island of Ireland employment law team. He is ranked Band 1 for Employment NI in Chambers 2022.

Lewis Silkin began operating in Belfast in 2020 when it joined forces with local employment law specialist Jones Cassidy Brett. The firm added a media, tech and Intellectual Property practice in 2021. This followed the firm launching its offering on the island of Ireland with the opening of its Dublin office in 2018.