Gareth Walls is partner and Head of the A&L Goodbody's Employment and Incentives group in Belfast. Gareth represents a number of local, national and international brands in business support, strategic workforce planning and high profile tribunal matters. He also has significant experience in corporate immigration, redundancy, re-structuring and TUPE issues. Gareth is an accomplished commercial litigator with particular emphasis on procurement challenges and injunctive relief in the Employment context, as well as being a sought after speaker on Employment issues in Northern Ireland.
Areas of Expertise
Employment & Incentives/Litigation & Dispute Resolution/Pensions and Incentives/Betting, Gaming & Liquor Licensing/Corporate Immigration Services
Experience Advising:
- Jose Cuervo on its acquisition of the Old Bushmills Distillery and all related employment law matters.
- Allstate NI on matters of corporate governance and tribunal representation.
- Marks and Spencer on a range of Tribunal matters to include grievance and disciplinary process handling.
- CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) Global on its first entry to Northern Ireland on all employment, immigration and regulatory compliance matters.
- The Body Shop on a strategic re-structure in Northern Ireland to include all TUPE obligations and advices on Terms and Conditions generally.
- Dalradian Gold Limited on specialist industry visa requirements, plus all contentious and non-contentious employment matters.
- Netflix on first registration with the Equality Commission and employment/trade union engagement in Northern Ireland.
- GlaxoSmithKline on an SPV joint venture.
Market Recommendations
"Gareth Walls is exceptional. He is professional, calm and highly intelligent in his approach to settling disputes, but also he has a high level of emotional intelligence and understands how difficult disputes are on a personal level." (Legal 500 UK)
"Gareth demonstrates high levels of technical knowledge coupled with commercial awareness, having taken the time to understand our business and its requirements." (Chambers UK 2019)
"Excellent within the field of employment law" and "very personable, helpful and highly knowledgeable." (Chambers UK 2018)
"His response times are superb and his legal knowledge cannot be faulted." (Chambers UK 2017)
Professional activities
Gareth is a member of the Employment Lawyers Group and is a Northern Ireland representative for the Employment Law Alliance. He is a Council Member of the European Employment Lawyers Association. In addition, Gareth is a CEDR Accredited Mediator.
Education
- Solicitor, Law Society of Northern Ireland
- Solicitor, Law Society of England and Wales
- LLB (Hons), Sheffield University

Gareth Walls
Partner, Employment & Incentives
Belfast