Shirley Blair is an Of Counsel in A&L Goodbody's Employment and Incentives group in Belfast and has over twenty years' experience advising on Employment and Education law. She advises on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters for clients in all sectors. Shirley specialises in complex discrimination proceedings in NI Court of Appeal and is a qualified Solicitor Advocate. She has gained substantial expertise in High Court litigation, particularly disputes pertaining to restrictive covenants, injunctions and Judicial Reviews concerning schools. Shirley is the NI Chamber of Commerce representative on the Employee Relations Roundtable – a federation of the Chamber, CBI, IoD and the LRA that lobbies the NI Government. She is the NI contributing author to the book "Professional Secrecy of Lawyers in Europe".
Areas of Expertise
Employment/Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Experience Advising:
- Defended 499 holiday pay claims for Poundland in the Tribunals.
- CCMS in advising its Schools on the full range of employment and education law related matters.
- Advised on the NI employment matters of Pilgrim Pride Corporation's £788m acquisition of Kerry Group's meats and meal business.
- Asda in relation to all NI employment law related matters.
- Defending a secondary level school in complex defamation proceedings in the NI Court of Appeal.
- McCloskey International in relation to all employment law issues.
- ABP in relation to employment law and trade union related matters.
Market Recommendations
"Shirley Blair is a reliable, professional solicitor, with the ability to engage in a very understanding manner despite the difficult advice she may have to provide." (Chambers UK 2025)
"Shirley is a highly experienced lawyer who provides sound, comprehensive advice." (Chambers UK 2025)
"Shirley is a brilliantly competent lawyer with a fierce determination when it comes to protecting clients." (Chambers UK 2025)
Professional activities
ELA (former NI elected Representative)
ELG NI
NI Chamber of Commerce representative on the LRA Employment Relations Roundtable Confederation
NI Contributing Author of Professional Secrecy in Europe
Regular speaker at Legal Island
Education
- Solicitor, Law Society Northern Ireland
- Solicitor, Law Society England & Wales
- Higher Rights of Audience (GB)
- CPE & LPC Law (Distinction)
- Postgraduate Diploma Administration and Law
- BSc Psychology
Shirley Blair
Of Counsel,
Employment
A&L Goodbody Northern Ireland LLP