Courts / Mayo / Report

Lawyer claiming unfair dismissal says adjudicator is "comrade" of opposing barrister

Date
2022-03-25

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Castlebar

County
Mayo

Summary

A solicitor from Castlebar, County Mayo, has sought the recusal of an adjudicator appointed to hear her unfair dismissal complaint against Arthur Cox Solicitors in Dublin. The woman alleged the adjudicating officer shared political affiliations and professional connections with the opposing barrister, specifically referencing shared involvement with the Free Legal Advice Centre and Labour Party membership. The adjudicator denied having maintained contact with the barrister and stated he resigned from the Labour Party upon becoming a civil servant. Leading counsel for Arthur Cox characterised the submissions as groundless and the questioning as abusive. At the preliminary hearing before the Workplace Relations Commission, the adjudicator reserved his decision on the recusal application and indicated he would deliver his ruling by email. The substantive hearing of the unfair dismissal case is scheduled to commence the following week at Lansdowne House, Dublin.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Lawyer claiming unfair dismissal says adjudicator is "comrade" of opposing barrister. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

November 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
1997 to 2005 Other
2022-03-25 Publication

Why: He said that he had crossed paths with the adjudicator only once and described as "specious" Ms Burke's claim that a conflict of interest arose because both men were members of the Law Library at the same time. CNI source report