Emma McIllveen BW e1773402899300

Emma Mcllveen

Year of Call: 2016
Email Address: [email protected]
Telephone: 020 7583 8055

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Clerks Details

  • Clerk Name: Gemma Faulkner
  • Clerk Telephone: 020 7583 8055
  • Clerk Email: [email protected]
  • Clerk Name: Russell Porter
  • Clerk Telephone: 01865 793736
  • Clerk Email: [email protected]

Overview

Emma McIlveen is a public law and employment barrister, qualified and practising in four jurisdictions: Northern Ireland (2016), New York (2016), the Republic of Ireland (2019) and England & Wales (2020).

Her public law practice is centred on judicial review in the High Court in Belfast, in cases turning on vires, statutory interpretation and the limits of the powers of public bodies. Recent instructions include a systemic challenge to the call-in procedure used in local government decision-making, a challenge to the powers of the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, litigation arising from the legacy of the Troubles, proceedings concerning the determinations of the Parades Commission, and an intervention in judicial review proceedings on the reach of the Ministerial Code and section 20(4) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. She acts for applicants, respondents and interveners, and appears both unled and as junior counsel in led teams.

Alongside her public law work she has a substantial employment and discrimination practice with appellate experience, appears before professional regulators, and is instructed at coronial inquests including in Article 2 cases. She sits as a fee-paid Employment Judge in Scotland and as a Legal Chairman of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in Northern Ireland, and is instructed to conduct independent investigations into workplace and organisational complaints.

She is a member of the Government Legal Service Civil Counsel Panel (B Panel) and the Coroners Service Counsel Panel, and holds direct access accreditation. She is known for intellectual rigour and creative case strategy, and much of her work involves vulnerable individuals or carries significant reputational and regulatory exposure.

Expertise

  • Public and Administrative Law
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    Emma is instructed in judicial review proceedings in the High Court in Northern Ireland, acting for applicants, respondents and interveners. She has appeared unled against senior counsel at contested leave and directions hearings, and is instructed as junior counsel in heavyweight constitutional and legacy litigation. Her practice covers:

    • Devolved government and the Ministerial Code — whether a ministerial decision is significant or controversial, or cuts across departmental responsibilities, such that it must be brought to the Executive Committee under section 20(4) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and the consequences of a failure to do so.
    • Local government, vires and decision-making — challenges to the lawfulness of council standing orders and procedures, including the operation of the call-in mechanism under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, and to the adoption of council strategies and policies.
    • Legacy and Troubles-related public law — the powers, independence and statutory functions of legacy institutions, including the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, and the lawfulness of non-criminal police reviews.
    • Parades, protest and public order — judicial review of Parades Commission determinations, and the Article 9, 10 and 11 ECHR rights engaged by them.
    • Equality, consultation and language policy — equality screening, section 75 duties, consultation adequacy, and the protection of minority interests in local government decision-making.
    • Education and special educational needs — placement, provision and unlawful delay challenges affecting children with special educational needs, informed by her role as a Legal Chairman of the SEND Tribunal.
    • Health, social care and vulnerable adults — decisions affecting the care and treatment of vulnerable individuals, including procedural impropriety and delay.
    • Urgent and interim relief — expedition, interim relief and injunctive applications brought at short notice, including in the run-up to fixed events and decision deadlines.

    Notable Public Law Cases 

    In the matter of an application by Ann McClure for leave to apply for judicial review and in the matter of the call-in process applied to the decision of Belfast City Council of 1 October 2025. Court reference 2025/99304/01. High Court (McLaughlin J), 16 April 2026, rolled-up leave and substantive hearing; appeal listed in the Court of Appeal for 24-25 November 2026.

    Challenge to Belfast City Council's standing orders 48(8)-(9), said to be ultra vires section 41 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 and Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Transitional, Supplementary, Incidental Provisions and Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014, and to defeat the qualified majority mechanism in section 41 and Standing Order 25. The issue was whether a call-in requisition may be filtered by reference to a legal opinion on community impact before the qualified majority requirement is engaged. The proceedings arose from four call-in requisitions, including those concerning the Council's Irish Language Policy approved on 1 October 2025 and the flying of the Palestinian flag from City Hall, and the case was opened as a systemic challenge to local government decision-making rather than a challenge to any single decision, the standing orders in question being replicated across nine of the eleven district councils. The Department for Communities and Derry City and Strabane District Council were notice parties. The application was dismissed, the court holding the standing orders not ultra vires; the matter is now under appeal.

    In the matter of an application by Gary Murray for leave to apply for judicial review and in the matter of a public statement made by the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

    Judicial review brought by the brother of Leanne Murray, killed in the 1993 Shankill Road bombing, challenging public statements made by the Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Alyson Kilpatrick, in an interview reported on 14 July 2025, questioning the independence of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery and the tenability of the position of its Legacy Lead by reason of his former RUC service. The respondent is the Commission itself. The grounds concerned vires, the absence of corporate authority and the limits of the Commission's statutory functions. Leave was refused on the improper purpose ground, the court observing that the Commission's complaints process was a potentially valuable mechanism, and the remaining grounds were adjourned to allow the applicant to pursue that alternative remedy.

    In the matter of an application by Martin Marchant for leave to apply for judicial review and in the matter of Operation Denton and Operation Kenova. High Court (McLaughlin J).

    Challenge to the lawfulness of Operation Denton, the review into approximately 130 murders attributed to the so-called Glenanne gang, including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The applicant is the son of the late William Marchant, and brings the application on his own behalf and in the interests of his father's family. The respondents are the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Sir Iain Livingstone, head of Operation Kenova and Operation Denton. The proceedings raise whether the police may lawfully commission a non-criminal review under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, obligations under Articles 2 and 8 ECHR, the disclosure of intelligence material outside the jurisdiction, and the lawfulness of releasing extracts and briefings making findings amounting to criminal culpability against a deceased man without notice to or consultation with his family, including the risk of jigsaw identification. An application to restrain publication of the summary report was refused on the balance of convenience on 8 December 2025. Substantive decision is awaited.

    In the matter of an application by Alan Hynes for leave to apply for judicial review. High Court (McAlinden J), 25 August 2026; ex tempore, no neutral citation issued.

    Judicial review of the Parades Commission's determination in respect of the Portadown LOL No 1 parade of 5 July 2026, restricting the return parade from Drumcree along the Garvaghy Road, and of the Commission's refusal, communicated on 2 July 2026, to review that determination on the basis that there was no new or additional material. Relief sought included certiorari, declarations that the determination was unlawful and in breach of the applicant's Articles 9, 10 and 11 ECHR rights, and mandamus directing the Commission to review the determination according to law. The determination was quashed by order of certiorari after the Commission accepted that it had not been considered in its final form by all commissioners, the court describing the Commission's procedures as not standing up to scrutiny, with costs awarded against the Commission. The Convention grounds were argued but not determined, the case having been conceded on the procedural ground.

    In the matter of an application by Jamie Bryson for judicial review. High Court (McAlinden J); leave granted, substantive hearing listed for September 2026.

    Judicial review of the decision of the Minister for Infrastructure of 14 March 2025 to direct the implementation of Irish language signage, physical and on electronic ticket vending machines, at Belfast Grand Central Station without referral to the Executive Committee, and of the Minister's further decision of around 2 September 2025 in the exercise of her continuing duty to keep the question of referral under review. The respondent is the Department for Infrastructure. The challenge engages the cross-cutting and controversial nature of the decision under sections 20 and 28A of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and paragraph 2.4 of the Ministerial Code, together with the constitutional significance of the Part 7B identity and language scheme; equality screening under section 75 is also in issue, and the projected cost of implementation rose in evidence from GBP 150,000 to between GBP 1m and GBP 3m. Emma appears for Timothy Gaston MLA, who was granted permission to intervene in support of the applicant, alongside separate interventions by the Communities Minister and by Conradh na Gaeilge.

  • Employment and discrimination
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    Emma McIlveen is regularly instructed by both claimants and respondents across the full range of employment law matters. She has particular expertise in complex and overlapping claims involving whistleblowing, trade union detriment, equal pay and discrimination, including disability, race and victimisation.

    Her practice frequently involves cases at the intersection of employment law and public law, regulatory obligations or criminal allegations, requiring careful management of parallel proceedings and heightened standards of procedural fairness. She advises a wide range of clients, including charities, public bodies and churches, particularly in matters concerning governance, discipline, safeguarding, internal decision-making and compliance with equality legislation.

    Emma is also experienced in employment disputes raising constitutional and public law issues, including proportionality, procedural fairness and the lawful exercise of statutory powers. In addition to Tribunal litigation, she is regularly instructed in employment-related civil proceedings, including contractual disputes, injunctive relief and professional negligence claims arising from failures to advise on limitation, appeal rights or statutory remedies.

    She has represented claimants supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in discrimination proceedings before the County Court and is experienced in cases involving significant public interest or policy considerations. Emma has substantial appellate experience in employment law and has acted as sole junior counsel in a number of appeals before the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland. Most recently, she successfully represented the National Farmers’ Union in an appeal concerning employment status, securing a favourable outcome on issues of worker classification and contractual reality.

    Emma has a specialist interest in sports law and has been appointed to sit on disciplinary and regulatory panels, including the Anti-Discrimination Panel for the Premier League. She has also served as Chair of the Appeals Committee of the Irish Football Association in Northern Ireland, and has represented a number of Irish League football clubs in disciplinary and regulatory matters.

    Emma has experience advising on and appearing in urgent applications for interim relief across a range of practice areas. In the employment context, she has been instructed in interim relief hearings arising from automatically unfair dismissal claims, including whistleblowing and trade union cases. She is also experienced in applications for interim and injunctive relief in the civil courts, including urgent applications to preserve confidential information, enforce restrictive covenants and prevent ongoing commercial harm. In public law, Emma regularly acts in urgent and time-sensitive judicial review proceedings, including applications for interim and emergency relief, where the court must balance the public interest with the need to prevent irreparable prejudice pending determination.

    She is the current Vice Chair of the Employment Lawyers Group in Northern Ireland and publishes a monthly employment law newsletter, McIlveen on Employment.

  • Professional Discipline
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    Emma McIlveen has developed significant expertise in professional discipline and regulation and regularly appears before regulatory bodies including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

    She is frequently instructed in complex cases where employment, regulatory and criminal issues overlap, including disciplinary proceedings arising from alleged criminal conduct, safeguarding concerns or matters carrying serious reputational risk. Her work often requires careful strategic management of parallel processes and close consideration of procedural fairness and evidential standards.

    Emma is highly experienced in advising on and navigating the interaction between criminal investigations, regulatory proceedings and employment claims. Recent work includes successfully representing a registrant in regulatory proceedings involving allegations of dishonesty and serious misconduct, resulting in the registrant being wholly exonerated. She is valued for her calm, rigorous approach to high-stakes cases and her ability to protect clients’ professional standing while advancing robust and principled defences.

  • Investigations
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    Emma is instructed to conduct independent investigations into complaints of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, and into related governance and safeguarding failures. Recent work includes an independent investigation into complaints of sexual harassment and bullying within a church organisation.

    She takes evidence from complainants, respondents and witnesses, makes findings of fact, and reports on process, governance and the adequacy of an organisation’s own complaints handling.

    The work draws on her discrimination and employment expertise and on her judicial experience of hearing contested evidence, and she is regularly instructed where the subject matter is sensitive or where the organisation is exposed to regulatory or reputational risk.

     

     

     

    Emma is instructed to conduct independent investigations into complaints of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, and into related governance and safeguarding failures. Recent work includes an independent investigation into complaints of sexual harassment and bullying within a church organisation.

    She takes evidence from complainants, respondents and witnesses, makes findings of fact, and reports on process, governance and the adequacy of an organisation’s own complaints handling. The work draws on her discrimination and employment expertise and on her judicial experience of hearing contested evidence, and she is regularly instructed where the subject matter is sensitive or where the organisation is exposed to regulatory or reputational risk.

  • Inquests
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    Emma McIlveen has considerable experience in coronial work and regularly appears in inquests, including complex, sensitive and high-profile cases. She has acted as Counsel to the Coroner in a number of inquests, including deaths in custody, and has been appointed to the Coroners Service Counsel Panel for Northern Ireland.

    Emma is also instructed by public authorities in inquest proceedings, including acting for the Northern Ireland Prison Service in the Colin Bell inquest. She has extensive experience in cases engaging Article 2 ECHR obligations, disclosure and evidence management, and the conduct of inquests involving intense public scrutiny, institutional accountability and the interests of bereaved families.

    She is valued for her careful, measured approach in emotionally challenging cases and for her ability to assist coroners and parties in navigating complex legal, procedural and human issues arising in deaths in custody and other state-involved deaths.

  • Articles

    • "I'm not represented — I just used an app": Grapple Law, AI claim generators, and what respondent solicitors need to know

      9th Jul 2026

      Emma McIlveen, writes about the new breed of platform, which is quietly reshaping employment tribunal practice. Grapple Law, marketed as an AI-powered legal platform for individuals and small businesses, allows users to generate ET1 claims, draft legal letters, and respond to disputes without instructing a solicitor. It is slick, it is accessible, and it is entirely unregulated.

      View Article

    • More than a pet: emotional support animals and the expanding boundaries of reasonable adjustment

      23rd Apr 2026

      Emma McIlveen examines how emotional support animals, once a personal coping mechanism, are finding their way into legal arguments and into the courtroom, carrying legal significance as part of the evolving duty to make reasonable adjustments.

      View Article

    • Eggspecting more: the legal risks of employer-backed egg freezing in the UK

      28th Feb 2026

      Following her recent attendance of the Dublin medico-legal conference, Emma McIlveen reflects on the unique legal and ethical minefields that the new perk of egg freezing can create for businesses who offer it to their employees.

      View Article
  • Recommendations

    "Excellent discrimination barrister. Hard working, skilful and a great person to instruct." Instructing solicitor

    "Very driven and successful in everything she does, yet she has a very personable nature and gets on well with clients in every walk of life."  Instructing solicitor

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