19 April 2018
New Dispute Resolution Service Board Elected
The first Annual General Meeting of the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) was held on Thursday 19th April 2018 at Law Society House in Belfast.
The Annual General Meeting had been convened, as per the constitution of the DRS, to elect a new Chair, Vice Chair and Board members.
Following a short address at the AGM by the current Chair of the DRS, those mediators in attendance had an opportunity to vote electing the following practitioners to serve as:
Chair
Vice Chair
Board members -
- Teresa Johnstone
- James O Brien
- Gareth Jones
- Michael Bready
- Drusilla Hawthorne
- Rosalind Dunlop
- Kevin Neary
The new Board will consider the future direction of the Dispute Resolution Service and the strategy required to promote the DRS to practitioners and clients in Northern Ireland and further afield.
Those attending the AGM also had an opportunity to hear from a number of key speakers including District Judge Philip Gilpin and Joanne Cracknell from Willis Towers Watson on current developments in mediation.
Commenting the new Chair of the DRS, Mr Brian Speers said:
“I am delighted to have been elected Chair and look forward to working with colleagues to promote the DRS to practitioners and to ensure the DRS is the preferred choice for consumers and businesses in Northern Ireland”.
The President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Eileen Ewing said:
“The Law Society remains proud that the DRS and its membership continues to be drawn from both parts of the legal profession in Northern Ireland.
I am confident that today’s AGM, the new board and the strategy which will be put in place to promote the DRS to practitioners provides the right direction to take.”
Gallery
Brian Speers - New DRS Chair
Alva Brangam QC - New DRS Vice Chair
District Judge Philip Gilpin speaking to DRS members
Joanne Cracknell, Willis Towers Watson speaking to DRS members