Presidential and Chief Executive Team
The Law Society Presidential and Chief Executive Team consists of the President, Senior Vice President, Junior President and Chief Executive.
The Presidential
and Chief Executive for 2022-23 were appointed on Wednesday 30th November 2022
and will remain in place until Wednesday 29th November 2023.
The members of the
Presidential Team are as follows:
PRESIDENT - BRIAN ARCHER
Brian
Archer graduated from Queens University Belfast with an Honours degree in law
in 1991 and qualified as a Solicitor in 1994.
Following
this he worked as an Assistant Solicitor for Francis Keenan Solicitor in
Belfast from 1994 -2001 specialising in Criminal Law representing clients
before the Magistrates and Crown Courts.
In
2001 he set up his own firm in partnership with two other colleagues and in 2016
the set up practice on his own account as Archer Solicitors in Belfast.
Brian
qualified as an Advanced Advocate in 2001 and was appointed to the Law
Society’s Children Order panel and NIGALA Children Order panel in 2010.
In
2007 Brian was appointed a Deputy District Judge and he continues to sit
throughout the Jurisdiction in Magistrates, Youth Courts, and Family
Proceedings Courts.
Over
the last 20 years Brian has been involved in Legal Education as a Teaching Assistant at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies and has been a Law
Society Council member for over 10 years chairing several committees.
Outside
his legal practice Brian has been involved in several charities namely the
Sexual Abuse Counselling Service Nexus for which he was appointed Chair of
their Board of Directors from 2016 -2018.
Brian
is presently a trustee of the Include Youth charity.
He
is married with two grown up children.
Brian
took up his post as President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland on
Wednesday 30th November 2022.
SENIOR
VICE PRESIDENT - BRIGID NAPIER
Brigid Napier graduated from Queen’s University
Belfast in 1985 and joined her father in the family practice of Napier &
Sons, a firm established by her grandfather in 1930. Since its inception, the
firm has been renowned for its expertise in Insolvency and Brigid proudly accepted
this mantel, becoming one of only 3 solicitors in the jurisdiction to be
licensed as an Insolvency Practitioner.
She is currently a Director in Napier Solicitors
and advises on all aspects of Personal and Corporate Insolvency and is
regularly appointed as a Trustee in Bankruptcy or Liquidator in complex
insolvencies. Brigid’s daily work as a practising solicitor with over 30 years’
experience involves working at the coalface with individuals and businesses in
crisis.
One of Brigid’s key goals is to give back to the
profession and to encourage and inspire her peers as well the next generation
of lawyers. From an early stage in her career, Brigid participated in the Young
Solicitors Association, and was a popular speaker at the Institute of
Professional Legal Studies.
She is particularly proactive in promoting women in
the law and was proud to take part in the Law Society’s mentoring programme. In
recognition of her dedication to this cause, Brigid was honoured to receive the
“Best in Professional Services Award” from Women in Business Northern Ireland. She
also undertook bespoke training with the Institute of Leadership and Management
and attained Advanced Coaching status.
Brigid was elected to the Council of the Law
Society of Northern Ireland in 2017 and has since served as a member of several
regulatory committees, including the Professional Conduct Committee and as
Chair of the Professional Liability Committee.
She was President during the Society’s Centenary
Celebrations which took place in 2022 and has been instrumental in promoting
diversity and inclusion within the legal profession.
Brigid sits on the Board of Leukaemia &
Lymphoma NI which was her President’s Charity of the Year.
JUNIOR
VICE PRESIDENT – DARREN TOOMBS
Darren
Toombs grew up in Warrenpoint, was educated at Abbey CBS in Newry and graduated
with an Honour’s degree in law and accountancy from Queen’s University
Belfast in 1998.
He accepted
an apprenticeship with MacElhatton & Company Solicitors in Belfast, graduated from the IPLS QUB in 2000, and was admitted to the Roll in that same Millennium
year.
In
2003, Darren moved to the Litigation Department within Carson McDowell Solicitors
where, for the next 15 years, he headed up the Debt Recovery Team and the firm’s
Departmental Enforcement Team, for bodies such as The Planning Service, The Roads Service and Translink.
Following
the opening of an opportunity within the firm, he moved to working within the
Insolvency sphere, quickly gaining a sound reputation litigating for Trustees,
Administrators and Liquidators. On that insolvency litigation foundation, he
has built a full Insolvency and Restructuring Team within the firm over the
past 7 years.
Darren
has been recognised as a leader in his field in the areas of Debt Recovery and
Insolvency and Restructuring in the Chambers and in the Legal 500 Directories
over the years. His team is recognised as one of Northern Ireland’s leading
teams in its specialism.
He has
been active in a number of professional bodies over the course of his career
including the NIYSA where he was Vice Chair in 2005.
Darren
was co - opted onto the Education Committee of Law Society of Northern Ireland
in 2006.
In 2015 he was elected to the
Council of the Law Society of Northern Ireland and has served on a range of
Council Committees.
He is currently a member of the Society’s Business
Committee, the Professional Conduct Committee, the Contentious Business
Committee, the Future of the Profession Committee and the Education Committee
of which he is Chair. He
also serves as a nominee of the Society on the Council of Legal Education at
the IPLS.
Darren
was an active hockey and Gaelic football player from childhood and has a
passion for road cycling and racing.
One
of Darren’s proudest moments representing the Society, was participating in the
110-mile cycling leg, of the “renowned” Ironlaw triathlon relay race victory,
against the Law Society of Ireland team in 2019.