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Government names eight LSRA board members

The Government has appointed eight members to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) – including six new appointments and two re-appointments.

The 11-member authority is responsible for the regulation of the legal professions in Ireland.

The new appointments include past-president of the Law Society Michele O’Boyle SC.

The majority of members are lay persons who are nominated by independent, non-legal interest bodies as set out in section 9(4) of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.

Boland appointed chair

The Government has appointed Tom Boland, who was nominated by the Higher Education Authority, to be the new chair of the LSRA, replacing the outgoing chair Dr Don Thornhill.

The eight members named are:

• Bríd O’Donovan (nominated by the Citizens Information Board),
• Paul O’Donovan (nominated by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland),
• Tom Boland (nominated by the Higher Education Authority),
• Paul Mc Garry SC (nominated by King’s Inns),
• Eilis Barry (nominated by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission),
• Emily Sherlock (nominated by the Legal Aid Board),
• Michele O’Boyle SC (nominated by the Law Society), and
• Simon Murphy (nominated by the Law Society).

Eilis Barry and Simon Murphy are being re-appointed.

Appointments are for a four-year term, and board members are then eligible for re-appointment for another four years.

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee praised the accomplishments of the outgoing LSRA members – in particular the publication of reports looking at how legal education and training could be reformed and on the barriers that individuals faced in trying to enter the legal profession.