Paul Gallagher

Paul Gallagher has been practicing in the Irish Bar for 39 years. He was appointed a senior counsel in 1991 and a Bencher of the King’s Inns in 2005. He is a former vice-chair of the Irish Bar Council. He has lectured and tutored in law in University College Dublin and the King’s Inns and lectures and writes on a range of legal issues. He has degrees in law (University College Dublin, King’s Inns, Cambridge University), and in history and economics (University College Dublin).

He practices widely in the areas of commercial law, European law and public law. He is an adjunct professor of law at University College Dublin, a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a fellow of the International Society of Barristers. He was Ireland’s nominee to the arbitration and conciliation panels of the International Centre of Settlement of Investment Disputes (1997–2007). He served as an observer on the High-Level Advisory Group for the Future EU Justice Policy 2007–2008 representing the UK, Cyprus and Malta. He is a director of the Irish Centre for European Law and a senior fellow of the Institute for International and European Affairs.

Paul Gallagher was attorney general of Ireland between 2007 and 2011 and during that period he had responsibility for advising the government on all legal issues and was responsible for the conduct of all litigation involving the state. He was responsible for all legislation passed during that period and was deeply involved in all legal aspects of the financial crisis.