How long have you worked in Edwards & Company?
I joined Edwards & Co in February 2020. I qualified as a solicitor in London and practised there for a number of years before returning to Northern Ireland. I worked for another Belfast firm handling a variety of litigation cases before moving here.
Do you specialise in any particular area?
Since qualification I have worked in litigation dealing both with commercial disputes for business clients and with all sorts of actions for private clients. I have also dealt extensively with debt recovery and insolvency matters.
I have acted for a variety of business clients, from sole traders through SMEs to large multinational companies. My experience includes breach of contract cases, partnership disputes, negligence actions, commercial credit issues, and straightforward debt matters. I have pursued these both through litigation and via alternative dispute resolution.
I have also acted regularly for individuals and this has included personal injury cases, boundary disputes, medical negligence cases and employment claims.
My focus is always on the needs of the client and the need to take a flexible and pragmatic approach in order to resolve matters quickly and economically. I am a qualified and practising mediator and have found it to be a very useful and increasingly popular option.
What do you like about what you do?
The best part of my job is solving problems. In simple terms, clients come to me because they have some sort of problem, whether they are owed money, have suffered injury or have a dispute with another party. It is very rewarding to work with a client and to bring matters to a successful conclusion which leaves the client content and able to put the issue behind them.
What’s the best case you’ve ever worked on?
It is hard to pick out any one case, but I have worked on some personal injury cases which have really stayed with me. It is extremely rewarding to obtain compensation for clients with very serious injuries, knowing that the compensation will be genuinely life-changing.
I have also enjoyed many commercial cases. The process of getting to know the client and their business and working with them to develop a case is one which I really enjoy. There is also the opportunity with business clients to develop a relationship over a number of cases and over a longer period of time.
