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Stephen Collins, Senior Solicitor, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

Stephen Collins is senior solicitor with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Ireland’s National Human Rights Institute and Equality body. Since joining the Commission, he has been involved in several landmark cases, including A.C., J.J. and most recently AB v HSE. He has a keen interest in the role that technology plays in justice arising out of his tenure as Registrar with the Court of Appeal, when he was responsible for the Court’s Pilot Remote Hearings Project. In his current role, he is responsible for litigation with a focus on anti-human trafficking, detention and immigration and citizenship.

Frank Clarke SC, Former Chief Justice

Frank Clarke was the 12th Chief Justice of Ireland from July, 2017 until October 2021 having been a judge of the Supreme Court since 2012. He was born in Walkinstown, Dublin in October, 1951. He was educated at Drimnagh Castle CBS and University College Dublin where he was awarded a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics (1972). Having completed his legal studies at King’s Inns he was called to the Bar in 1973 and to the Inner Bar in 1985. While at the Bar he served for many years on the Bar Council including a term of two years (1993-1995) as its Chair and has been a Bencher of the Honourable Society of the King’s Inns since 1994.

Judge Scott Schlegel, Louisiana Fifth Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana

Judge Schlegel was recently elected to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and took office on August 21, 2023. During Judge Scott Schlegel’s decade on the trial court, he designed and managed “what may be one of the most advanced courts in the country for delivering justice online,” according to one leading legal tech journalist. Judge Schlegel currently serves as the Chair of the Louisiana Supreme Court Technology Commission and was recently appointed to the Advisory Council of the ABA Task Force on the Law and Artificial Intelligence. He is the Immediate Past President of the Louisiana District Judges Association (LDJA) and serves on many other committees.

Judge Schlegel has received numerous awards including the National Center for State Courts’ 26th Annual William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the highest judicial honors in the country. Judge Schlegel was also featured on the cover of the American Bar Association Journal and is a nationally recognized speaker on legal tech and the modernization of the justice system. Prior to his election to the bench, Judge Schlegel was one of the top felony prosecutors in the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. He practiced civil law with an emphasis in products liability before becoming a prosecutor. Judge Schlegel graduated with honors from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where he served as the President of the Student Bar Association. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Representative Laurie Schlegel, for nearly 25 years and has one son in college.

Cindy Carroll BL, Deputy Chairperson of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal

A graduate of Law from University College Cork, Cindy was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1995. Following a pupillage year in Dublin, she practised as a barrister in Cork, and lectured in Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork. In 2001, she was appointed as Advisory Counsel at the Office of the Attorney General and worked there advising primarily on asylum and immigration law. She returned to practice as a barrister in Dublin in early 2004, and was briefed as counsel on behalf of the State in the areas of Asylum and Immigration law from 2004 until March 2018. She was involved in many of the leading cases in this rapidly developing area of law.

During this time, she also lectured in the Dublin Institute of Technology, and both lectured and tutored in the Law Society of Ireland on European Union Law and Human Rights Law. In March 2018, Cindy was appointed as Deputy Chairperson of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, where she is a member of the senior management team, Head of Training and a decision maker in all five of the Tribunal’s jurisdictions. In May 2019, she made the first preliminary reference from the Tribunal to the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to the Reception Conditions Directive (Recast), which judgment was delivered on 14 January 2021.

Cindy has been a Judicial Trainer with the European Union Agency for Asylum since 2021 and has delivered several training workshops for EUAA. She has also been an invited Keynote Speaker at various conferences as well as chairing the Law Society’s TRALIM Conference on a number of occasions. Cindy was re-appointed as Deputy Chairperson in March 2023, and was appointed as Interim Chairperson of the Tribunal in July and August 2023.Cindy has successfully completed an MA in Leadership and Strategy and is currently studying for a Doctorate in Governance.

Siobhan Long, Manager, National Assisted Technology Training Service, Enable Ireland

Siobhán has worked in the field of Assistive Technology since 1991. Siobhan’s current role involves management of Enable Ireland’s National Assistive Technology Training and SeatTech Services. Having initially worked as a speech and language therapist, she progressed to working with a multidisciplinary A.T. team, and pursued many opportunities to bridge the gap between technology advancements and their availability to end users.

In 2016, Siobhan began a partnership with the Disability Federation of Ireland, resulting in the publication of Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities and Older People: A Discussion Paper. Since then she has been working intensively on an advocacy and lobbying programme, to promote the adoption of the recommendations contained in the Discussion Paper. Chief among these are the establishment of a national AT Passport, to address the significant gaps in service provision as AT users transition through life. Her ultimate goal is to secure the development of a national Assistive Technology Ecosystem in Ireland. Siobhán also manages Enable Ireland’s National Virtual Service, an innovative online service for and with adult service owners, established as an emergency response to the pandemic. This service has proven to be immensely impactful in empowering adults with disabilities to play a key role in designing and delivering services in line with their own goals and aspirations.

Aoife Kelly Desmond, Managing Solicitor, Mercy Law Resource Centre

Aoife Kelly-Desmond is Managing Solicitor at Mercy Law Resource Centre, a registered charity and independent law centre providing free legal advice and representation to people at risk of homelessness. Previously, Aoife was a solicitor in A&L Goodbody and Matheson where she advised commercial entities and public bodies on investigations, regulatory matters and complex litigation and disputes. Aoife is Chairperson of Plan International Ireland, an international charity that aims to advance children’s rights and promote equality for girls. She is also a member of the Social Workers Registration Board representing the interests of the general public.

Sarah Benson, Chief Executive Office, Women's Aid

Sarah Benson is the current Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Aid, Ireland. Women’s Aid are a national, organisation working to prevent and address the impact of domestic violence and abuse. They do this by advocating, influencing, training, and campaigning for effective responses to reduce the scale and impacts of domestic abuse on women and children in Ireland, and by providing high quality, specialised, integrated, support services. For nine years prior to this role, Sarah was the Chief Executive Officer with Ruhama, an Irish NGO working nationally with women and people affected by prostitution including victims of sex trafficking .

In addition Sarah has previous experience as Manager of the National Domestic Violence Helpline and extensive work in the community and voluntary sector both in Ireland and abroad, working particularly with marginalized ethnic minority women and youth. Sarah was the Irish Expert on Violence Against Women for the European Women’s Lobby Observatory from 2010-2016 & and, between 2014 and 2019, the Chairperson of CAP International - a coalition of 30+ frontline services across the globe in 24 countries - working directly with women and people in prostitution/victims of sex trafficking. Sarah is a former Vice Chairperson of the Board of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, and is a current member of the Board of The Wheel. Throughout her career Sarah’s passion for human rights, social justice and equality - in particular for women and girls - remains a constant feature.

Noeline Blackwell, Solicitor

Noeline Blackwell is a human rights lawyer. She has recently stepped down as CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and was previously Director of FLAC, the Free Legal Advice Centres. Prior to that, she was a solicitor in general practice. Noeline has been a member of a number of statutory and NGO boards. She currently chairs the Independent Patient Safety Council and the Child Law Project. She was appointed as a member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in 2023.

Carolann Minnock, Arthur Cox

Carolann leads the pro bono practice at Arthur Cox and is responsible for the strategic development and co-ordination of pro bono. The Arthur Cox pro bono practice provides legal advice and representation to individuals, not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises that could not otherwise afford it. Carolann develops impactful pro bono projects bringing together lawyers from across the firm to represent pro bono clients in areas such as access to justice, employment and immigration law. She contributes to the continued development of the pro bono sector in Ireland and is a member of the Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, the UK Collaborative Plan and the European Pro Bono Alliance. Carolann has a wealth of not-for-profit experience having previously worked in the international development sector for nine years in Afghanistan, Thailand and different countries in Africa.