Our People
Expertise
Hilary is a partner in the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Private Client Departments at Matheson Ormsby Prentice and Head of the firm's Private Client Litigation and Family Law Group. Hilary has extensive experience in all aspects of domestic and international family law and has acted in many of the leading cases in this field. Her experience in this regard extends to advising on separation and divorce and the far-reaching legal, financial and taxation implications of marital breakdown, to include dealing with businesses, partnerships, trusts and pensions in this context. Hilary also has wide-ranging experience in cases with an international dimension to include advices as to choice of jurisdiction and the recognition of foreign orders. In addition, she has extensive experience in cases involving children, non-marital cases and pre-marriage advices, including the negotiation of pre-nuptial agreements.
Hilary also advises on all aspects of contentious trusts and estates litigation, to include applications to remove executors/trustees, trust governance concerns, claims of spouses and/or children and issues concerning the validity of Wills.
Hilary is the current Chair of the Law Society of Ireland Family Law Committee and has also been elected as a member of the Law Society Council. Hilary is a former Chair of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association Family Law Committee, the Communications Committee of the Irish Family Lawyers Association and is a trained collaborative lawyer.
Hilary has recently been appointed to the CCBE (Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe) Family Law Working Group as the Irish member on this European task force. Hilary has also been admitted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (IAML) and is also a member of the IAML Board of Governors. The IAML is a worldwide association of practising lawyers who are recognised by their peers as the most experienced and expert family law specialists in their respective countries.
Hilary has contributed several articles to Irish and international journals and is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on family law and related areas of practice.
Education
University College Cork, BCL
University College Cork and Université Robert Schuman, France, LLM Master of Laws
Law Society of Ireland, Diploma in Property Tax
