The Company Law Conference 2025

Corporate Consultant

Sinead Gortland

Sinead has worked in company law and company secretarial for ten years. Sinead’s focus is Beneficial Ownership, Annual Compliance, Corporate Governance and Anti-Money Laundering. Sinead is passionate about making company secretarial, company law and AML accessible and approachable to agents and accountants.

In her previous roles, Sinead has been responsible for carrying out; Company formations, Section 343 applications, High Court Company Restorations, Annual Compliance, Company Law Compliance and AML. As well as this, Sinead delivers bespoke training in the areas of corporate governance and compliance.

In her previous roles Sinead spent time in education and ESG and has a MSc from Maynooth.

Friel Stafford

Tom Murray

Tom qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) in 1997 whilst working with Chase Manhattan Bank. Tom has over 20 years experience in accounting and business roles.

He is one of Ireland’s most experienced corporate recovery and turnaround practitioners and was one of the first Personal Insolvency Practitioners licensed in Ireland.

He also is an experienced Corporate Financier with particular interest and expertise in the area of equity and debt fund raising, and the buying and selling of businesses.

He is heavily involved with the ACCA accountancy body and is a past President of ACCA Ireland. He represented ACCA Ireland at the ACCA International Assembly in 2011. He was nominated in January 2021 by ACCA to represent it on the the CCABI insolvency Committee.

He is authorised to act as a Personal Insolvency Practitioner by the Insolvency Service of Ireland.

Clark Hill Solicitors

Sean Nolan

Sean Nolan is a partner in Clark Hill Solicitors LLP, where he practices commercial law, M&A, inward investment, joint ventures, shareholders’ agreements and IP. He is qualified as a solicitor in both Ireland and England, having attended University College London (LL.B.) and London Metropolitan University (MA Business Law). He is co-author of Buying and Selling a Business – Tax and Legal Issues published by the Irish Institute of Taxation and M&A – Protecting the Purchaser, published by Kluwer Law International and is an author of Business Law published by Oxford University Press and the Law Society of Ireland. He is a member of the Business Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland and has published various articles on business law subjects in professional journals. He has also lectured at the Law Society on company law.

Barrister

Brian Walker

Brian Walker is practicing barrister. He has nearly 45 years experience of company law and company secretarial practice, having previously worked with the accountancy firms of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

He has been CPD lecturer in company law to the main accountancy bodies for the past thirty years. His approach to company law is straightforward, direct and easily understood. He will focus on changes in company and commercial law and the most important issues that arise daily for accountants, auditors and company directors.

Senior Legal Adviser, CEA

Sam Deasy

Sam is a Senior Legal Adviser working in the Legal Directorate of the Corporate Enforcement Authority. The Legal Directorate provides legal advice and litigation support across the CEA. Sam previously practised as a barrister, working in a wide variety of areas of litigation in both civil and criminal law.