Brian is Managing Partner of the firm. He undertakes work on behalf of housing and property developers relating to housing developments, apartment schemes, site acquisition, option agreements, site development, planning issues and planning agreements, joint ventures and consortium collaboration agreements and site development licences, corporate sales and acquisitions involving property companies and related commercial litigation. He has extensive experience in acting for consortia of landowners in concluding planning agreements under the previous Article 40 regime and now under S76 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

Brian is regarded as one of the most experienced Solicitor Mediators in Northern Ireland and has pioneered the use of mediation for the resolution of commercial disputes, has lectured extensively in mediation, both locally and internationally and has vast experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

As a consequence of his dispute resolution, commercial and property experience, Brian is often asked to act in negotiating and resolving complex multi-faceted and high value disputes for businesses and in respect of matrimonial disputes involving land and property. He has also been asked to investigate and report on sensitive and complex workplace grievances for various high profile local and international organisations.

Brian has developed a specialist practice area acting for Dentists and Orthodontists in relation to dentist practice sales or acquisitions, having completed many transactions for dentists, either retiring or acquiring, over the last 5 years.  In addition to business sales for Dentists, Brian acts for family-owned businesses in mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations, which requires knowledge and awareness of related tax implications.  Often tax planning will be involved in business disposals and Brian will assist in developing taxation strategies and creating Trusts and wills for business owners and private clients.

Brian has been an active member (and former Chair) of the Education Committee of the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI). Brian is also an elected member of the Council of LSNI and a former President of the LSNI for 2010 -2011. He has been Treasurer of the Law Society of Northern Ireland since 2015. He is Chair of the Law Society Mediation Service.

Brian is the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s nominee to the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) and in Livingstone, Zambia in April 2019 was elected President of the CLA, a position he held for 2 years and in which he devoted considerable time voluntarily to the CLA to assist in its role of upholding the independence of the legal profession, sharing best practice regarding regulation of the legal profession and training and mentoring colleagues and upholding the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth.

In April 2021 he was appointed as the inaugural Chair of the Ethics Commission of the Commonwealth Games Federation.