Civil Legal Services Appeal Panels appointments

Biography

Presiding Member Sarah Havlin

Sarah Havlin qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and specialised in acting in complex disputes and litigation across all courts, tribunals and arbitration bodies, representing commercial enterprises, insurance companies, public bodies and many large employers in Northern Ireland. Since 2006 she has held public office roles and several fee paid judicial roles, including 10 years as the Certification Officer of Northern Ireland, a regulatory and adjudication tribunal in the field of Industrial Relations. Sarah held the office of both Parliamentary Boundary Commissioner and Local Government Boundary Commissioner for Northern Ireland, setting the legal framework of administrative boundaries for elections at Westminster and local level. She has also served as a Non-Executive Director of the Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland and as the Independent Assessor of Complaints for the Public Prosecution Service and the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland. Sarah has extensive experience in the legal chairmanship of several tribunals and statutory adjudication bodies in Northern Ireland and across the U.K including the Exceptional Circumstances Tribunal, the Rural Payments Appeals Tribunal, the Parades Commission and the Central Arbitration Committee. She is the current Chairman of the Industrial Court of Northern Ireland and the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator. Sarah also sits as a member of the Complaints Committee at Independent Press Standards (IPSO) the national regulator of the U.K print and digital news industry and she is an independent Board member of the Labour Relations Agency.

Other Members

Jonathan Killen

Jonathan Killen qualified as a Solicitor in 2004. He worked in private practice before moving into the public sector, with roles in the Official Solicitor’s Office and Departmental Solicitor’s Office. He has experience of a wide range of civil litigation including personal injury, declaratory cases, human rights cases and judicial review. He has experience of public and private law Children Order cases, Hague Convention cases, Divorce and Ancillary Relief. He has provided advice and representation to government departments across a range of issues and has also represented Departments in public inquiries.

Conor Fegan

Conor Fegan is a practising barrister specialising in public law, with particular expertise in planning, environmental, and local government law. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2018 and subsequently undertook pupillage at Francis Taylor Building. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2022.

Megan McCann

Megan McCann qualified as a Solicitor in 2012. She worked in private practice specialising in criminal and family law before joining the PPS as a Public Prosecutor in 2014. She completed a secondment to the Office of the Attorney General in 2016. She became a Principal Public Prosecutor in 2017, working on policy and addressing delays in summary justice. Since 2019, she has dealt primarily with judicial review and criminal appeals before the High Court. She was appointed as Legal Chair of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in August 2024.

Leonard Marken

Len qualified as a solicitor in 1986 and since then has specialised in High Court and County Court cases, with particular focus on personal injury and credit hire litigation. He has been a principle in private practice for almost 30 years and over that time has gained a great wealth of experience in all aspects of court work, often conducting his own advocacy in cases. He is also an accredited Mediator and has also been appointed as an arbitrator to the Motor Insurers Bureau Panel of Arbitrators. Len has also recently been appointed to the Law Society Solicitors Complaints Committee and the Law Society Solicitors Remuneration Committee.

Nichola McCartan

Nichola McCartan lives in Lisburn. She became a solicitor in 2003. She worked in private practice until 2006 when she became a public prosecutor specialising in criminal law. Throughout her career she has built experience across all areas of criminal law. She is an advanced advocate having obtained a certificate in advanced advocacy from the Law Society of Northern Ireland in September 2010. In September 2020 she was appointed as legal member of the Review Tribunal for Northern Ireland. She is also an ordinary member of both the Northern Ireland Evaluation Tribunal and the Victims Payments Board.

Brian Roulston

Brian Roulston qualified as a solicitor in 2010. Having worked in private practice, he has in recent years been advising public bodies and agencies. His broad experience includes drafting legislation, human rights, personal injury, regulatory obligations and judicial review.

Eamonn Broderick

Eamonn began his career in the private sector working with the global company BOC Gases, gaining valuable experience in a fast-paced, commercially driven environment. Moving into the public sector, he went on to serve as Head of Civil Legal Services at the Legal Services Agency, where he led the delivery of vital civil legal aid services. Since 2017, working with the Department of Education, heading the Sustainable Schools Policy and Planning team, where their work is focused on ensuring that school provision across Northern Ireland remains both sustainable and responsive to community needs. With a career spanning both private enterprise and public service, Eamonn brings a wealth of expertise, a passion for fairness, and a commitment to making a positive difference to the people of Northern Ireland.

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