Olivia O'Kane

Ms O’Kane has over two decades of experience specialising in media disputes related to a wide range of complex media areas.

Her expertise includes defamation, technology-related disputes, broadcast and newspaper disputes and pre-broadcast clearance, and she has advised on a variety of commercial and regulatory disputes including those related to IP.

Ms O’Kane has played a pivotal role in landmark High Court and Court of Appeal rulings in Northern Ireland, and is known for her unwavering commitment to defending freedom of expression in the public interest, protecting journalistic sources and advocating for the independence of the media.

She is also Ireland’s appointed expert on anti-SLAPP law for the European Commission.

Mathew Forde, partner at Lewis Silkin Belfast, said: “Olivia is an experienced practitioner with a stellar reputation in media law, particularly in the area of defamation and reputation management.

“She brings depth and specialist expertise to our IP and media disputes resolution team in the island of Ireland, further augmenting our ability to advise and act in a wide range of complex media areas, including defamation, privacy, investigative journalism, contempt, e-commerce and online liability.”