ELLA is a pan-European association that aims to bring together national associations of LGBTQ+ legal professionals to promote equality, inclusion and collaboration across the European sector. The ELLA conference was the first of its kind to be held in Europe and brought together lawyers, judges, academics and law students for two days of discussions and networking.

The programme of events focused on substantive issues affecting LGBTQ+ individuals and their families as well as talks focused on LGBTQ+ lawyers and the challenges faced within the profession. The conference also featured a keynote address from Dr Katherine Zappone, hosted by co-chairs of the OUTLaw Network, Miah Phelan Sweeney and Orla Hubbard as well as several Irish panellists.

Speaking about the conference, co-chair of the OUTLaw Network, Miah Phelan Sweeney told Irish Legal News: “I was absolutely thrilled for the OUTLaw Network to be a part of Ella’s flagship event and especially proud to see such strong representation from the Irish legal sector, both in attendance and among our esteemed speakers. It has been a strategic priority for us at the OUTLaw Network to make connections internationally and being a part of ELLA has helped us massively in doing this. A sincere thank you to Dr Katherine Zapponne for her incredible support and to all of our Irish speakers who volunteered their time to make this event possible. Thank you also to A&L Goodbody for sponsoring this year’s event and to the Law Society of Ireland and Bar Council for their continuous support of OUTLaw’s work. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved with this conference and look forward to bringing back the lessons we have learned to the Irish context.”

Next year’s conference will take place in Paris in September 2027.