Emma Lyons

Emma Lyons, who runs a family and criminal law practice in west Belfast, joined the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s new solicitor safety group following her ordeal and is now leading calls for more action to be taken to protect professionals on the frontline.

Her harasser, Kevin Kennedy — the opposing party in a highly contentious family law case which Ms Lyons took on almost a decade ago — was given a suspended four-month sentence earlier this year after an unsuccessful appeal against his conviction.

Ms Lyons told Irish Legal News that she was disappointed when a custodial sentence was not imposed, and felt further discouraged when she read about another case involving the harassment of a solicitor, which also resulted in a suspended sentence.

“This is an issue that has to be addressed,” she says. “We need to create more awareness in respect of the risks facing solicitors, particularly those involved in highly contentious matters.”

“This failure to deal with the intimidation of legal professionals has a knock-on effect on clients,” she points out. “Why should vulnerable clients, who have often endured years of abuse and harassment, lose out on having the best of representation because the perpetrator redirects their attention onto those professionals? This is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated.”

Ms Lyons is concerned there is a “very real danger that harassment may deter professionals from taking on these cases or indeed, from going into certain areas of law”. This would have a disproportionate impact on women, she warns.

“My fear was always that this was going to deter young women from working within family law or with contentious divorces,” Ms Lyons says. “We need to make sure that young professionals coming through now can be confident that there is zero tolerance with regard to abuse and harassment.”

She adds: “I’m not saying that this is gender-specific — it’s certainly not. I’ve spoken to some male colleagues who have experienced abuse, harassment and even physical attacks in some cases.”

Part of the problem, Ms Lyons suggests, is that the issue has been overlooked for a long time because lawyers have been reluctant to speak out about their experiences.

“For too long, it was a taboo for professionals to talk openly about this problem — people did not want to be labelled as a victim,” she explains. “Women in particular did not want to be seen as weaker in comparison to their male colleagues.”

When Ms Lyons decided she had to act, she was disappointed not to receive more support from either the Law Society of Northern Ireland or the PSNI. Her involvement with the Law Society’s solicitor safety group is focused on changing that.

“What we are intent on doing is ensuring that there’s more awareness, more education, so as to increase the reporting and send out a clear message that there is zero tolerance moving forward — that legal professionals will not put up with any sort of abuse or harassment,” she says.

“The only way in which we can send out that message is by getting our members to report and to ensure that there’s no negative inferences that come from that. Unless we do something about it and bring about positive change, this problem will only get worse.”

One of the first proposals from the group is for legal practitioners to be included in new legislation which will introduce harsher penalties for attacks on frontline workers.

Naomi Long, the justice minister, has signalled her willingness to take this step.

“Everyone deserves to work in an environment free from harassment and intimidation,” the minister told ILN. “I am committed to strengthening the legislation and providing additional protections to anyone providing services to the public, performing a public duty or delivering a public service.”

Ms Lyons believes the outcome of her case may have been different if this legislation was in place. She has welcomed the justice minister’s statement as a positive development.

Closer to home, the Law Society has been working with organisations like the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to develop practical support and guidance for solicitors experiencing stalking or harassment — ranging from social media guidance to personal safety advice.

The UK charity was set up in memory of Suzy Lamplugh, an English estate agent who disappeared in 1986 on her way to meet a client and was never found.

Next, Ms Lyons says, “solicitors need reassurance that the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service are taking the issue seriously and training their staff appropriately”.

While it remains early days for the new solicitor safety group, its positive impact is already clear. One big achievement in itself is “ensuring that, moving forward, no solicitor feels isolated or unsupported,” Ms Lyons says.

“If we collectively come together, it makes us stronger. We need to put on a united front to ensure that there is zero tolerance of this behaviour moving forward.”