Kevin Hegarty has been appointed as a director in the commercial law firm’s healthcare department, while Ben Sims has been appointed as a director in the corporate team.

Mr Hegarty acts on behalf of medical indemnity organisations and individual clinicians involved in medical negligence cases, regulatory/disciplinary proceedings, enquiries, and inquests. He has a background of working in defence litigation on behalf of the major insurance companies in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Sims brings experience across a broad range of sectors, having worked in M&A teams spanning Manchester, Dubai and Singapore. He has advised on various buy and sell side M&A transactions, including venture capital and private equity transactions.

Newly-qualified solicitors Kate Loughran, Shane Boyle, Shane McElhatton and Aoife Murray have completed their training with Tughans and been appointed to roles in the firm’s finance and restructuring, insurance litigation, commercial litigation and contracts and IT departments.

Meanwhile, law graduates Ellen Dalzell, Niamh McGrath and Olivia Lewis are now engaged in a comprehensive two-year legal training programme which will embrace every practice area from commercial litigation to corporate law.

Managing partner Patrick Brown said: “Our firm is focused on developing high-quality teams through our dedicated trainee programme and we are pleased to welcome Ellen Dalzell, Niamh McGrath and Olivia Lewis to Tughans this year.

“We are also delighted to maintain a strong record of being able to offer our newly-qualified solicitors a position at the end of their training contract and congratulate Kate, Shane, Shane and Aoife for their achievements.

“These highly-talented, ambitious solicitors and trainees bring a fresh perspective and energy to the firm which will benefit our clients.”

“We also welcome Kevin and Ben as directors in the expansion of the healthcare and corporate departments respectively,” he added.