Valerie is a partner in the ByrneWallace LLP Litigation and Dispute Resolution team and has extensive experience acting for a range of public and private sector clients in complex litigation, including in real estate disputes, planning and environmental judicial review, contentious procurement, and related advisory and regulatory work. She also has expertise advising on defamation including online defamation.

Valerie advises and represents clients in alternative dispute resolution including arbitration and mediation and proactively attempts to achieve early resolution.

Valerie has lectured on the Law Society of Ireland Certificate in Conveyancing and Diploma in Commercial Property – Determination of Leases since 2014. 

Key Experience

• Acting for landlords and tenants of commercial premises in relation to the termination of leases including in High Court and Commercial Court litigation in respect of the exercise of break options, forfeiture and relief against forfeiture.
  
• Acting in property contract disputes, title disputes, adverse possession and actions in trespass.  
• Acting in planning judicial review proceedings brought against decisions of An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for residential and commercial developments. 
• Acting for public bodies (including Kildare County Council and the State Health Agency) in defence of public procurement challenges (Commercial Court) issued under the Remedies Regulations brought by unsuccessful tenderers, advising on applications to lift automatic suspensions, joining notice parties, discovery, redaction protocols and lawyer only confidentiality rings.
  
• Acting for the Courts Service of Ireland in High Court injunction proceedings against Google Ireland Limited and Facebook Ireland Limited concerning social media postings on YouTube and Facebook.
  
• Acting for corporate clients in relation to defamatory posts posted on the internet and obtaining Norwich Pharmacal orders against online social media platforms and telecom provider to ascertain the identities of the posters.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), University College Dublin,1999
• Diploma in European Studies, L'Universite de Sciences Sociales, Toulouse, 1998
• Qualified as a Solicitor, Law Society of Ireland, 2003
• Diploma in Commercial Property, Law Society of Ireland, 2006

Memberships

• Law Society of Ireland
  
• Dublin Solicitors Bar Association Law 
  
• Commercial Litigation Association of Ireland

Recommendations

‘Valerie Hourigan, partner, is highly experienced and very competent. She was directly involved at all stages of the litigation and was always contactable when I needed her input. She has excellent strategic insight and a strong knowledge of her clients and their businesses, which I found invaluable in representing their interests.’ - Legal 500, 2022

‘I dealt specifically with Valerie Hourigan and Grainne Murphy. Both worked well as a team to deliver an excellent service. Both were very accessible.’ - Legal 500, 2022

'Valerie Hourigan is very thorough.' - Legal 500 2021

‘Very well-informed’ - Legal 500