Speaker details

16th Annual Bar Leaders' Conference

24 May - 25 May 2023

Scandic Park Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Speaker information

Ken Murphy

Biography

Ken Murphy has been a member of the IBA Management Board since 2021 and was Chair of the Bar Issues Commission 2023-24. An Irish solicitor, he served for 26 years as Director General of the Law Society of Ireland. On his retirement he was the longest serving CEO of any national Bar or law society in the world. Prior to his appointment to the Law Society Director General role in 1995, he practiced in one of Ireland's largest commercial law firms, A&L Goodbody, where he became a partner in 1990. He practiced primarily in litigation and in EU and competition law including, for four years, in the firm's Brussels office. He has served on numerous IBA committees and task forces, including as Chair of the BIC's Policy Committee in 2002. Before work with the IBA, he was active for many years with the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives and the Chief Executives of European Bar Associations. In both of these associations, he served terms as the elected president.