"She is a strong advocate, very good with difficult cross-examination and loved by the clients."
Chambers & Partners 2024
"Tara is a shrewd advocate with excellent drafting skills, and she is good with clients."
Chambers & Partners 2024
"Great courtroom advocate and cross-examiner"
The Legal 500 2023
“Great compliments from the client…so much so that they have asked if it would be possible for her to do [another] case for them…Their comments included how good she was at cross-examination, but still treated the Claimant with respect. Good barrister, with a human side.”
Tara specialises in employment, professional discipline, personal injury, and clinical negligence. She has been recommended in the Legal 500 as a “great courtroom advocate and cross-examiner.”
Tara is regularly sought out for multi-day trials that involve high stake disputes and require strong cross-examining skills of witnesses and experts.
Employment law: Tara acts for both claimants and respondents in the Employment Tribunal. She is regularly sought out for complex preliminary hearings and multi-day trials in unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of contract, and TUPE-related claims. She has also regularly appears in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, most recently Leicester City Council v Patel [2022] EAT 109.
Healthcare / regulatory: Tara frequently acts for doctors and dentists on instruction from the MPS, MDU and DDU. She has been instructed by the British Medical Association and as part of a team on behalf of Dr Eva Carneiro v Jose Mourinho & Chelsea Football Club. She also drafted submissions for the London Ambulance Service for the inquests into the Westminster and London Bridge Terrorist Attacks.
Tara acts for doctors, dentists, nurses, occupational therapists, and social workers at all stages of fitness to practice proceedings in the GMC, GDC, NMC, HCPC, and SWE. She also has a keen interest in sport and recently acted for an individual facing disciplinary sanction by the British Horseracing Authority.
Personal injury and clinical negligence: Tara acts for claimants and defendants. She regularly appears in high value claims involving accidents at work, road traffic accidents and occupiers’ liability, alongside a busy inquest practice. She has extensive experience of claims for and against GPs, secondary-care clinicians, and ambulance staff. She is well-versed in NHS and MDU/DDU approaches to clinical law claims.
Tara is also a member of the Irish Bar and has advised on jurisdictional issues impacting employers operating in Ireland and the UK.
Prior to joining Chambers, Tara read English Literature & Psychology at Trinity College, Dublin where she was an active member of the debating and Gaelic football teams.
Professional Recommendations
“Tara is a shrewd advocate with excellent drafting skills, and she is good with clients.”
Chambers & Partners 2024
“She is a strong advocate, very good with difficult cross-examination and loved by the clients.”
Chambers & Partners 2024
“great courtroom advocate and cross-examiner”
The Legal 500 2023
“Just to let you know the client wanted me to extend their thanks to you and said you were “unanimously thought of by the [Trust]’s attendees as highly professional, knowledgeable and persuasive but yet humane and down to earth.”
Client
“Great compliments from the client…so much so that they have asked if it would be possible for her to do [another] case for them…Their comments included how good she was at cross-examination, but still treated the Claimant with respect. Good barrister, with a human side.”
Client
“Just to let you know I was very impressed with Tara today and have just heard from client, as I left early, to say that she was brutal in cross-examination.”
Client
“Please pass on my thanks to Tara, an incredible barrister who was so calm but firm and very professional… almost immediately she put us at ease and said think of it as an experience and what an interesting experience it was. I knew as soon as I met her I would be in good hands. Of course I’m over the moon and grateful with the outcome but even if I didn’t win I would still be sending this email because I could see the dedication and drive…Great team work all round so many thanks to all involved.”
Client
“I would be grateful if you could pass on a note to Tara’s head of chambers. I would like to thank her and particularly make note to her chambers how effective and professional she was…Without her we would not have uncovered vital evidence of poor care, and the court may well have retired ignorant of potential further risk to life from the lack of a robust process put in place following a serious medication error leading to the death of my mother. I and my family are hugely grateful to her for the diligent work and the care she took meticulously presenting evidence and questioning the relevant parties. I feel that justice was served that day and I owe much of that to Tara, without whom it may have been impossible to get to the bottom of the case details. She was clearly significantly more professional and better prepared than her opposition, and was a credit to your chambers. You have a young lady to watch, she will go far! Many thanks from a grateful family.”
Client
“I just want to thank you again, it was a pleasure to meet you and get to know you over the last few days. You are a credit to your profession, the perfect choice for us because of your wonderful passion for justice and fairness and I hope that you never lose that, particularly reflecting on the tough world that you’re in.”
Client
“Just a quick note to say thanks for doing such a top rate job today. I can’t overestimate the attention it received from [the] senior management team… It’s been a while since I observed a FT trial, still I thoroughly enjoyed watching you batter the Claimant’s poorly prepared and woefully presented case into oblivion! Will – Tara was excellent today!”
Client
Expertise
Employment & discrimination
Tara acts for both claimants and respondents in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal. She is regularly sought out for complex preliminary hearings and multi-day trials in unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of contract and TUPE-related claims.
Tara regularly acts for NHS trusts and doctors under the MHPS. She has been instructed the British Medical Association and as part of a team in their representation of Dr Eva Carneiro v Jose Mourinho & Chelsea Football Club.
Tara is often instructed in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, with several successful appearances in 3(10) and substantive hearings. She is a member of ELAAS. She has also appeared in the Court of Appeal in a claim brought against the Mayor of London for breach of s19 Equality Act 2010.
Tara also acts in public sector discrimination claims and conducts investigations on behalf of employers, understanding the need for these to be conducted sensitively and cost-effectively.
Examples of recent work include: –
Reconsideration rules in EAT, Leicester City Council v Patel [2022] EAT 109
Indirect discrimination challenge to the Mayor of London, IWGB v Mayor of London, [2020] EWCA Civ 1046;
Employment status/ sham contract claims, Dynasystems for Trade and General Consulting Ltd v Moseley, EAT [2018] 1 WLUK 416;
Acting for a CEO in a TUPE-related dispute;
Acting for an employee unfairly dismissed for using and sharing class A drugs at a Christmas party;
Acting for high net-worth individuals accused of mistreating their employed nanny;
Acting for a banking executive in her claim for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination;
Acting in mediations for high-net-worth employers and employees
Acting in a sexual orientation discrimination claim on behalf of a junior doctor accused of indecent exposure by a private hire vehicle company;
Acting for a doctor accused of dishonesty under MHPS
Professional discipline & regulatory
Tara acts for professionals at all stages of fitness to practise proceedings including interim order and substantive hearings. She is often before the General Medical Council, General Dental Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Heath and Care Professions Council, and Social Work England.
Recent work includes: –
Representing a doctor accused of sexual misconduct;
Representing a dentist accused of sexual assault;
Representing a dentist accused of misconduct and dishonesty;
Representing a junior dentist accused of misconduct and deficient professional performance;
Representing an occupational therapist for alleged misconduct and/or lack of competence; and
Representing social workers for alleged misconduct and/or lack of competence.
Tara also has a keen interest in sport and recently acted for an individual facing disciplinary action by the British Horseracing Authority. She has also advised the PGA European Tour.
She is a member of the Sports Resolution Pro-Bono Panel.
Personal Injury & Inquests
Tara regularly appears in high value claims involving accidents at work, occupiers’ liability, and road traffic accidents. She has considerable experience of working with medical experts and advising on complex medical evidence.
She also has a busy inquest practice.
Examples of work include: –
Advising a nurse attacked by a psychotic patient in a large London hospital;
Advising a police officer bullied at work by senior members of staff;
Advising a claimant injured in the Shoreham Airshow crash;
Acting for a family in a jury inquest into the death of a lift worker crushed to death on a Ferry. The remaining interested parties were represented by Queen’s Counsel and senior juniors. Read more about the case here;
Acting for families who lost a loved one in a hospital-care setting;
Submissions for the London Ambulance Service for the inquests into the Westminster and London Bridge Terrorist Attacks;
Representing in a case relating to the death of Ms Tahnie Martin: see here.
Clinical Negligence
Tara acts for both claimants and defendants across a wide range of clinical negligence claims. She has been seconded to a defendant clinical law team and is well-versed in NHS protocols and approaches to clinical negligence claims.
Tara has extensive evidence of working with medical experts, adopts a collaborative approach with experts and solicitors to obtain the best outcome for the client.
Examples of work include: –
Advising on a claim for delay in diagnosis of a knee infection;
Advising on mismanagement of bladder care during labour and delivery;
Advising on alleged negligent plastic surgery;
Acting for a tetraplegic claimant in alleged negligent hospital care;
Acting for a GP who failed to recognise the signs of sepsis;
Acting for GPs accused of failing to diagnose and/or manage presentations suspicious of cancer; and
Acting for GPs accused of failing to urgently refer patients to hospital.
Qualifications
Academics
English Literature & Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin (First Class)
Graduate Diploma in Law, City University, London (Commendation)
BPTC, Kaplan Law School, London (Very Competent)
Scholarships
Lord Diplock Scholarship, Middle Temple
Trinity College, Dublin Entrance Exhibition Award
Awards
2014, Semi-Finalist, European Court of Human Rights Moot, Strasbourg
2010, Winner, UCD IV N. Debating Competition, University College, Dublin
2010, Finalist, Philosophical Society M. Debating Competition, Trinity College, Dublin
2006, Irish Representative, Harvard Model United Nations Conference
