Kevin Bell BL

LL.B. – Trinity College Dublin

Advanced Diploma in Applied Employment Law – King’s Inns

Junior Counsel specialising in the areas of employment and planning law. I regularly represent employers and developers before the Superior Courts, the Labour Court, and in dealings with Local Authorities and An Bord Pleanála.

In addition to my practice I also currently serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Irish Employment Law Journal and the Employment Law Reports. I also serve on the Committee of the Employment Bar Association.

In the past I have taught Private Law Remedies, Constitutional Law and Employment Law in Trinity College Dublin and the Technical University of Dublin.

Ducalla Limited t/a Bunsen v. Dublin City Council 2021/153JR – May 2021 – Eversheds Solicitors

I represented the applicant in this application for judicial review against Dublin City Council. The applicant operated the Bunsen Burger restaurant in Ranelagh, Dublin 6. We were successful in quashing an Enforcement Notice issued by the Respondent in respect of the operation of the restaurant. We were successful in concluding the proceedings within 12 weeks of them having been issued.

Keogh v. Sunshine Juice Limited 2014/252 – June 2020 – HG Donnelly Solicitors

I successfully defended an application for a planning injunction pursuant to section 160 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, on behalf of the defendant in this case – a large industrial employer in County Carlow.

Vickers v. Shopify International Limited – May 2021 – Matheson Solicitors

In this Labour Court appeal I successfully represented the multi-national respondent in defending the complainant’s claim that she had been discriminated on the ground of civil status, contrary to the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015.

Barthod-Malat v. Fournier Laboratories Limited – February 2021 – Matheson Solicitors

I was successful, on behalf of the multi-national respondent, in this Labour Court appeal in having the applicant’s claim pursuant to the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 dismissed.

• Is the Gig Finally Up? Mar 23, 2020, Irish Employment Law Journal
• An article on the future of the Gig Economy after recent dramatic developments in Ireland and the USA.
• Doubling Down – Multiple Employment Claims after Culkin v. Sligo County Council, Dec 1, 2018, Irish Employment Law Journal
• An article examining the impact on the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Culkin v. Sligo County Council [2017] IECA 104 regarding the bringing of multiple claims arising from the same factual nexus in an employment law context. Co-written with Cian Moriarty of Phillip Lee Solicitors.
• Illegality in Contract and Restitution: Developments in Ireland and Australia, November 2013, Irish Jurist Volume 50
• Co-written with Seán McGuinness this article examines the decision of the Hon. Mr. Justice Peter Charleton in the extensive Quinn v. IBRC litigation. The ramifications of this decision in the area of restitution and unjust enrichment are analysed together with developments in this area further afield.
• Bankruptcy Reform: An Unlikely Kick-start to the Economy, March 2011, Trinity College Law Review
• A detailed analysis of the Irish bankruptcy regime and proposals for reform. Awarded prize for Best Article by the Hon. Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns, President of the High Court.

• The Gender Pay Gap – Recent Developments in the United Kingdom and the European Union – lecture delivered to the Irish Society of European Law, 27 January 2017
• The Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court – A Practitioner’s Update – presentation delivered to the annual conference of the Employment Bar Association 22 November 2019