End of Summer Placement Programme 2024

Today, the Chief Justice’s Summer Placement Programme for Law Students 2024 was brought to a close. Participants concluded their time in the Four Courts and Criminal Courts of Justice by competing in teams in mock trials which were held in the Supreme Court and presided over by Mr Justice Michael MacGrath of the Court of Appeal. Chief Justice O’Donnell also delivered parting remarks to the participants and wished them well in their future careers.

The Placement Programme was established in 2013 under the Chief Justiceship of Mrs Justice Susan Denham and takes place every year for four weeks throughout the Trinity term. For the duration of the programme, third level students are assigned to a judge of the High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court and are given the opportunity to shadow the judge and his/her judicial assistant, attend court with them, and observe their work.

In addition to attending court with their assigned member of the judiciary, this year’s participants also visited and observed the work of the District Court, the Drug Treatment Court and the Criminal Courts of Justice, and heard from a range of speakers on the interesting and varied work of the courts and of those who operate within the legal system. Some of this year’s talks included the following:

• The role of the Attorney General (delivered by Mr Justice Séamus Woulfe),
• The role of the District Court (delivered by His Honour Judge Paul Kelly, President of the District Court),
• The work of the Commercial Court and a career in law (delivered by Ms Justice Eileen Roberts),
• The work of the Environmental and Planning Court (delivered by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys),
• The work of Community Law and Mediation (delivered by Mary Heavey),
• The work of Irish Rule of Law International (delivered by the Director of Programmes, Seán McHale),
• Qualifying as a solicitor, FE1s and applying for training contracts (delivered by Dylan Hogan)
• Qualifying as a barrister and devilling (delivered by Cormac Hickey BL)
• Applying to be a judicial assistant (delivered by Anthony Whelan BL).

We wish this year's participants the best of luck with their future endeavours!