Michael Twomey is an Irish judge and lawyer who has served as a Judge of the High Court since January 2016. He was previously a solicitor with an expertise in partnership law.

Education

Twomey went to school in

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

. He was educated at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

where he obtained a BCL degree in 1987 and obtained an LL.M. degree in 1988. His master's degree was in family law. He obtained a PhD from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

in 2001 with a thesis on "The law relating to partnership in Ireland".

Legal career

He qualified as a solicitor in 1990 in a commercial law firm in Dublin. After qualification, he worked for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

to advise on intellectual property law. He then returned to Dublin to study and lecture. He set up his own practice advising principally on partnership law. The firm was based in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely situated north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the ...

, and among his clients were accountancy and law firms and an Irish rock band. He also advised on chancery law and commercial law. He is an accredited mediator. He is a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

since 2016. He was written two editions of a book on partnership. He has been a visiting researcher at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He has lectured in

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and the Law Society of Ireland.

Judicial career

Twomey was appointed to the High Court in January 2016. He is a member of the Commercial Court. He has heard cases involving insolvency law, judicial review, company law, medical law, family law, and personal injuries. He is critical of high awards of damages in compensation cases. He has been the presiding judge in disputes between the solicitor Gerald Kean and

EBS d.a.c. EBS d.a.c. is a small financial institution in Ireland registered as a designated activity company. History EBS Building Society was founded in 1935 by Alexander McCabe, Thomas J. O'Connell and other teachers to provide affordable housing fi ...

, Garrett Kelleher and the

National Asset Management Agency The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA; ) is a body created by the Government of Ireland in late 2009 in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish property bubble. NAMA functions as a '' bad bank'', acquiring ...

, the Quinn family and

Irish Bank Resolution Corporation The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) was the name given to the entity formed in 2011 by the court-mandated merger of the state-owned banking institutions Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society. Following a High Court o ...

, and an action arising out of schemes by

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American financial criminal and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time ...

. In 2017, he temporarily sat as a Judge of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. He was the judicial assessor for ruling on nominations for the

2018 Irish presidential election The 2018 Irish presidential election took place on Friday, 26 October, between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. President Michael D. Higgins, who was elected in 2011 with the support of the Labour Party, was seeking re-election to a second term as an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twomey, Michael Living people Alumni of University College Cork Alumni of University College Dublin High Court judges (Ireland) 21st-century Irish judges Irish solicitors Year of birth missing (living people)