The Younger Members Committee of the Law Society of Ireland and the Young Bar Committee invite you to a Fire Side Chat with Noeline Blackwell and Sarah Grace in Blue Room in Blackhall Place.

Refreshments will be served and the lounge bar will be open after the event.

Our special guests:

NOELINE BLACKWELL

Noeline Blackwell is a human rights lawyer and CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, a voluntary organisation which works to prevent the harm and heal the trauma of sexual violence. She has previously worked as a solicitor in private practice and as Director General of access to justice organisation FLAC.

Noeline has been a member of several statutory and NGO boards. She currently chairs the Independent Patient Safety Council and the Child Law Project. She sits on the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Women Peace & Security Oversight Group and its Audit Committee and is a a member of the Governing Authority of University College Dublin.

SARAH GRACE

Sarah Grace is a solicitor and certified yoga teacher. French and Irish, raised in Japan and France, she graduated from University College London and Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas with an LLB degree in law and French law from. After moving to Ireland six years ago, she qualified as a solicitor in 2018 and now works for Stripe as International Corporate Counsel.

On 17 July 2019 she survived a violent sexual assault that turned her life upside-down, when a burglar broke into her apartment and attacked her as she slept. After a nightmarish fight for her life and navigating an archaic court system for months in her bid to ensure her attacker couldn’t do the same to another woman, Sarah publicly called for changes to Ireland’s criminal justice system for other sexual violence survivors, which culminated in her meeting with Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in March 2021 to discuss legal reforms.

Trigger warning

Many individuals go through trauma of different kinds, domestic violence, sexual violence, loss of loved ones, and mental illness. Themes covered in the discussion may be distressing to some audience members and as such discretion is advised.

By sharing her story, Sarah Grace has used her harrowing experience to break the silence in order to help others. This is not only a story of survival and healing, but a story of empowerment, inspiration and reminding ourselves of the strength we all have and should use to help each other not only in our personal lives, but in our working lives as well.

Please note, places at this event are limited and we would ask that those who have registered attend on the evening. However if you are unable to attend please cancel your order so that others may avail.

For more information email memberservices@lawsociety.ie or l.vodani@lawsociety.ie

Fireside Chat with Noeline Blackwell and Sarah Grace