şÚÁĎÉç’s School of Law has been awarded Law School of the Year in the prestigious LEAP Irish Law Awards 2025.
The School of Law received the accolade at the annual gala awards ceremony on Friday, June 6, in Dublin’s Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road. Hosted by presenter Anton Savage, this year’s ceremony brought together over 500 legal professionals from across the country, representing a wide range of practice areas, regions and sectors.
The LEAP Irish Law Awards highlight and acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of individuals, firms, and teams who demonstrate outstanding dedication, skill, and leadership in the practice of law.
Professor Lucy-Ann Buckley, Head of the School of Law at UL, acknowledged the significance of the award win for the school and the University.
“The Law School of the Year award is based on excellence in the teaching of law and reflects the School of Law’s commitment to teaching and programme innovation, and to student support, development and engagement. I am absolutely delighted to see the School of Law receive this important recognition at the LEAP Irish Law Awards 2025.”
UL and the School of Law were well-represented across the 31 award categories on the night. There were double celebrations for UL Adjunct Professor of Practice Stephen Keogh, Managing Partner of Limerick firm MHP Sellors LLP, the recipient of Law Firm of the Year. The award-winning firm partners with the University each year to offer co-operative education placements to UL students and currently counts an intern from UL’s LLM in International and Commercial Law among its team.
Dr Margaret Fitzgerald O’Reilly, Associate Professor at the School of Law and the Centre for Crime, Justice and Victim Studies, also made the shortlist for Legal Educator of the Year. Dr Fitzgerald O’Reilly’s recognition in the awards builds on the success of Professor Laura Cahillane, also in UL School of Law, who won the same category in 2024.
Notable UL School of Law alumni included Alex Casey and Professor Colin King, who were nominated for Law Student of the Year and Law Book of the Year, respectively.
The calibre of entries to this year’s awards was described as “exceptionally high”, with each finalist representing “the best in their field”.
Shane Branagan, CEO of LEAP Legal Software, said: “The LEAP Irish Law Awards are an opportunity to recognise the people and firms who lead by example. These winners represent the future of legal practice in Ireland, and we’re proud to support an event that honours the profession’s highest standards.”