Guest Writer: Bronagh

Celebrations!!!! Have you heard Legal-Island's recent success story? Last Thursday Barry, Jayne and Ainsley attended the EFQM Awards at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast and were delighted to take home the Mark of Excellence in the Private Sector Award. The trophy now stands very proudly with our other achievements in the reception area of the building - for all to see! Read more.

Last week was an extremely busy time for staff in Legal-Island with the first of the seminars kicking off 2011 at the Holiday Inn, Tuesday 25th January with Mediation Breakfast. Booked out, everything went extremely well, we have already received some excellent feedback this week. We also had our first event in Cork - Dealing with Teacher Underperformance. This too went very well.

Winning Tenders in NI is coming up shortly and creating a bit of a stir at the moment. Due to extensive interest planned for Thursday 10th February, we are now moving venue to the Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick.

See below overview of everyone's movements and a busy start for February. Where did January go?

Barry is just back from a James Caan (EBA) seminar in London and his head is still buzzing with ideas. Today he’s meeting Melanie Donnelly for lunch from Full Circle and tomorrow Joe Dolan from the DFP. On Wednesday he’s taking part in the EFQM feedback session delivered by Tony Wilson which should be interesting. On Thursday he’s out to break all networking records by having 8 meetings in 8 hours including Nicola Shaw from BDO, Tom Place from the ANIC, Noel Brady from NB1, Katie Doran from Carson McDowell Catherine Vint from the ICO Hilary from Quell training Laura Colter and then finally dinner with Penna. On Friday he has a day in the office with nothing in his diary – at least for the moment.

Jayne is busy today with the usual internal Monday meeting and then on Wednesday she has the EFQM feedback meeting. Same day, evening time, Jayne has the Young Directors Forum.

Scott will be chairing the Antrim/Ballymena HR Network on 1st February. The guest speaker is Pauline Huth of NI Financial Consultancy Services, who will be discussing pension changes. One 3rd February Scott will be meeting Anne Dargan, Organisational Development Consultant and Certified Leadership Coach, Director, Rapid Change Consultancy.

Ainsley, in Marketing, is attending tomorrow's Speed Networking event in the Holiday Inn, Belfast which commences shortly after work. On Wednesday he is doing some volunteer football coaching at Ballycraigy Primary School. As you know, the staff of Legal-Island volunteer on various projects of their choosing and seem to throw themselves into each and every project. Ainsley is also busy the same day in the afternoon at the Young IoD Forum in Belfast. Thursday brings plans as Forth Data are coming to see us to present the Oriel email broadcast tool and in the afternoon, BEN Networking event at UTV. So, an exciting week for Ainsley!

Heather is attending the Speed Networking meeting with Ross Licence from Events Studio this Friday.

Julie is attending Speed Networking tomorrow with some of the others. This is Julie's first time and is looking forward to the experience.

Guest Writer: Kerry

Although we have excellent Training facilities on site here at Legal-Island, Antrim, (see left) due to numbers or location we often have to use external venues. So last Wednesday I took a day to head off to Belfast and see what other options were out there. For further information on our facilities please click onto Training Centre.


We already have some great relationships with local hotels however I was delighted to come across more possible venues on my journey. To name a few there were the CIPFA Offices, Belfast, La Mon Hotel & Country Club, Castlereagh, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland Offices, Belfast, The Ulster Museum and finally Mossley Mill in Newtownabbey. All unique spaces to accommodate the different types of meetings Legal-Island run each season.


Another busy week sees the start of the conference season both in NI and ROI. Heather jets off tomorrow to Cork to host our first sell out event of the year - Dealing with Teacher Underperformance. And I am off to host a Free Mediation in the Workforce Seminar in Belfast on Tuesday morning.


Out and about:


Heather will be meeting with Emer from Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel today.


I will attending a BEN Speed Networking Event with Jayne tomorrow evening and then I have a networking dinner to attend at the Ramada, Shawsbridge, on Wednesday night.


Jacqui will be continuing with our volunteering initiative by helping take a group of Primary 4's from Mount St Michael's PS in Randalstown to Cultra this week. Should be lots of fun!


Barry's got an easy Monday with little in the diary other than internal meetings. On Tuesday he opens up the Breakfast seminar on Mediation at the Holiday Inn along with Tom Evans from DEL. On Thursday night Barry, Jayne, Ainsley and our guest Michelle Gallen from Shhmooze is off to the EFQM Gala Awards to pick up Legal-Island's mark of excellence. On Friday he's off to London. Lucky him!


Scott will be in Dublin on Wednesday. Meetings include those with Marion Jennings, chair of our Irish Annual Reviews of Employment Law; Peter McInnes of McDowell Purcell; Emma Barrett of Keating & Associates, John Horgan; consultant, and Niall Saul of Symbio HR Solutions.

More volunteering with Ballycraigy Primary: Peter & Ainsley will be going along on Wednesday to support the football team who is playing a friendly at Muckamore with the hope to help out during training as the season progresses. Also this week sees the first hockey training session and I will be going along to help and hopefully bring a little energy to the new team!

Here's to another busy & successful event season on the Island....

Legal-Island: What We're Up to This Week

This week, Scott Alexander writes:

I don't have any meetings this week but should have an interview published in the Belfast Telegraph. Fame at last!

Ainsley Hirst, our Marketing and Sales Manager, will be at Parkhall College on Wednesday afternoon for Young Enterprise group - they collected over £1000 via the business they set up at school.

Still on volunteering matters, Bronagh McCotter will be visiting NI Children’s Hospice (collecting reindeer food boxes, counting money and recording).

CEO Barry Phillips meanwhile has got a relatively quiet week ahead at least in terms of meetings out of the office. Monday- Thursday he’s busy getting ready for and doing performance reviews whilst helping marketing sign off brochures. On Thursday he’s meeting our friends from CIPFA and he’s hoping to see Legal-Island lawyers O’Reilly Stewart on Friday.

MD Jayne Finlay and Conference Manager Kerry Taggart will be discussing sponsorship issues with Ballycraigy PS hockey team on Tuesday.

CEO,Barry Phillips on the week ahead at Legal-Island

There's a kind of hush ...all over the world..or the Island at least this week as we really get stuck into performance reviews over the next five days or so. Line managers, no doubt, are making the most of cups of tea served with nervous smiles.

Our marketing and sales team are busy this week producing brochures for this first season with Conference Execs and Managers furiously trying to nail down speakers and venues. This is loads of fun [not]

Scott's attending a meeting of the Skills for Justice E-Forum Project tomorrow. He will also be meeting Nicola Shaw (BDO), Stella Gilmartin (of Gilmartin Consulting), and Adam Brett (McGrigors Solicitors) the same day.

I'm off into Belfast on Wednesday to meet the team at Carson McDowell whilst on Thursday I'm meeting Clive Byrne of NAPD and the education team at Mason Hayes Curran to discuss the programme for the forthcoming education conference. Later that same day I'm meeting Trayc Keevans from Morgan McKinley for dinner and a chat about recruitment

We have the Independent Healthcare Providers using the training centre on Wednesday and who knows who else will pop in unannounced this week to see us? Will it be you?

Guest Writer: James

Happy New Year Everyone!


Our 2012 targets don't seem so far away now...


Everyone's back with a bang today following some extended holidays and our annual shutdown. I hope the water kept flowing for you and you weren't laid low with some nasty flu bug like me - jokes about man flu will be met with a volley of coughs in your direction.



Most staff are getting settled in this week so there's not much networking going on but some highlights for the week are:


All Staff (today) - Brainstorming some 'wacky' ideas for 2011... something of a Legal Island specialty


All Staff (Thursday) - Presentation by Barry and Jayne on the company objectives; incorporating the balanced scorecard


Barry (Friday) - meeting with Steve Mungavin from CIPFA

Until my next time... stay warm!