Valerie is a partner in the Byrne Wallace Shields LLP Litigation and Regulation team and has extensive experience acting for a range of public and private sector clients in complex litigation, including in planning and environmental matters, real estate disputes, contentious procurement, and related advisory and regulatory work. She also has significant experience advising on reputation management, including defamation and securing online takedown orders.
Valerie advises and represents clients in alternative dispute resolution including arbitration and mediation and proactively attempts to achieve early resolution.
Valerie has lectured on the Law Society of Ireland Certificate in Conveyancing and Diploma in Commercial Property – Determination of Leases since 2014.
Key Experience
- Acting for An Coimisiún Pleanála in defending planning and environmental judicial review proceedings brought against decisions of the Commission to grant or refuse permission, including decisions in respect of the proposed development of wind farms, solar panels, telecommunications structures, large scale residential, waste water treatment plants, and infrastructure projects including bus corridor schemes.
- Acting for public bodies (including Dublin City Council, Kildare County Council and the HSE) in defence of public procurement challenges (Commercial Court) issued under the Remedies Regulations brought by unsuccessful tenderers, advising on applications to lift automatic suspensions, joining notice parties, discovery, redaction protocols and lawyer only confidentiality rings.
- Acting for landlords and tenants of commercial premises in relation to the termination of leases including in High Court and Commercial Court litigation in respect of the exercise of break options, forfeiture and relief against forfeiture.
- Acting in property contract disputes, title disputes, adverse possession and actions in trespass.
- Acting for public sector clients in the aftermath of high-profile cyber-attacks and obtaining court orders against Persons Unknown requiring them to deliver up illegally obtained data and obtaining associated Norwich Pharmacal Orders.
- Acting for a public sector client in High Court injunction proceedings against Google and Facebook concerning social media postings on YouTube and Facebook.
- Acting for corporate clients in relation to defamatory posts posted on the internet and obtaining Norwich Pharmacal orders against online social media platforms and telecom provider to ascertain the identities of the anonymous posters which facilitated High Court defamation proceedings subsequently issuing against three named individuals.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), University College Dublin,1999
- Diploma in European Studies, L'Universite de Sciences Sociales, Toulouse, 1998
- Qualified as a Solicitor, Law Society of Ireland, 2003
- Diploma in Commercial Property, Law Society of Ireland, 2006
- Advanced Diploma in Planning & Environmental Law, The Honourable Society of Kings Inns, 2026
Memberships
- Law Society of Ireland
- Dublin Solicitors Bar Association Law
- Commercial Litigation Association of Ireland
Recommendations
‘Valerie Hourigan provided excellent guidance through a judicial review process. The guidance from Valerie and the team was invaluable. In addition, the papers produced were excellent and their handling of the court process superb.’ - Legal 500, 2025
‘Valerie Hourigan, partner, is highly experienced and very competent. She was directly involved at all stages of the litigation and was always contactable when I needed her input. She has excellent strategic insight and a strong knowledge of her clients and their businesses, which I found invaluable in representing their interests.’ - Legal 500, 2022
‘I dealt specifically with Valerie Hourigan and Grainne Murphy. Both worked well as a team to deliver an excellent service. Both were very accessible.’ - Legal 500, 2022
'Valerie Hourigan is very thorough.' - Legal 500 2021
‘Very well-informed’ - Legal 500
