Deirdre is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and Northern Ireland with over 30 years’ experience. She is a specialist in maritime and labour law issues. Deirdre worked in international private practice in London for many years, specialising in multi-jurisdictional oil and gas disputes. She also worked extensively on matters relating to ship registration, personal injury and death claims on board ships, the abandonment of seafarers, payment of seafarers’ wages and, in the investigation of maritime casualties. She frequently attends the International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization and has a keen interest in all international maritime conventions, in particular in the manner in which they impact the human element. Deirdre was heavily involved in some of the leading cases concerning the recognition of unions.

Deirdre headed the legal services department of the International Transport Workers’ Federation for many years and has been involved in court and arbitral shipping disputes around the world. In her position as Executive Director of SRI-T, she runs a worldwide network of lawyers specialising in the transport sector.  She also oversees research projects on subjects of interest to the transportation sector.

Deirdre is co-editor of Seafarers’ Rights, a comprehensive perspective on seafarers’ rights around the world which was published by Oxford University Press in 2005.