Gerard Doherty has been elected President of the Law Society for 2009/10.
Mr Doherty is a partner in the law firm O’Reilly Doherty & Co in Finglas, Dublin 11. He will serve a one-year term as president of the 12,000-strong solicitors’ profession until November 2010.
A native of Westport, Co Mayo, Mr Doherty is the youngest son of Charles and Lily Doherty, and has one sister, Anne. He has two sons, Ronan (26) who works in financial services, and Kevin (19) who is studying in University College Dublin (UCD).
Gerard was educated in the CBS primary school in Westport and Castleknock College, Dublin. He graduated with a BCL law degree from UCD. Apprenticed to the late Joseph King in Westport, he qualified as a solicitor at Blackhall Place, Dublin, in 1973. He moved into partnership at O’Reilly Doherty in 1984.
Gerard became a member of the Council of the Law Society of Ireland in 1989. He has chaired many of the Society's most senior committees, including the Regulation of Practice Committee, the Complaints and Client Relations Committee, the Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee and the Finance Committee.