One of Belfast's top law firms is to have a new Senior Partner.

Phyllis Agnew is to take over as Senior Partner at Tughans, replacing Grahame Loughlin, who has been first Managing Partner and then Senior Partner for 20 years. He will continue to work as a partner in the firm.

The new Senior Partner joined Tughans in 1981 and became a Partner in 1988, one of the first female lawyers in Northern Ireland to be admitted to partnership in one of the leading commercial practices. She is one of Northern Ireland's leading experts in the field of commercial property law and heads up the Real Estate team at Tughans.


"Phyllis is a highly respected lawyer in Northern Ireland and well beyond," said Tughans' Managing Partner, Ian Coulter.

"She is a close adviser as well as a close confidante for a number of our leading property developers and investors in the region.

"At the same time, she has set the benchmark when it comes to commitment to Tughans, and she has been an inspiration to many young and ambitious solicitors who have joined the practice, including myself."

Phyllis Agnew has pledged to continue to drive forward the growth and expansion of the firm which was a key feature of Grahame Loughlin's tenure.

"Tughans has a very strong and well established ethos and set of values," she continued.

"Those will continue to underpin further growth in partnership with our exceptional client base.

"I'm very much looking forward to building on Grahame Loughlin's undoubted achievements as Senior Partner. Grahame was instrumental in building Tughans from a firm of solicitors with four partners into the 23 partner firm of today."

(GK/KMcA)