Lawyer Cahir O’Higgins previously convicted of breaking a lawyer’s nose in a ‘criminal’ attack – The Irish Times

Top criminal defense lawyer Cahir O’Higgins was involved in a long-term campaign of intimidation against a former employee who left his company to set up his own practice, culminating in O’Higgins breaking the man’s nose, it can now be reported.

O’Higgins’ actions were variously described by the judge as ‘deranged’, ‘criminal’, ‘vile’ and ‘despicable’.

Earlier this year, O’Higgins pleaded guilty to one charge of assault causing harm to fellow lawyer Stephen O’Mahony, and to one charge of intimidating him during a period between June 25, 2020 and February 11, 2021.

Two further charges of simple assault against Mr O’Mahony were taken into account at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Parkgate Street, Dublin 7 on dates in December 2020 and January 2021.

O’Higgins, of Cahir O’Higgins and Company, Kingsbridge House, Parkgate Street, Dublin, had no previous convictions at the time but has since received a public order conviction in connection with a cycle rage incident involving two plainclothes gardaí.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison for intimidation and assault by Judge Kenneth Connolly on July 22 this year, but this sentence was deferred until the end of September to allow O’Higgins to settle his affairs and close his law practice – through the court described as previously the most successful criminal practice in the country.

Reporting restrictions meant that this case could only be reported after O’Higgins’ theft and perverting the course of justice had come to an end, to avoid biasing the jury. He was found guilty of theft and perverting the course of justice on Friday.

( Criminal lawyer Cahir O’Higgins convicted theft of more than €400Opens in a new window )

In extraordinary scenes in court after the verdict was handed down in July, O’Higgins asked to address the court and spoke for several minutes from the dock – partly to express his regret for his offending, but also to make a request from the defense asking for permission to fly to Spain for a week at the end of July and also to participate in the World Cycling Championships in Denmark in September before going to prison.

“I think I owe cycling a proper farewell,” O’Higgins told the court. “I should wear the Irish colors with pride.”

The application was opposed by Eoin Lawlor SC for the prosecution, but O’Higgins was given permission to travel by Judge Connolly.

The decision came in the wake of a scathing sentence from Judge Connolly, in which he described various aspects of O’Higgins’ conduct as “deranged”, “criminal”, “vile” and “despicable”.

“The intimidation arose from an irrational obsession arising from the fact that the two parties were competing for the same work,” the judge said, noting that this is a “natural element” of lawyering that “occurs every day of the week in this time.” building”.

“He chose to bully Mr O’Mahony out of the space he occupied on a professional basis,” Judge Connolly said. ‘Mr O’Higgins believed he was the law, rather than subjecting himself to the law.

“I can assure him: he is amenable to the law.”

He imposed a 32-month prison sentence and suspended the final 16 months on a number of conditions, including that O’Higgins have no contact with Mr O’Mahony or his wife and family.

In September this year, O’Higgins announced on social media that he would be closing his practice “due to various circumstances”. He said he had always intended to retire at age 50. “I am somehow happy that I have been given this gift and opportunity,” he wrote.

He was taken into custody in September, ahead of his trial in October.

During a hearing into the case at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last June, the court heard O’Higgins repeatedly accuse Mr O’Mahony of poaching his clients, sent him numerous threatening emails and text messages and was caught on video he told Mr O’Mahony: ‘I’ll f***ing get you.’

O’Higgins also displayed intimidating behavior in the CCJ area, stepping on Mr O’Mahony’s foot in court, elbowing him in the lobby and pushing him when they were both outside the building and tried to contact the same client, the court. heard.

O’Higgins texted Mr. O’Mahony’s wife shortly after she gave birth saying he would sue her husband until he owned their home and he lied to Mr. O’Mahony and told him that he ( Mr O’Mahony) had been exposed to Covid and would have to isolate for a fortnight, the court heard.

The harassment culminated in an attack in February 2021, in which O’Higgins pushed Mr O’Mahony against a parked car and a short time later punched him in the face, breaking his nose. Some of this incident was captured on CCTV footage, while Mr O’Mahony also recorded some incidents on his mobile phone.

In a lengthy victim impact statement, Mr O’Mahony outlined the impact O’Higgins’ crime had on both his personal and professional life.

At the hearing last June, Detective Inspector Gda Colm Kelly told prosecutor Ronan Kennedy SC that Mr O’Mahony had resigned from his position in April 2020, shortly after O’Higgins was charged with theft and perverting the course of justice. office. position at Cahir O’Higgins Solicitors, where he had worked for eleven years.

Relations between the two men were initially amicable, but when Mr O’Mahony began setting up his own law practice in June 2020, the relationship “soured” and O’Higgins began making “repeated unwanted contact” with Mr O’Mahony. , the court heard.

Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, said his client grew up in the 1960s as the son of two TDs, which was a “quite extraordinary event” at the time. He attended boarding school and excelled academically, the court heard.

He went on to found one of the most successful criminal law firms in the country, but suffered from acute depression, stress and burnout.