Lauren is an expert in protected disclosures/whistleblowing law. Her monograph ‘Whistleblowing and the Protected Disclosures Act in Ireland: Law, Rights and Policy’ will be published in early 2021 by Clarus Press.
Lauren undertook her PhD, ‘An Empirical Study of the Purpose of the Irish Protected Disclosures Act 2014’ at the Whistleblowing Research Unit, Middlesex University, London.
She has published articles and book chapters on protected disclosures and co-authored the Annotated Statute on the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. She has produced two country reports and spoken on this topic at various conferences, CPD events, and legislative briefings at both national and international level. Lauren was awarded the governmental project for the drafting of the protected disclosures procedures guidance for public bodies.
Lauren founded the Irish Whistleblowing Law Society (‘IWLS’), a scholarly society dedicated to fostering knowledge, interest, and awareness in whistleblowing law and practice. She is currently hosting a series of symposiums with the IWLS and MU on the transposition of the EU Whistleblowers Directive into Irish Law.
Lauren is also an associate of Transparency Ireland and has delivered whistleblowing training to over 1,000 public sector workers as part of their Integrity at Work programme.
Lauren has participated in radio and television interviews on her research and expertise, most recently on ‘RTÉ Investigates: Whistleblowers Fighting to be Heard’: https://bit.ly/3iYIlWX.
She is a qualified barrister. She holds an LLM in International and European Business Law from Trinity College Dublin, an LLB and BA (International) from NUI Galway, a Diploma in Employment Law, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from Maynooth University
Lauren will be commencing a ‘Professional Certificate in Whistleblowing Law, Practice and Policy’ at Maynooth University in February 2021. Details for this course can be found here: https://bit.ly/3mIW1Yk. To register your interest, please email Lauren.Kierans@mu.ie.