We are pleased to announce two additions to our team, Heber Rowan (Fundraising & Communications Officer) and Katherine Finn (Locum Solicitor). With their diverse range of skills, we are delighted to have Heber and Katherine on board to support our efforts to vindicate the rights of those at risk of homelessness.
The past year was extremely challenging for all of us and has had a profound impact on the way we work. MLRC has been no different and during this time we adapted and intensified provision of our essential legal services to ensure that we continue to meet our clients’ needs while being responsive to changing Covid-19 restrictions. Our new team members will be an important part of those on-going efforts.
Heber Rowan
Heber has joined us as our new Fundraising and Communications officer.
Previously, Heber worked in a wide range of industries with policy and communications as his central interest. He has significant experience in political campaigning throughout Ireland with an academic background in Philosophy, International Development, Economics and Public Relations. In his working life he has been a language teacher in Japan, a parliamentary assistant, a civil servant, an advocacy officer and even an actor on occasion!
He has a passion for social justice and with his broad range of experience in the charities sector, we are thrilled to have him on board.
Katherine Finn
Katherine qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and was engaged in general practice and legal education until 2001, when she joined the office of the DPP as a prosecutor. During her time there she worked in judicial review, Circuit Criminal Court trials and District Court prosecutions, which she personally conducted daily in the various Dublin District Courts. She then qualified as a barrister and practised mostly in the area of criminal defence, with some defamation and more general civil work.
Katherine worked as a casework and legal adviser and national policy developer with MABS from 2013 to 2016, where she advised frontline staff on queries from their clients and lending institutions. She was responsible for highlighting the lack of free legal and financial aid for MABS clients when facing court, and designed the outline of what is now the government’s Abhaile scheme. She also co-wrote a debt management protocol with the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) which resulted in the write-down of more than €10M in unsecured debt by their members within a year. Having re-joined the register of solicitors in 2019, she acted as criminal prosecutor on behalf of the National Transport Authority.
She holds a BA Hons, a postgrad diploma in criminology, and a BL degree from Kings Inns. She served as a member of the board of Caranua from 2013 to 2021. She has volunteered for FLAC, NALA, and the Robert Emmet after-school homework club as a tutor, and has participated in international humanitarian tours with other lawyers to Colombia and Syria.
Her work at MABS on threats to security of housing during the last recession, as a result of a lack of housing supply and repossessions, has prepared her for her current role at MLRC.
