Stephen Hare

Personal profile

Stephen joined Red Lion Chambers as a pupil in September 2026.

Stephen holds a Distinction in the Bar Practice Course, an LL.M summa cum laude from the Geneva Academy and a First Class Honours LL.B from Trinity College Dublin.

Before coming to the Bar, Stephen was a civil liberties paralegal at Hodge Jones & Allen LLP, working on public law challenges arising in a criminal justice context, inquests, and claims against detaining authorities.

Stephen was one of the first two judicial assistants appointed in Northern Ireland, assisting the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior Judicial Review Judge at the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast. In this role, he provided research and analysis across a range of criminal and public law matters, including an appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

He also worked in the Legal Division of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, assisting on Ireland’s submissions to the International Court of Justice in Ukraine v Russia (Allegations of Genocide). During his LL.M studies, he completed a research placement in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva.

Stephen has a particular interest in access to justice, which stems from his previous work on publicly funded cases. He is a committee member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers, where he contributes to public outreach initiatives and has written on issues affecting the criminal justice system.