Biography
Dr. Brian Barry is Associate Professor in the School of Law. He teaches teaches and supervises dissertations in the areas of AI regulation and AI for law at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr. Barry's research is primarily concerned with understanding and improving decision-making in justice systems. His research is empirically-focused and interdisciplinary, linking areas such as the psychology of judicial decision-making, the operation of courts, and technologies for judging, particularly AI tools and systems. He is also interested in judicial education and training, and dispute resolution more broadly. He was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant (value €2 million) in 2025 for JUDGEASSIST, a project to investigate the appropriate and principled development of AI for assisting judicial decision-making. He is the author of How Judges Judge: Empirical Insights into Judicial Decision-Making (Informa Law from Routledge, 2021) and of numerous peer-reviewed articles and other published works. His research has attracted large-scale funding and has been cited by leading courts such as the Irish Supreme Court and the Australian Federal Court. Dr. Barry has advised several government departments and agencies on improving decision-making in their operations, and he regularly delivers training to judges and adjudicators at various judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, particularly on the psychology of judicial decision-making. Before joining the School of Law as an associate professor, Dr. Barry lectured in law at Technological University Dublin. He graduated from the School of Law with an LL.B. in 2009 and a Ph.D. in 2013 for his thesis on workplace dispute resolution reform in Ireland. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University and the University of Toronto, and qualified and practised as a solicitor in a large Dublin law firm for some time.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Christina Thorpe, Fiona Jennings, Armin Shams, LinYuan Chong, Kamran Mir, Brian Barry, Susan McKeever, Matt Bowden, Building Societal Resilience against Child Grooming: A Design Thinking Approach to Understanding the Problem and Priorities (accepted/forthcoming/in press), Children and Youth Services Review, 2026, p108834-
Brian M Barry and Tania Sourdin, Using AI to Enhance the Court Journey (accepted/forthcoming/in press), World Comparative Law, 2026
The Culture and Practice of Dissent in the Court of Appeal, Brian Barry in, editor(s)Mark Coen, Noel McGrath , The Irish Court of Appeal: The First Decade of an Intermediate Appellate Court, 2026, [Brian Barry]
AI and Courts: Challenges and Opportunities in, editor(s)Monika Zalnieriute and Agne Limante , The Cambridge Handbook of AI and Technologies in Courts, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2026, pp17 - 31, [Tania Sourdin and Brian Barry]
Brian M Barry, Explanation matters: the impact of explanations on trust and procedural justice perceptions of AI-assisted judicial decision-making processes, Towards Trustworthy and Responsible AI in Adjudication, Workshop for Cambridge Forum: AI and Governance Special Issue, 2025
Brian M Barry, Using AI to Enhance the Court Journey, Workshop for World Comparative Law Special Issue, Radboud University, 2025
Brian M Barry, AI for assisting judicial decision-making: Implications for the future of open justice, Australian Law Journal, 98, (9), 2024, p656 - 669
Ireland: Judicial restraint in a stable political environment in, editor(s)Kálmán Pócza , Constitutional Review in Western Europe Judicial-Legislative Relations in Comparative Perspective, Routledge, 2024, pp169 - 190, pp169-190 , [Brian Barry]
Rónán Kennedy, Brian M Barry, Introduction: Law As Data, Data As Law, Law, Technology and Humans, 6, (3), 2024, p1 - 4
Brian M Barry, Views of the Irish Judiciary on Technology in Courts: Results of a Survey, Irish Judicial Studies Journal , 7, (1), 2023, p26-
Brian M Barry, Second draft of Irish chapter - JUDICON-EU, JUDICON-EU second workshop, 2023
Brian M Barry, Judging Better Together: Understanding the Psychology of Group Decision-Making on Panel Courts and Tribunals, International Journal of Court Administration, International Journal of Court Administration Authors Conference, 2023
Brian M Barry, Judging Better Together: Understanding the Psychology of Group Decision-Making on Panel Courts and Tribunals, International Journal for Court Administration, 14, 2023, p1 - 18
Brian M Barry, Judicial Impartiality in the Judicial Council Act 2019: Challenges and Opportunities, Irish Judicial Studies Journal , 6, (1), 2022, p38 - 54
Brian Barry (team lead and lead author), An Evidence Review of Behavioural Economics in the Justice Sector, Department of Justice, December, 2022
Brian M Barry, How Judges Judge: Empirical Insights into Judicial Decision-Making, 1st, Informa Law from Routledge, 2021
Brian M Barry, Workplace Dispute Resolution in Ireland at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities, Irish Jurist, 66, 2021, p44-
Brian M Barry, A Strategy Map for Workplace Mediation Success, Mediation Theory and Practice, 6, 2021, p64-
Brian M Barry, How to combat errors in numerical evaluation in judicial decision making, Law and Society Association, 2019
Brian M Barry, Surveying the Scene: How Representatives' Views Informed a New Era in Irish Workplace Dispute Resolution, Dublin University Law Journal, 41, (1), 2018, p45-
Brian M Barry, TedX talk entitled How Judges Judge.
Brian Barry, The Workplace Relations Bill: An Important Opportunity for Workplace Relations Reform, Irish Employment Law Journal, 4, 2014, p106-
Brian M Barry, 'Reform of the Employment Law Fora: Practical Implications,' Employment Law Update Conference, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2012
Brian M Barry, Review: Arthur Cox Employment Law Yearbook 2011, Dublin University Law Jounral, 35, 2012, p344-
Brian Barry, Modernising the Law on Pre-Nuptial Agreements in Ireland, Trinity College Law Review, 12, 2009, p80-
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Brian M Barry, Keynote Address at national annual conference of Netherlands judiciary on decision-making and artificial intelligence, Keynote Address to the Annual Conference of the Netherlands Judiciary, Netherlands, 11 February, 2027, Dutch Council for the Judiciary
Brian M Barry, Expert panelist, 'The Gavel and the Algorithm - Courts in a Data-Driven World', The Gavel and the Algorithm - Courts in a Data-Driven World, 2026, DCU
Brian M Barry, AI for assisting judicial decision-making: challenges and opportunities, TCD Law Student Colloquium, 2026
Brian M Barry, Would you trust Judge AI?, TedXTrinityCollegeDublin, Trinity College Dublin, 5 March, 2026
Brian M Barry, Democracy, Law, and Artificial Intelligence, German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2026
Brian M Barry, Presentation at Annual Conference on survey of Irish judges on their use of technology, Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development, 2025
Brian M Barry, 'Contributor to Courts Service Podcast on theme of AI in judicial work', Irish Courts Service, 2025, -
Brian M Barry, Presentation to PhD cohort on career advice, Northumbria University, 2025
Brian M Barry, How procedural justice can improve AI for judicial systems, Law and Society Association, 2025
Brian M Barry, Invited guest lecture on AI in courts to staff, students, and selected senior judges affiliated with the School of Law, University of Ljubljana, University of Llubljana, 2025
Brian M Barry, Presentation to Judicial Studies group, University of British Columbia, 2024
Brian M Barry, Plenary panel at Technology and the Rule of Law Conference on 'Ethics and Robot Lawyers: What ethical challenges are posed by legal technologies?', Technological University of the Shannon, 2024
Brian M Barry, Leveraging Technology Leadership workshop to Legal Aid Board, Legal Aid Board, 2024
Brian M Barry, AI for legal decision-making: the death of open justice?, Law and Society Association, 2024
Brian M Barry, Presentation on 'The near-future implications of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act' at the Current Issues in Irish Public Law Conference, Sutherland School of Law, UCD, 2024
Brian Barry, AI for the Irish solicitors" profession: use, awareness and attitudes, Replacement or Collaboration: 'Imagining the Future(s) of Law, Lawyers & Justice' - International Conference, NUI, Dublin, 13 June 2023, 2023
Brian M Barry, A global survey of judges on technology - a case study from Ireland, Judicial Administration Research Association, 2023
Brian M Barry, AI for legal decision-making: the death of open justice?, Irish Association of Law Teachers, 2023
Brian M Barry, Four separate speaking engagements to run in-person and online workshops on decision-making in patent law disputes on the EPO Boards of Appeal and the EPO Opposition Division, including an in-person presentation and workshop in partnership with Professor Cass Sunstein entitled 'Noise: implications for the EPO Boards of Appeal', Boards of Appeal, European Patents Office, 2023
Brian M Barry, Keynote address at the All Members' Conference of the Health and Education Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland's All Members' Conference: 'Using Behavioural Science in HEC Decision-Making', Health and Education Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, 2022
Brian M Barry, Address to the Annual Conference of Employment Judges on the Scottish Employment Tribunal: 'Using behavioural science to understand decision-making at the Employment Tribunals (Scotland)', Scottish Employment Tribunal, 2022
Brian M Barry, Survey of Judges and Technology, Ireland, Law and Society Association, 2022
Brian M Barry, A survey of Irish judges on technology in Irish courts, Irish Association of Law Teachers, 2022
Brian M Barry, Presentation by invitation to postgraduate students on How Judges Judge: Empirical Insights into Judicial Decision-Making, DCU School of Law, 2022
Brian M Barry, Presentation on 'The definition and nature of judicial impartiality' to Judicial Conduct in Ireland: A Framework Fit for Purpose? online conference, School of Law, University of Limerick, School of Law, NUIG and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, 2021
Brian M Barry, Presentation of first draft of Irish chapter for JUDICON-EU, JUDICON-EU Project, 2021
Brian Barry, How Judges Judge: The Research and its Consequences, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting Blog, 2021
Brian M Barry, How to combat errors in numerical evaluation in judicial decision making, Law and Society Association, 2021
Brian M Barry, Presentation to the Australian Law Reform Commission on research matters relating to the Commission's Inquiry into Judicial Impartiality, Australian Law Reform Commission, 2021
Brian M Barry, 'All Rise for Judge AI' - An Experiment on Acceptance Levels of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Court, Irish Association of Law Teachers, 2021
Brian M Barry, Public presentation: 'How judges judge: using behavioural science to understand judicial decision-making', Geary Institute for Public Policy, 2021
Brian M Barry, Judges and technology - opportunities and challenges for decision-making in the courtroom, International Association for Research in Economic Psychology, 2021
Brian M Barry, Presentation to all staff of the Department of Justice on the impact of behavioural economics in the justice sector, Department of Justice, 2021
Brian M Barry, Presentation to students participating in the Clinical Legal Education Programme on How Judges Judge: Empirical Insights into Judicial Decision-Making, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2020
Brian M Barry, Presentation on 'The psychology of group decision-making on panel courts', at the Psychological Mechanisms in Criminal Justice: Deconstructing Objectivity conference, Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Llubljana, Slovenia, 2020
Brian M Barry, Do too many judicial cooks spoil the decision-making broth? Exploring how non-legal factors can influence judicial panel decision-making, Law and Society Association, 2018
Brian M Barry, Judicial selection reforms in different political contexts: a bell-weather for the separation of powers, Irish Association of Law Teachers, 2018
Brian M Barry, Global controversy on the appointment of judges: a challenge to the Separation of Powers, International Academy of Comparative Law, 2018
Brian M Barry, The Irish courts system in a state of flux: how solicitors' expertise can inform the agenda towards better justice, Irish Association of Law Teachers, 2017
Brian M Barry, Appointing judges properly: A comparative analysis of criteria and processes for selecting judges, Socio-Legal Studies Association, 2017
Brian M Barry, Solicitors' views of the Irish courts system, Society of Legal Scholars, 2017
Brian Barry, Judging Justice - How Solicitors' Expertise Can Improve the Courts System, Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, 111, (7), 2017, p21-
Brian Barry (co-author), Shaping the Agenda 2: Implications for Workplace Mediation Training, Standards and Practice in Ireland, Kennedy Institute Workplace Mediation Research Group, 2016
Brian M Barry, 'Resolving disputes under the Workplace Relations Act 2015: A survey of practitioners one year on,' High Level International Conference 2016: Workplace Relations Act 2015: One Year On, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Sutherland School of Law, 2016
Brian Barry (co-author), Shaping the Agenda 1: Exploring the Competencies, Skills and Behaviours of Effective Workplace Mediators , Kennedy Institute Workplace Mediation Research Group , 2016
Brian M Barry, 'Judging Irish justice: A study of solicitors' views on the Irish courts system,' Trinity College Dublin Research Workshop Seminar Series, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2016
Brian M Barry, How judges judge: Unravelling the mysteries of judicial decision-making, Pint of Science, 2016
Brian M Barry, Various lectures on workplace dispute resolution to students of the Diploma in Employment Law and to an Employment Law Masterclass in December 2015, UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD Sutherland School of Law, 2015
Brian M Barry, Extra-Mural Course in Employment Law: 'The Framework of Employment Litigation in Ireland: Key Concepts, Institutions and Practicalities', School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2012
Research Expertise
Projects
- Title
- GroSafe: Building Societal Resilience Against Online Grooming
- Funding Agency
- Research Ireland
Recognition
Representations
Co-convenor (1 of 3) Collaborative Research Network 43 on Innovations in Judging, Law and Society Association
External Examiner - Undergraduate and Postgraduate Law Programmes - Ulster University
External Examiner - PhD candidate, Queens University Belfast
Committee Member, International Future of Law Association
Co-convenor (1 of 3) on International Research Collaborative: Judges and Technology, Law and Society Association
External Programme Reviewer - IT Carlow's Faculty of Business and Humanities, Programmatic Reviewer
Peer reviewer to various international journals and leading publishing houses including: Oxford University Press, Human Rights Law Review, Australian Law Journal, Law & Society Review, Dublin University Law Journal, International Journal for Court Administration, International Journal of Conflict Management, Irish Journal of Academic Practice, European Journal of Legal Education.
External Ethics Committee member for CISC MARIE CURIE International Training Network - https://www.ciscproject.eu/
Employment Law Association of Ireland. Served on committee that established and ran the Association for 9 years, co-drafted Association's constitution, developed website. Later served as membership secretary for the Association. Organised multiple seminars, annual meetings and dinners for several years for 200-strong membership of employment law practitioners, representatives, and academic experts.
External Programme Reviewer - Griffith College Dublin - LL.M. Programme
Reviewer / interviewer for SFI Project / LERO Centre
Reviewer for EU Cost Action
Reviewer for National Science Centre, Poland
External Examiner - Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes - University of Essex
Awards and Honours
TU Dublin Research and innovation Excellence Award
TCD Teaching Award (Nomination)
TCD Supervision Award (Nomination)
Teaching Hero Award
Memberships
Non-practising Solicitor (admitted to roll of solicitors)
Law and Society Association (co-convenor and member of Collaborative Research Network `Innovations in Judging and co-convenor of International Research Collaborative `Judges and Technology')
International Future of Law Association (inaugural and currently serving committee member).
Irish Association of Law Teachers (member, served as Secretary 2018-19)
Employment Law Association of Ireland (inaugural committee member and membership secretary)