Deirdre O’Brien, a native of Tullow, County Carlow graduated in law from Trinity College Dublin, and practiced as a solicitor (attorney) in Ireland until 1994, when she relocated to New York City. Deirdre was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1996 and now heads her own law firm, O’Brien & Associates, specializing in business immigration law.

The firm’s New York City offices are based downtown in the landmark Woolworth Building and in 2004 Deirdre opened an office in Kilkenny, where she now lives with Chicago-born husband, Tom Peterson, and their two children.

Deirdre has been featured in articles in the New York Law Journal, the Irish Times and the Irish Voice. She has also had an article published in the Irish Law Society Gazette on the topic of the relative merits of the unified legal profession in the U.S., over the two-tiered system, (solicitor and barrister), in Ireland and elsewhere.

Deirdre acted as a consultant in the preparation of the book The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business, by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio, published in 2003 by Harper Collins.

She has been interviewed by Pat Kenny on RTE's Today Show in connection with American immigration policies in the wake of the events of 9/11. In New York, Deirdre answered immigration related questions on an Irish weekend radio show, Voice of Eireann Radio.

In June 2004, Deirdre was honored as “Ireland’s Best” by the American Friends of James Joyce, at New York’s Yale Club for her achievements in the U.S.

Organizations of which Deirdre is a member include the following:

• Irish American Bar Association of New York, http://www.iabany.org/
• American Immigration Law Association,http://www.aila.org/
• New York Bar Association, http://www.nysba.org/
• Irish Law Society, http://www.lawsociety.ie/
• Trinity College Dublin Alumni Association, http://www.tcd.ie/