He was formerly a barrister and chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland.
O'Higgins obtained a BCL degree from University College Dublin in 1988.
[1] He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1990 and became a senior counsel in 2008.
[3] He acted for the Garda Commissioner at the Disclosures Tribunal and for Michael Fingleton in action taken by the liquidators of Irish Nationwide Building Society.
[4][5] He was elected chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland in July 2018 and served a two-year term.