The Law Society of Ireland is to introduce a new route to qualification that would see school leavers train to become a solicitor without the need for a third level degree. The new apprenticeship programme is expected to welcome its first cohort from September 2027 with expressions of interest accep
Appointments
See all articlesMullany Walsh Maxwells LLP has announced the appointment of Lynda Lucey and Conor Mullins as associates of the firm. Ms Lucey joined the firm in 2024 and practises in the litigation and employment law department. She has experience advising clients across a broad range of contentious matters, includ
Paddy Rath has joined Arthur Cox LLP as partner in the structured finance and securitisation group. Mr Rath brings experience advising on structured finance and securitisation transactions, with a particular focus on collateralised loan obligations, private credit and asset-based finance. He advises
William Fry has appointed Donal O'Byrne as a partner in its investment funds team, based in the firm's Cork office. Mr O’Byrne joins the firm from Matheson, where he spent more than 18 years, most recently as a partner in its asset management department. A financial services lawyer, he a
Cleaver Fulton Rankin has announced the addition of five new trainee solicitors to its team, marking the beginning of their journey through the firm’s two-year Trainee Solicitor Programme. This programme offers a dynamic experience across a broad spectrum of legal practice areas within a full-
Solicitor Eimear Nugent has been elected as chairperson of the Irish Immigration Lawyers Association (IILA) for 2026/2027. She is the principal of Nugent Solicitors, a firm specialising in immigration law based in Dublin. She succeeds Carol Sinnott, solicitor, and former chair of IILA for 2025/2026.
PG McMahon Solicitors has welcomed Gráinne Linnane to the firm as their first trainee since 1998. John Molyneaux, partner at PG McMahon Solicitors said: “We are delighted to welcome Gráinne Linnane from Tralee as our new trainee solicitor.
Northern Ireland
See all articlesPSNI Chief Constable Jon Boucher has issued a public apology to former chief inspector Ursula Merrick who was successful in claims before the employment tribunal in 2023 that she had been discriminated against on grounds of her sex and disability. Ms Merrick had joined the then RUC in 1993. Af
The Animal Law Foundation (TALF) has threatened legal action against the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), alleging a systemic failure to properly safeguard farmed animals through the official controls required by law.
Justice minister Naomi Long has launched the second phase of a campaign aimed at challenging harmful misconceptions about rape and sexual violence.
Cleaver Fulton Rankin has announced the addition of five new trainee solicitors to its team, marking the beginning of their journey through the firm’s two-year Trainee Solicitor Programme. This programme offers a dynamic experience across a broad spectrum of legal practice areas within a full-
The Bar of Northern Ireland provided oral evidence yesterday to the Justice Committee on the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill.
Universities
See all articlesUCD Professor Emeritus Marie Keenan, Queens University Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden and Dr James Gallen of Dublin City University have received the European Society of Criminology / Association Europeenne de Criminologie book prize for the book they co-authored Transforming Justice Response
An Coimisiún Toghcháin has called for a major push to increase voter registration for the new 6-seat Seanad Higher Education constituency after finding that just 71,850 people are currently registered to vote from a potential eligible electorate estimated at between 800,000 and one mi
Professor Kathryn McNeilly of QUB School of Law has been elected as a fellow to the Academy of Social Sciences Professor McNeilly’s research intersects the areas of public international law, international human rights law and international legal theory, with recent research leading development
University College Cork is welcoming six new academic colleagues to the School of Law this semester.
On its return from summer recess, the Committee for Justice of the Northern Ireland Assembly will continue its scrutiny of the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc.) Bill. This is the first substantive sentencing-focused bill since the devolution of justice powers in 2010. There is much to welcome
Interviews
See all articlesIreland’s role as one of the world’s leading aircraft leasing hubs dates to 1975, when the billionaire businessman Tony Ryan founded Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) in 1975. Ryan, of course, was also one of the co-founders of Ryanair in 1984. His venture created a pool of experienced aviati
When Majella Walsh was announced as the recipient of the Munster Regional Sole Practitioner of the Year award at the LEAP Irish Law Awards last month, she says her first reaction was one of some surprise. Those who know her professionally would not have been startled at the news. Noted by clients fo
Colin Cardwell
Many parents have long had ambitions for their children to pursue careers in medicine or law, professions that are perceived as being synonymous with prestige, intellectual challenge and public service. John Magee, a partner at DLA Piper in Dublin, was seriously considering a career in medicine unti
Colin Cardwell
For solicitors who started their career just before the financial crisis of 2008 struck, the timing was both daunting and defining. Newly qualified lawyers were entering a profession gripped by uncertainty in an Ireland faced by economic turbulence. However, there emerged from that singular event a
Colin Cardwell
For Anne-Marie Linehan, the past couple of years at J.W. O'Donovan LLP have resembled the proverbial situation when three buses arrive at the same time. First, in 2024 and after 93 years the firm relocated to new premises in Cork's South Mall, reflecting its ongoing commitment to supporting clients
Colin Cardwell






