News

Ireland is an attractive target for foreign state-backed hackers, a new report from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned. The 2025 National Cyber Risk Assessment, launched at the NCSC's annual conference yesterday, warns of a "rapidly evolving global threat landscape".

Northern Ireland firm Foot Anstey McKees has celebrated the "exceptional growth" of its hospitality business, led by licensing specialist Linus Murray. The commercial law firm says the number of licensed premises it acts for has grown by 2,000 per cent over the last five years.

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has set out a three-year plan to help achieve "an Ireland where legal services are trusted and accessible to all". The regulator today published its strategic plan for 2025-2028, developed over a six-month period with input from staff and more than 200

More than 100 gardaí are to be equipped with tasers as part of a six-month pilot programme. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has expressed deep concern over the pilot, which will be rolled out in Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny.

A proposed new scale of fees for environmental judicial reviews has gone out for consultation. Climate, energy and environment minister Darragh O'Brien said he expected to hear "strong and divergent views" on the scale of fees, which has been proposed under the Planning and Development Act 2024.

Northern Ireland firm Davidson McDonnell has doubled the size of its corporate team after welcoming five new members this year. The commercial law firm, which recently marked 10 years since its foundation in Belfast, now has a 10-strong team specialising in corporate transactions.

Former Arthur Cox partner Niav O'Higgins has passed away. Ms O'Higgins spent two decades with Arthur Cox and led the firm's construction and engineering group until her retirement in July 2024, after which she continued to work as an adjudicator in construction disputes.

Juries are to be scrapped in trials where defendants face up to three years' imprisonment in England and Wales. The UK government has confirmed its plans to introduce what it calls "Canadian-style juryless trials", claiming they will help to cut delays in criminal justice system — which lawyer

John O'Kelly has been elected as chairperson of the Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA). Mr O'Kelly, a partner in Belfast-based HHD Solicitors, was elected at yesterday's BSA AGM to succeed outgoing chairperson Robert Croskery.

Will Carmody has been re-elected as managing partner of Mason Hayes & Curran for a second term. Mr Carmody took the reins in January 2023 after over 20 years with the business law firm, at the time leading its financial services practice.

Ireland's media regulator has launched formal investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn amid concerns that their processes for reporting suspected illegal content fall short of EU legal requirements. Coimisiún na Meán's investigations team will assess whether the two platforms have contr

Human rights lawyer Noeline Blackwell has been appointed as an expert adviser to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman. The former CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre will assist the watchdog as an expert adviser on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

A trio of "rebel nuns" who refused to retire and broke into their old convent have been temporarily granted permission to stay there. The three octogenarians made global headlines after fleeing a Catholic care home earlier this year to return to their abandoned convent in central Austria.

Northern Ireland firm Allsopp Campbell Rainey has appointed Carla Fraser as partner and head of family law. Ms Fraser brings with her more than a decade of specialist experience across complex matrimonial, divorce, and Children NI Order matters, including high-profile and sensitive cases.

Renowned human rights lawyer and academic Professor Colm Ó Cinnéide will deliver FLAC's annual justice lecture next week. This year's event celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell and will include a reading from his speeches by actor Stephen Rea.