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In new podcast from the Irish Independent legal affairs editor Shane Phelan talks about an experiment undertaken at the Kilkenny Law Festival where four AI models, Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok were asked to sit as judges of the High Court. The event which took place in Kilkenny Courthouse on Fr

A Birmingham businessman who bought a three-bedroom house from the city council for £395,000 inadvertently acquired a primary school because of a paperwork error, The Daily Mail reports.

Our weekly round-up of human rights stories from around the world.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan has launched the Voice of the Child Report Guidelines and Templates as part of the continued effort to ensure children's voices are heard and respected in private family law proceedings. The guidelines were developed by the Voice of the Child Working Grou

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared the proposed purchase of Celtic Water Care Solutions Limited by CSG Chemical Solutions Limited (CSG).  CSG is headquartered in Shannon, Co. Clare and provides chemical solutions to the water treatment, environmental and hygie

The Irish Women Lawyers Association (IWLA) has named Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC their Woman Lawyer of the Year 2026. Ms Gallagher is a barrister and leading human rights lawyer who has acted in a range of landmark international human rights cases over the last 25 years.

Matheson is advising Wittington Investments Ltd, the holding company of the Weston family, alongside Skadden (London), on its agreement to acquire the health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain, The Boots Group (Boots) from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family with a deal value of close to $9

The Northern Ireland Department of Justice has launched a public consultation on the use of good character references at sentencing in certain criminal proceedings. Views are being sought on a range of proposals, including the retention of the current legal position, and the introduction of a requir

Justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, has announced an allocation of €5.9 billion under Budget 2027 for the justice sector in 2027 giving an extensive overview of where the money will be spent including a “historic investment” in civil legal aid.  The increase of over €

The Call to the Inner Bar ceremony took place on Thursday in the Four Courts, marking a major professional milestone and bringing the number of Senior Counsel at The Bar of Ireland to 380. Known as “taking silk”, the Call to the Inner Bar marks the transition from Junior Counsel to Senio

Foot Anstey has welcomed four new trainee solicitors to its Belfast office. Ben Lloyd, Kerri Robinson, Ben Donnelly and Sinead Donohoe have joined the firm’s two-year training programme, which combines direct experience across a range of practice areas with study at the Institute of Profession

P.A. Duffy & Co. Solicitors is supporting the Ladies with Letters campaign in its call for a full Statutory Public Inquiry into Northern Ireland's cervical screening scandal. Three years after approximately 17,500 women were informed by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT) that cerv

BHSM LLP incorporating OBH Partners has announced the appointment of Michael Crowley as a partner in the firm and head of its new homes team. Mr Crowley joins BHSM from PF O’Reilly LLP, bringing with him a highly regarded practice and experience advising developers, housebuilders, purchasers a

Police in North Carolina have urged motorists to put safety first after officers stopped two men travelling down a road on what they described as “an actual couch”.

A special general meeting (SGM) of the Law Society of Northern due to take place on Monday 19 October is to call for a vote of no confidence in both chief executive, David Lavery and president, Mark Borland.