News

International law firm Kennedys, which employs over 30 staff in its Dublin office, has announced the appointment of its first global managing partner. English lawyer Suzanne Liversidge takes up the role and will work alongside recently re-elected senior partner Nick Thomas on the strategic and opera

Only two-fifths of court fines handed out in 2017 and 2018 have been paid, according to new Courts Service figures. Court fines worth €22 million were imposed in 2017 but only €10.9 million, around 49 per cent, has been paid.

A woman has been threatened with jail if she continues posting information about her son's child care proceedings on social media. Mr Justice Denis McDonald told the unnamed woman, whose son is in the care of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that she faces serious consequences if she continues to

The Law Society of Ireland is offering guided tours of its Blackhall Place headquarters as part of National Heritage Week. The tours will cover the history of Oxmanstown Green, the local landscape throughout the centuries, the original Blue Coat School and Thomas Ivory’s majestic vision for th

Belfast solicitor Brian Speers, president of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), has urged Kenyan lawyers to learn from Brexit as the African country considers constitutional reform. The managing partner of CMG Cunningham Dickey Solicitors, who was elected to head the association in April, m

Belfast artist Mark McGreevy is the latest artist to have his work displayed in the Belfast office of Pinsent Masons under the firm's partnership with contemporary arts venue the MAC. Through the partnership, the MAC presents a series of artworks each year to Pinsent Masons by artists who have forme

The Pro Bono Choir, made up of solicitors, barristers and judges, raised £8,000 for charities Flourish NI and Helping Hand at its annual summer concert.

A prominent lawyer has admitted his career is over after pleading guilty to bigamy and forgery of divorce documents. James Morton, 59, faked a divorce certificate in order to marry an employee of his firm – while secretly carrying on a relationship with both women.

Lawyers and opposition politicians have cast doubt on whether the flaws in the Public Services Card (PSC) scheme can be fixed through legislation. The embattled scheme was dealt a serious blow on Friday after the Data Protection Commission (DPC) said there was no legal basis to require the PSC to ac

Irish emigrants planning to move back to the State with their non-EEA partners will benefit from a new streamlined preclearance process launched today. De facto partners of Irish citizens will now be allowed to apply for their permission to reside in the country before they travel to Ireland.

The Government is considering the case for a French-style "right to disconnect" law to ensure workers do not feel obliged to check work-related emails outside of office hours. Business Minister Heather Humphreys, responding to a parliamentary question, said the Government would "examine the French a

A bill to require nearly a third of all housing developments to be set aside for first-time buyers is set to be introduced by Fianna Fáil next month. The Planning and Development (Amendment) (First Time Buyers) Bill will be introduced by Fianna Fáil housing spokesperson Darragh O'Brien

The number of suspected hate crimes referred to prosecutors in Northern Ireland increased by six per cent in the past year, according to new figures. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it had received 355 files from police in relation to suspected hate crimes between April 2018 and March 2019

An obituary of Northern Ireland barrister Michael Lavery QC, who passed away in April, has been published by The Irish Times. The obituary recognises Mr Lavery as "one of the leading barristers of his generation in Northern Ireland", practising for over six decades until his retirement in 2017.

Road safety officials have called for an investigation into wildly disparate conviction rates for drink driving offences in different Irish counties. New Courts Service figures have revealed that a third of motorists prosecuted for drink driving avoid a conviction, RTÉ reports.