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Child maintenance payments are now excluded from all social welfare means tests following the commencement of new legislation. The Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 provides for significant reforms expected to benefit over 16,000 lone parents and help to reduce child p

London lawyer Angus McCullough KC has been appointed by the PSNI to conduct an independent review of the force's alleged use of surveillance against journalists, lawyers and NGOs. The PSNI's chief constable, Jon Boutcher, this week denied that documents published in the course of proceedings before

A team of staff from Millar McCall Wylie will be stepping up and hitting the coast this month taking on a challenge aimed at raising funds for their firm's charity partner, the Down's Syndrome Association and its Northern Ireland-based team. The firm will complete an impressive 15-mile walk along th

A man who stole more than a dozen cans of Pringles told police "once you pop, you can't stop". Adam Spencer, 40, was arrested in Nottinghamshire following a string of burglaries and shop thefts.

Comyn Kelleher Tobin LLP (CKT) has promoted Barry Kelleher, Grace Toher and Conor White to senior associate in the firm's Cork office. Mr Kelleher, an insurance lawyer, has specialist knowledge in employers’ liability, public liability, healthcare litigation and prosecutions, and data breach l

Former Circuit Court judge Gerard O'Brien has been sentenced to five years and nine months' imprisonment, with the final year and nine months suspended, following his conviction for attempted rape and sexual assault. The 59-year-old was convicted in late December of sexually abusing six men between

Ireland will withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) following the EU's decision to do the same, environment minister Eamon Ryan has said. A meeting of EU energy ministers last week formally adopted a decision for the EU and Euratom to withdraw from the treaty, which climate campaigners say is

New legislation is to expand access to the Insolvency Payments Scheme to protect employees of employers who cease trading without entering into liquidation, receivership or bankruptcy. The general scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 also proposes

Defence solicitors in Scotland have begun their first week of industrial action over domestic abuse cases after a collapse in talks with the Scottish government over reforms to legal aid. They will also decline to act where an accused has no solicitor and cannot represent themselves — and will

Criminal barristers have been urged by the Bar Council not to take part in a proposed wildcat strike over fee restoration. Hundreds of barristers are said to have signed a declaration which states that they "will not attend court on or after the 1st June 2024 for cases involving State-funded prosecu

Clyde & Co lawyer Bernadette Raleigh is to swap Dublin for New York City under the firm's global exchange initiative. The firm's global associate programme (GAP) provides an opportunity for its lawyers to spend time in another office, to foster lasting relationships with international colleagues

Legislation granting automatic anonymity to suspects of sexual offences has been struck down by Northern Ireland's High Court. Under the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which came into force last September, suspects of sexual offences cannot be named un

TikTok is facing a lawsuit from a new group of French parents who believe the video-sharing platform is not doing enough to protect children online. The Algos Victima collective, backed by lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion, aims to bring together the greatest number of families to bring TikTok before the

A police force has told of its success in discouraging young people from partying at the beach by blasting classical music at the shore. The likes of Strauss' The Blue Danube, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Schubert's Ave Maria have now been used by police in the Finnish city of Espoo to disperse end-of

Belfast-based MKB Law has appointed Neil Logan as a consultant in the firm's corporate, banking and commercial divisions. Director Gordon McElroy said: "We are pleased to have Neil on board — his experience and expertise in corporate banking and finance will undoubtedly serve as an invaluable