News

Ireland should follow the UK in introducing tax advantages for employee-owned companies, a business group has said. The Irish ProShare Association (IPSA) made the call after digital marketing agency Wolfgang Digital became the first Irish-owned company to become employee-owned using an employee owne

Poland's nearly decade-long rule of law crisis is over, the European Commission has declared. Around six months after an election which removed the country's right-wing Law and Order (PiS) party from government, the Commission has said it believes there is "no longer a clear risk of a serious breach

Northern Ireland is set to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes by April 2025 alongside other parts of the UK. Officials from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales have been collaborating on a proposed UK-wide ban, which will be enacted through separate legislation being brought in ea

The BBC has instructed lawyers to write to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) amid allegations of unlawful surveillance by the PSNI. Former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney believes that the PSNI "may have attempted to identify sources of information" related to an episode of Spotlight focusing o

Patrick Galvin, a Transition Year student at Abbey Community College in Waterford, has been named as the overall winner of this year's National Gráinne O’Neill Memorial Legal Essay Competition.

Changes to dog breeding laws and practices are necessary to deal with Ireland's "dog crisis", according to a new paper from Fieldfisher. The 39-page paper, prepared by Fieldfisher associate Hannah Unger, director Rory Ferguson and solicitor Dearbhla Walsh on a pro bono basis, reviews Irish legislati

Northern Ireland solicitor Michael Glover has been handed an 18-month sentence suspended for two years after admitting he defrauded clients to tune of £120,000. Mr Glover, formerly of Carrickfergus firm Glover & King, pleaded guilty to 29 counts of fraud by abuse of his position and one of

Italy can lawfully reclaim a 2,000-year-old Greek statue from the Getty Museum in California, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. Victorious Youth has been at the centre of a legal row for years after Italy alleged it had been obtained illegally by the J Paul Getty Trust.

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. US finds Israeli units committed human rights abuses before Gaza war

The Irish government is to provide €1 million to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the purposes of improving security and protecting witnesses. The voluntary contribution forms part of a €3 million sum pledged to the ICC in November 2023. The government previously explained how &e

Milan has abandoned plans to ban the sale of ice cream after midnight following a severe backlash. City authorities said the proposed ban on all takeaway food, including the pizza and gelato beloved by so many Italians, would strike a balance "between socialising and entertainment, and the peace and

Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has launched a global 'digital legal delivery' practice, a new multidisciplinary group bringing together its most inventive legal and tech minds. The move builds on the firm's 2011 launch of its alternative legal services (ALT) team, headquartered in Bel

Judge Suzanne Kingston of the General Court of the European Union delivered this year's John M. Kelly Memorial Lecture at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Belfast lawyer Matthew Higgins is to walk the 500-mile Camino de Santiago in aid of WAVE Trauma Centre this weekend. Mr Higgins, a criminal defence lawyer and partner at HHD Solicitors, will set off on Saturday to walk the ancient pilgrimage route in north-west Spain.

Matheson has welcomed 42 newly-qualified solicitors across its asset management, commercial litigation, commercial real estate, corporate, finance and capital markets, private client and tax teams.