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International law firm Simmons & Simmons has appointed M&A specialist Micheál Mulvey as a partner in its Dublin corporate team. Mr Mulvey has over 15 years' experience advising clients on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, late-stage venture capital and corporate venturing and for

The UN's refugee agency has urged the Irish and UK governments not to leave asylum seekers in "legal limbo" amid an escalating diplomatic row. The Irish government this week announced plans to bring forward legislation designating the UK as a safe country to which asylum seekers can be returned.

European trade unions and employers' organisations are being consulted on the possibility of new EU rules on remote working and the 'right to disconnect'. The first-stage consultation of European social partners launched by the European Commission this week follows a vote by MEPs in 2021 which calle

The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) resolved over 1,500 appeals worth around €1.4 billion last year, according to new figures. A total of 1,521 appeals valued at €1.386 billion were closed — a 24 per cent decline in volume and a 60 per cent decline in value when compared with the previo

Legislation banning anti-abortion protests within 100 metres of healthcare providers has been approved by the Oireachtas. The Health (Termination of Pregnancy) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023 will create 'safe access zones' of 100 metres from an entrance or exit to a premises where obstetricians/gynae

Ugandan cocoa farmers have been forced to hire armed men to protect their crop amid soaring cocoa prices. Cocoa prices recently soared to an all-time high due to unusually dry weather in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, though have fallen back recently as conditions have improved.

Community and voluntary organisations are self-censoring out of fear of losing State funding, a new report suggests. Almost two-fifths (37 per cent) of participants in research conducted by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) reported that they have curtailed their advocacy, campaigning or

The UK's controversial new legacy law has come into force, bringing a premature end to dozens of inquests and investigations related to killings during the Troubles. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which the Irish government is challenging in a rare interstate app

William Fry has appointed Clodagh Ruigrok, Elena Canavan-Young, Nessa Joyce, Barbara Galvin, Deirdre O'Donovan, Aisling O'Gorman, Tiernan Diamond, Barry Scannell and Rachel Hayes as partners in a major promotions round. The firm has welcomed the nine new partners across four departments — asse

Most complaints of sexual assault brought to gardaí involve an alleged perpetrator known to the complainant, new figures reveal. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday published a statistical bulletin on victims and suspected offenders in 2022, showing that in 71 per cent of sexual off

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has been granted leave from the High Court to exercise its amicus curiae function in a significant case focused on redress for survivors of historic child sexual abuse in schools. As amicus curiae in KW v the Minister for Education, the Government of Ir

Most in-house lawyers have yet to form an opinion for or against Ireland's participation in the new Unified Patent Court (UPC), a survey by Mason Hayes & Curran suggests. The business law firm surveyed 240 lawyers from various sectors, finding that two-thirds (66 per cent) had not decided how to

The US is set to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug in a move which is being heralded as a historic shift, but one which is unlikely to impact the criminal justice system. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has formally recommended that cannabis be moved from its current "Schedule I" clas

A large piece of a plane which dramatically fell off mid-flight turned up in the back garden of a lawyer suing the plane's manufacturer over unrelated safety issues. New York attorney Jake Bissell-Linsk, whose firm is suing Boeing in relation to an incident in January where a plane door blew off mid

Ministers have agreed to change the law to allow failed asylum seekers to be returned to the UK. A bill to amend the International Protection Act 2015 will be brought to the Oireachtas after the High Court found in March that the UK's post-Brexit designation as a safe country for asylum returns was