News

Additional investment is required in prison and probation services to alleviate prison overcrowding and improve undignified conditions, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said. In its pre-budget submission, the NGO calls for, among other things, the allocation of an additional €5 million t

Northern Ireland's legal professions have given a cautious welcome to a new fundamental review of criminal legal aid led by retired judge Tom Burgess. The Department of Justice yesterday confirmed that the review, led by Judge Burgess as its independent advisor, has commenced and will be completed w

Dungannon-based P.A. Duffy & Co Solicitors has welcomed Ellen Bates as a trainee solicitor. Ms Bates joined the firm in May 2021, initially as a part-time legal executive, while completing her undergraduate degree at Ulster University. She graduated from her LLB in July with a first class honour

Business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran has relocated its London office to new, larger premises at 1 King William Street. The firm said the move of its London office, led by partner Ron Boucher, is "aligned with a strategic commitment to service and growing our international client base".

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has launched a new legal challenge against a new UK law which will "effectively make it impossible for people who arrive in the UK irregularly to present as refugees". The controversial Illegal Migration Act 2023, which received royal assent in Ju

An English police chief has been referred to a watchdog after being accused of falsely presenting himself as a veteran of the Falklands War. Nick Adderley, chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, has been regularly pictured wearing the South Atlantic Medal awarded to those who served in the 1982

Chief Justice Donal O'Donnell yesterday welcomed the making of "a new tradition" as a secular ceremony to mark the opening of the new legal year took place in the Four Courts for the first time. The two traditional religious ceremonies marking the occasion — both a Church of Ireland service an

Northern Ireland's prison service has made "impressive" progress in addressing long-standing concerns about vulnerable prisoners being held in solitary confinement for long periods, the criminal justice inspector has found. A damning report published last year found that prisoners in care and superv

A new facility that ensures vulnerable witnesses giving evidence will not meet defendants within a court building was officially opened in Belfast last week. The Belfast remote evidence centre enables vulnerable or intimidated victims and witnesses to provide their evidence to the court using live l

DLA Piper hosted Senator George Mitchell, former US Senator and chairman emeritus of the global law firm, at a dinner in Dublin's Shelbourne Hotel on Friday. The firm said the "distinguished statesman and peacemaker shared his insights into the world of business and politics" at the event.

The Office of the Planning Regulator has published the inaugural edition of a new quarterly bulletin titled Learning from Litigation. The bulletin, produced by lawyers at Fieldfisher, has been developed in response to a survey of local authority planning personnel which indicated that they wanted to

A senior judge in England and Wales has been disciplined for bullying.

Chinese and Hong Kong government "reprisals" against the international legal team representing jailed publisher Jimmy Lai and his son, led by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, have been condemned by the UN Secretary-General and the US and UK governments. Ms Gallagher, the accomplished Irish human rights law

Police fined a motorist after spotting a large dog behind the wheel of a speeding car. Slovakian police have released a photo they say shows a "brown hunting dog smiling beautifully into the camera, obediently sitting behind the wheel of a Škoda and peering through the windshield".

Belfast-based Madden & Finucane Solicitors has promoted Lynn Day to director and head of the firm's expanding civil litigation department. Ms Day joined Madden & Finucane in 2011 and specialises in all aspects of civil litigation, with particular expertise in personal injury claims.