News

Conveyancers could become a regulated profession in their own right under government plans to drive down legal costs. Justice Minister Helen McEntee today ordered the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) to draw up a report on the creation of a new profession of "conveyancer".

Defendant insurance specialist firm Horwich Farrelly has reported continued growth in Northern Ireland, with Eva Bashford and Sarah McLeigh joining the team. Ms Bashford joins the firm as a partner, bringing over 15 years' experience of dealing with claims in both Northern Ireland and the Republic o

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC), which provides free legal advice to homeless people and people at risk of homelessness, has called for urgent action to address barriers to ethnic minority groups accessing housing services. A new report published by the law centre and funded by the Irish Human Righ

Offenders on probation have "significant and unmet" mental health needs which must become a "priority area" for the Probation Service, a new report warns. The report – authored by Dr Christina Power, senior clinical psychologist at the Probation Service – was published this morning and m

Lawyers Aoife Farrelly BL and Julie Galbraith have been appointed as members of GAA disciplinary committees in a groundbreaking year for women's representation. There are now women on all three of the GAA's disciplinary committees – the central competitions control committee, central hearings

Controversial spit hoods have been rolled out to thousands more PSNI officers in spite of a call from the Northern Ireland Policing Board for their use to be "phased out as soon as possible". Four NGOs – Amnesty International, the Children's Law Centre, CAJ and Include Youth – have calle

Legislation providing a legal definition of bullying and requiring schools to record incidents of bullying will finally be brought into effect in September. The Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (NI) 2016, which was passed with the support of all political parties, will commence from 1 September 20

English solicitor Greg Cox has been appointed as a trustee to the board of governors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP). Mr Cox is the managing partner and CEO of English law firm Simpson Millar and has extensive experience of financial management, governance experience, capital raising and

The presidents of the law societies of Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland have condemned the military coup in Myanmar. The Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, seized power at the start of February, detaining government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other prominent members of her party.

The president of the Law Society of England and Wales is stepping aside less than halfway through his one-year term due to the re-emergence of allegations of misconduct, which he denies. The High Court in London ruled that the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) was wrong to dismiss a complaint b

A mysterious artwork painted on the former Reading Prison is speculated to be a Banksy piece depicting its most famous inmate, Oscar Wilde. The mural shows a prisoner rappelling down one of the prison's exterior walls using paper from a typewriter as a rope.

The High Court has refused an application for judicial review brought by a student who sought to challenge his results from the 2020 Leaving Certificate. The student had been downgraded from the predicted results provided by his teachers and he claimed that he had missed his preferred course in univ

Arthur Cox has announced the appointment of Sarah Thompson as a partner in the firm's finance group. Ms Thompson joins Arthur Cox from Kirkland & Ellis in London, where she was a partner in its financial services regulatory team. Prior to this, she also worked at Linklaters in its financial regu

Matheson has announced the appointment of partner John Gill as head of the firm's private client department. Mr Gill advises individuals and families on investment vehicles, estate planning and taxation, including advice on relocating to and establishing tax residence in Ireland.

Irish prison law expert Dr Mary Rogan has been appointed as president of the International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation (IPPF). An associate professor in law at Trinity College Dublin and a qualified barrister, she is one of Ireland's leading prisons experts, having worked with government bodie