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Benjamin Bestgen gives readers an overview of smart contracts this week. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Part of being a lawyer in the 21st century is the necessity to develop a degree of digital literacy, whether you like it or not. The legal world, it is often said, tends to be conservat

A woman declared dead by a court is still struggling to undo the ruling more than three years after pointing out she's still alive. Jeanne Pouchain, a 58-year-old from a town near the French city of Lyon, was ruled dead in 2017 during a long-running dispute with a former employee.

The High Court has found that two plaintiffs are entitled to the costs of an interlocutory application. However, as there is ongoing litigation between the parties, the judge held that they would hear submissions, and was prepared to stay the execution of that order pending the trial. Background

GQ|Littler, the UK arm of one of the world's largest employment law firms, has announced its expansion into Dublin under the leadership of partner Niall Pelly. Littler, which has a headcount of more than 1,600 lawyers, expands into its 25th country with the appointment of Mr Pelly from a rival Irish

Belfast-based MKB Law has announced the appointment of Aoife McCann as a solicitor in its family law team. A graduate of Queen's University Belfast and the IPLS, Ms McCann undertakes cases such as divorce and separation, domestic violence, children’s contact and adoption, public law Care Order

Barristers should be included in the "key worker" category for the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, the Bar Council of Ireland has said.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has encouraged women lawyers to apply to be granted the title of senior counsel this year. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) last month announced the opening of applications for the second round of the patents of precedence process.

Northern Ireland's human rights watchdog has launched legal action against the government over its failure to commission and fund abortion services. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission yesterday announced it had lodged judicial review proceedings in the High Court against the Secretary of S

Karen Kearney, partner at Cantillons Solicitors, explores the issue of expert witnesses through the prism of a recent medical negligence case. I recently settled a medical negligence claim for a client which was one of the most difficult that I have prosecuted in my career. It involved two High Cour

A coalition of over 90 NGOs and trade unions has raised concerns that recent appointments to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) are too "state-centric". The Equality Coalition has made a formal complaint to the Northern Ireland Office over the proportion of recent appointees drawn

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP has announced its sponsorship of a new accelerator programme aimed at supporting AI start-ups. The Alsessor programme, launched by Altada Technology Solutions, Trinity College Dublin and Tangent, Trinity’s Ideas Workspace, is aimed at AI start-ups working in retail

The New York State Bar Association is debating whether to disbar Donald Trump's attorney, former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani. The bar published a statement accusing Mr Giuliani of playing a part in the Capitol incident last week.

A Stalin-themed kebab shop has been apparently liquidated by state officials less than a week after opening its doors. Police have detained the owner of the controversial Stal'in Doner kebab shop, where food was named after Soviet figures and staff wore NKVD uniforms, The Times reports.

The High Court has granted an order for full costs despite the applicants only being partially successful in their judicial review proceedings. The court considered the case to be one of “general public importance”, raising significant issues regarding journalistic privilege and freedom

Legislative proposals to reform the electoral process, including by establishing an Electoral Commission for Ireland, regulating online advertising and amending the law to reflect Covid-19 restrictions, have been published. The general scheme of the Electoral Reform Bill, described as the "most sign