News

Dublin firm O'Brien Lynman Solicitors (OBL) has announced the appointment of Naomi O'Connor as a partner in its property and insolvency division. Ms O'Connor, who is qualified to practice in Ireland and in England and Wales, acts on behalf of financial institutions, private investment funds, receive

A private WhatsApp group in which law students are said to have exchanged "highly offensive" messages does not contain references to female students, the Law Society of Ireland has said. The Law Society launched an investigation last week into allegations that students at its law school had posted "

Co Kerry solicitor Maurice O'Sullivan will be struck off the roll at the end of the year after being found guilty of professional misconduct. The High Court granted a stay on the strike-off orders to allow for the transfer of files relating to undertakings he had failed to honour, The Irish Times re

International experts on the right to silence were addressed by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh and researchers from four jurisdictions at a recent Dublin City University (DCU) symposium.

Failures to disclose evidence to defence lawyers have resulted in the number of collapsed criminal cases almost doubling in four years, The Times reports. Figures obtained from the Crown Prosecution Service show that, on average, about two cases were dropped per day last year as a result of delays i

Lengthy prison sentences imposed on nine Catalan pro-independence leaders by the Spanish courts yesterday risk having "a chilling effect on freedom of expression and association", a human rights expert has warned. Former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras was yesterday sentenced to 13 years in p

Prisoners from Maghaberry are supporting a blind schoolgirl with her classroom studies by producing her school books in Braille. Eight-year-old Eryn Kirkpatrick was born with the rare condition Septo-optic dysplasia which has left her completely blind and also affects her growth.

A round-up of deals involving Irish law firms. Submit your deals to newsdesk@irishlegal.com. Matheson acted as Irish legal and tax counsel in connection with the $2 billion Juniper Receivables 2019-1 DAC securitisation of US auto contracts acquired by Ally Bank.

A member of the public has agreed a repayment plan with a local authority which accidentally paid him nearly £300,000. Fife Council, in Scotland, was supposed to pay the man £59.95 a week, but accidentally paid £59,395 per week instead – and didn't notice until around £

Clare County Council has been granted a permanent injunction restraining a couple and their family from trespassing on a housing estate where they had previously held a tenancy. The family had lived on the site for over 14 years before being victims of an arson attack, and the Council had promised t

A recent Supreme Court ruling could encourage legislative intervention in the allocation of the burden of proof, raising "the spectre of interference" with the presumption of innocence, a legal academic has warned. Professor Liz Heffernan delivered a lecture at the second Irish Supreme Court Review

Former High Court judge Mr Justice Bryan McMahon, who chaired the working group on direct provision in 2015, has said that the system "may not be perfect, but it's much better than it was". The retired judge made the remarks at the Law Society of Ireland's annual human rights and equality conference

Solicitor Gary Lee has been endorsed by the Independent Law Centres Network in his bid for election to the Law Society Council. Mr Lee, managing solicitor at Ballymun Community Law Centre, is competing for one of 15 places on the governing body.

People who were born in Northern Ireland and identify as Irish are still British citizens, the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) has ruled. Tribunal judges ruled against immigration rights campaigner Emma DeSouza, who has been fighting to bring her husband to Northern Ireland as the fa

Maghaberry Prison has become the first in the country to allow visits by autistic children, under a pioneering new initiative. A specially adapted crèche with sensory toys and apparatus has been installed to allow autistic children to visit their incarcerated fathers in a bid to improve rehab