News

The Law Society of Ireland has congratulated Michael McGrath on his appointment as EU commissioner for democracy, justice and the rule of law. Ursula von der Leyen yesterday picked the former finance minister for the job as she set out the make-up of the European Commission for her second term as pr

Diversity in the solicitors' and barristers' professions is being hampered by the cost of qualification and the length of time it takes for a law graduate to qualify and begin to earn a reasonable salary, according to new research. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) today published a ser

Gateley Legal NI has welcomed two newly-qualified solicitors and three new trainee solicitors. Amy McCartney has joined the firm's real estate team, advising clients on residential sales and purchases as well as banks, funders, and borrowers on all contentious and non-contentious real estate finance

Legislation to "reform and modernise" Northern Ireland's justice system has been introduced at Stormont. The Justice Bill 2024 will amend retention periods for biometric material and make changes to bail and custody arrangements for children and young people, as well as aiming to improve services fo

Belfast law firm Millar McCall Wylie has welcomed five newly-qualified solicitors to its team. The new solicitors are Cathy Kerr in employment, Patrick Boyle in litigation, Molly Rainey in corporate law, Rachel McCullogh in commercial property and Tonya Gregg in residential property.

A former police officer has admitted stealing £2.50 from an arrestee to pay off a paltry debt at the police station tuck shop. James Tillcock would have been sacked for gross misconduct had he not already resigned, Thames Valley Police (TVP) said following a misconduct hearing.

Northern Ireland's Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) is "irreparably toxic and tainted" and should be scrapped, Amnesty International has said. The human rights organisation issued a statement ahead of Friday's Court of Appeal ruling in the Dillon case concerning the

Chicago lawyer Caroleann Gallagher is to receive an Irish diaspora award in Donegal next week. Ms Gallagher, who grew up on Arranmore Island and was one of the first students to attend Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada, qualified as a solicitor in Ireland in 2004 before later relocating to the US and becomin

Six out of 10 legal professionals say mediation is the most effective alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method, a survey by business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran has found. The survey of 200 professionals was conducted at the firm’s recent dispute resolution conference at the Royal Iri

Mills Selig has unveiled a significant renovation to its offices at 21 Arthur Street, Belfast which have been home to the local law firm since 1999. The firm has embraced a new open plan environment to make room for over 60 staff, having had just 14 lawyers when moving into the space in 1999 —

McCann FitzGerald LLP has been named Anti-Discrimination Firm of the Year in Europe at the Legal Benchmarking Group’s Social Impact EMEA Awards 2024. The awards, which took place last Thursday in London, recognise leading law firms and figures from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa fo

Legislation providing for the mandatory open disclosure of serious patient safety incidents is to be commenced in the coming days. The Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 was signed into law by the President last year, and a number of preparatory steps required to enab

Former finance minister Michael McGrath is to be appointed as the new European commissioner for justice. Ursula von der Leyen today unveiled the make-up of the new European Commission, who begins a second five-year term as president.

Nearly half of the UK's biggest law firms last year saw their best revenue results since the financial crisis of 2008. Only 11 firms in the top 100 failed to grow last year, new research shows, with 44 firms recording revenue increase of 10 per cent or more.

Keir Starmer has been urged not to replace the previous UK government's Rwanda scheme with a new Albania scheme. The prime minister met yesterday with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, who has struck a deal with Albania for asylum seekers to be processed there.