Gender Equality

Lewis Silkin has launched a newly enhanced parental leave policy offering up to 12 months' leave and six months' full pay to new parents. The policy, spanning the firm's offices in the UK and Ireland, comes into effect for parents whose children are due to be born or adopted from 1 April 2024.

Matheson has given new financial backing to the 30% Club Ireland, which aims to promote women's representation in senior business roles. The law firm will take over the annual sponsorship of the organisation's country executive role from EY, which has provided financial support for the last two year

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has unveiled a portrait of Dorothea Heron, who made legal history as the first woman to qualify as a solicitor anywhere on the island of Ireland. Born in Harcourt Street in Dublin on 19 August 1896, Deasie — as she was known to her family — was educate

Three women judges have made Irish legal history after sitting as the first all-woman panel on the Court of Appeal. Ms Justice Tara Burns, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh yesterday presided over a criminal appeal brought on behalf of a Limerick man convicte

Irish solicitor Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty and Northern Ireland barrister Orlagh Kelly have been recognised in a new report as "trailblazers in the law". The pair are among 23 women leaders named in the 2023 Women Who Will report published by Obelisk Support in partnership with Next 100 Years, the projec

UK law firm TLT, with an office in Belfast, has celebrated after achieving a 33 per cent women partner representation target two years ahead of schedule. Women have accounted for just over half of partner promotions and hires in TLT over the past three years, twice as high as it was prior to the imp

Northern Ireland solicitors have been encouraged to use gender-inclusive alternatives to the salutation "Dear Sirs". The Law Society of Northern Ireland's human rights and equality committee said solicitors should drop the "outdated and non-inclusive practice" in favour of alternatives such as "Dear

Frances Moran SC, the first woman to become a senior counsel in either Ireland or Britain, will be the subject of a new artwork by Vera Klute which has been jointly commissioned by the Bar of Ireland and the King's Inns as part of the In Plain Sight initiative. Ms Moran was called to the Bar in 1924

A long-promised referendum to remove references to "woman's place in the home" from the Constitution will take place this November, the government has announced. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and children, equality, disability, integration and youth minister Roderic O'Gorman made the announcement today to

The Bar of Ireland has launched a new policy aimed at promoting equitable briefing amongst male and female barristers. The Equitable Briefing Policy is a targeted initiative which asks signatories to consider the gender of counsel once the objectives of seniority, expertise and experience have been

A new portrait of Frances Kyle BL and Averil Deverell BL, the first women to be called to The Bar of Ireland, has been unveiled at the King's Inns. Artist Emma Stroud was commissioned to produce the portrait as part of the "In Plain Sight" initiative jointly launched by the Bar and the King's Inns,

Lorraine Lally BL shares highlights from a recent webinar on confidence and women in the law. In 2016 it was a realisation that women were leaving the legal profession and were not moving into positions of seniority due to lack of sufficient work and opportunities. This reflected a global and cultur

International law firm Linklaters will train senior lawyers on the impact of menopause under a new global policy aimed at retaining and supporting women of all ages into senior roles. The firm will also facilitate "open discussions" and encourage lawyers to share their experiences of menopause under

The Next 100 Years, the successor project to the First 100 Years, has launched a new film series – Next 100 Voices – showcasing the next generation of women leaders in the law, kicking off with criminal defence barrister Abimbola Johnson. Ms Johnson, from 25 Bedford Row, was last year ap

Law firms in Northern Ireland should take action to address gender imbalance at a partner level, the Law Society has said, with women holding just three out of every 10 partner positions in private practice. Brigid Napier, the 10th woman to hold the position of Law Society president in its 100-year