Northern Ireland

Insurance risk and commercial law specialist firm BLM has announced the appointment of John Guerin as head of its Belfast and Derry offices. Mr Guerin, a former president of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, joins the firm amid a wider leadership restructure both north and south of the border.

Justice Minister Naomi Long has set out plans to avoid future legislative errors similar to the one which led to over a dozen convictions for certain sexual offences to be set aside. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) last week announced that it would have to set aside the convictions of 15 indivi

A former prosecution barrister has been sentenced to 100 hours' community service and given a two-year probation order for making and possessing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography. Jonathan Lowry, 60, who was once a leading prosecutor in Belfast and Dungannon Crown Cou

New employment supports set to be introduced by the UK government following the end of the furlough scheme are not sufficient to avoid mass redundancies and significant hardship, Law Centre NI has said. The new Job Support Scheme will run for six months from 1 November 2020, but will only support so

Solicitors in Northern Ireland have been invited to join online classes part of an initiative to promote their health and wellbeing. The Law Society of Northern Ireland has organised the Well-being Day on Friday 9 October 2020, which includes online fitnesses classes and mental health advice.

UK law firm TLT has been recognised for its commitment to diversity and inclusion in Northern Ireland. The firm has achieved bronze accreditation from Diversity Mark NI, which seeks to address gender inequality in Northern Ireland.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has set aside the convictions of 15 individuals for certain sexual offences as a result of a legislative error which caused them to be invalid. The PPS conducted a review of all cases potentially impacted after prosecutors became aware of a technical change

Plans to regulate gambling in Northern Ireland are due to be set out after a public consultation found overwhelming support for a new independent regulator. Around 90 per cent of 382 responses to the Department for Communities' consultation on gambling laws supported the establishment of a regulator

The legacy pension scheme for victims of the Troubles will likely not open for applications until March 2021, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The Department of Justice was designated last month as the administrator of the scheme, allowing its implementation to move forward.

Arthur Cox has announced the appointment of partners Lynsey Mallon and Stuart Mansfield to the firm's leadership in Northern Ireland. Ms Mallon will lead the Belfast office's corporate and commercial team, while Mr Mansfield will head the banking and finance team.

Belfast solicitor Niall Murphy, partner at KRW LAW, will chair this year's Belfast International Homecoming Legal Symposium, which will take place online due to the Covid-19 crisis. The symposium on 1-2 October will focus on "professional pathways in law – from Belfast to beyond", with a panel

Proposals to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland, which currently stands at 10 years of age, are under consideration by ministers. Justice Minister Naomi Long has confirmed in response to a written Assembly question that she wrote to her Executive colleagues last

Retired solicitor and politician David Cook, who became the first non-unionist Lord Mayor of Belfast in the late 1970s, passed away yesterday.

Consideration should be given to including a specific freedom of expression defence in hate crime laws, the PSNI has suggested. In the force's response to the consultation on hate crime laws, it said legislation "should equally balance the human rights of all within society".

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has been shortlisted by Investors in People (IIP) for a prestigious international employment award. The firm is competing against eight other companies from across the globe for the "Employer of the Year: Accredited 50-249" award. The winner will be named at