Northern Ireland

The full implementation of Sir John Gillen's recommendations for improving serious sexual offence trials in Northern Ireland "will take time", Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The retired Court of Appeal judge issued his final report almost a year ago, making over 250 recommendations including

Court clerks and court assistants at the Laganside, Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine courthouses are on strike today. Public sector trade union NIPSA said selective action in certain areas of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service is taking place as part of its broader dispute over civil s

Dr Catherine O'Rourke will take over as director of Ulster University's Transitional Justice Institute later this month. The senior lecturer in human rights and international law succeeds Professor Rory O'Connell at the head of the law-led multidisciplinary research centre, which focuses on "transit

Corporate law firm A&L Goodbody's Belfast office advised on deals worth £1.1 billion last year, greater in value than any other law firm in Northern Ireland for a sixth consecutive year. From 2014 to 2019, the Belfast office has advised on deals totalling over £6 billion, according t

Law student Gary Simpson has been named the inaugural winner of the Eversheds Sutherland Prize at Queen's University Belfast. Global law firm Eversheds Sutherland, with offices in Belfast and Dublin, will award the prize for three years to the student enrolled on the LLM International Business Law w

Carson McDowell has announced the promotion of Catherine Carton to partner in the firm's defence insurance team. Ms Carton, who qualified in 1999, specialises in the defence of employer’s liability and public liability claims, with a particular interest in claims arising in the retail, enginee

UK firm Shoosmiths has announced the appointment of real estate lawyer Mark Blair as a partner in the firm's Belfast office. Mr Blair is well-known in the Northern Ireland property market and his appointment is a key hire in broadening the firm's skill base and profile in the region, Shoosmiths said

Belfast-based Tughans has been named Northern Ireland's busiest corporate law firm for a fifth year in a row. The firm topped the Experian M&A and Real Estate Advisor League Table after advising on 53 deals worth £164 million over the course of 2019.

A 22-year-old man has been given a six-year sentence for the “single-punch” manslaughter of a vulnerable man in Newcastle, County Down. Mr Justice Adrian Colton followed the sentencing guidelines in R v Quinn. Two other men who witnessed the incident were sentenced for related offences,

International law firm Pinsent Masons has been recognised as Northern Ireland's top employer for LGBT staff and one of the most LGBT-inclusive workplaces in the UK. The firm is ranked at number four in LGBT charity Stonewall's Top 100 Employers list, which recognises a dozen other law firms across t

Retired solicitor Roisin Doris (née McGrath) has passed away, the Law Society of Northern Ireland has confirmed. Ms Doris was a former principal in private practice (PPP) with E&L Kennedy Solicitors in Belfast city centre.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) will be "unable to fulfil its duties" if funding cuts continue, its chief commissioner has warned. The rights watchdog is funded by the UK government through the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), but has seen its budget slashed by nearly 50 per cent

Retired Bangor solicitor Cynthia Baxter, also known as Cynthia Hopkirk, has passed away at the age of 84. Ms Baxter was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 1975 and was a partner in the Bangor office of Wilson Nesbitt until her retirement in 1992.

Personal injury specialist firm JMK Solicitors is sponsoring a sports panel event bringing together former international rugby and GAA stars in Belfast.

A man who was convicted of raping his stepdaughter when she was a teenager has lost an application to appeal against his conviction. Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Ben Stephens said that the grounds of appeal, both individually and cumulatively, did not render the verdicts unsafe or engender a