Northern Ireland

Belfast will welcome judges and legal professionals from across the world next month at the Commonwealth Mediation Conference. Taking place on 19-20 May 2022, the conference will provide a platform to discuss the growing importance and use of mediation to resolve disputes.

International law firm Pinsent Masons has increased its starting salaries for newly-qualified solicitors in Belfast to £35,000. The move, which takes effect in September, represents a 12.9 per cent increase on the previous starting salary of £31,000.

The Bar of Northern Ireland has called for an end to the "unsustainable underfunding" of legal aid as it set out its policy priorities ahead of next week's election. In Raising the Bar: Priorities for the Post-Election Period, the Bar urges policy and decision makers to "take a strategic view of the

A&L Goodbody (ALG) has been awarded two environmental accreditations in Northern Ireland in recognition of its commitment to sustainability. The firm, which employs over 120 people at its Belfast office, has been awarded the ISO 14001: 2015 Environmental Standard. The internationally recognised

Two legal challenges to the Northern Ireland Protocol have made legal history as the first cases ever granted permission by the Court of Appeal to proceed to the UK Supreme Court, lawyers have said. The court last month rejected both challenges, the first brought by unionist politicians including Ji

The UK government is drafting legislation to give its ministers unilateral powers to disapply parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in breach of its obligations under international law, according to reports. Prime minister Boris Johnson and foreign secretary Liz Truss have "in principle signed off"

Law students and graduates in Northern Ireland have been invited to submit essays on "eco-anxiety" and human rights to a new competition named in memory of Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore. Organised by the Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) young lawyers' committee, the competition invites essays on th

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal regarding a decision by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The court found that it was not reasonable for the PSNI to reopen one specific legacy case because new evidence came to light, and rejected the argument that they h

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected claims that a prisoner was wrongly refused permission to visit his mother in hospital, and then again to attend her funeral. The court found that the decision of the health trust had been a rational one, and although there had been confusion about the

Derry and Strabane firm McCay Solicitors has announced the appointment of Andrea McGill as an associate solicitor in the firm's probate and property department. The appointment reunites Andrea McGill with firm founder Gareth McCay and associate solicitor Aaron Mullin, who are all cousins.

Businesses with a UK turnover of less than £10 million will be removed from the scope of the UK's merger control regime, the government has announced. Under the "small merger safe harbour", mergers will be exempted from review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) where each party's U

The run-up to next month’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections has been dominated by the lingering impact of Brexit, with unionist opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol threatening to prevent the formation of a new power-sharing Executive. But Naomi Long, leader of the cross-community Al

Northern Ireland’s High Court has awarded damages to a man who bought a £47,500 forestry mulcher with a defective clutch, which the defendant argued had been "sold as seen", on the basis the mulcher had been advertised as being in good condition and the seller was aware that it was inten

Charities across Northern Ireland have been invited to apply for a share of up to £50,000 funding through the Allen & Overy Foundation, which is funded by contributions from A&O partners worldwide. The funding is managed locally by the Belfast grants committee, which administers suppor

Northern Ireland’s High Court has rejected an application for judicial review where it was argued that terrorism offences committed in the Republic of Ireland required special permission to be pursued in Northern Ireland. The applicant also lost in his claim that the Director of Public Prosecu