Phoenix Law

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has been recognised with an international human rights award for coming to the defence of a solicitor disparaged in the House of Commons. A statement issued by the Society last year called for an end to “attacks on lawyers” after Ian Paisley Jr, the DU

The families of the 48 Stardust fire victims are to share €24 million in compensation from the State. An inquest jury ruled in April 2024 that the victims of the 1981 nightclub fire were unlawfully killed. The government subsequently appointed Sara Moorehead SC to negotiate with families on the

The UK government's controversial Rwanda scheme is in question after a court ruled that legislation providing for the deportation of asylum seekers cannot be enforced in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's High Court yesterday ruled that certain provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 constitu

Trainee solicitors at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) will represent the UK in the Florida finals of the prestigious Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition next month. The team comprises Warren Polly, who is training with Gateley Legal Northern Ireland; Caitrio

A dispute over the Mullaghglass landfill site in Co Antrim is set to become the first environmental case of its kind to be appealed from the Northern Ireland courts to the UK Supreme Court in London. Belfast firm Phoenix Law is representing Noeleen McAleenon, one of a number of local residents who h

Fresh inquests have been ordered into the deaths of five men who were killed in four attacks in Mid-Ulster between 1988 and 1991. The families of Phelim McNally, Thomas Casey, Sean Anderson, Dwayne O'Donnell and Thomas Armstrong believe that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was involved in their ki

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has called for an end to "attacks on lawyers" after North Antrim MP Ian Paisley Jr made disparaging remarks about Belfast solicitor Gavin Booth in the House of Commons. During a debate on the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill

The PSNI has issued an apology to the so-called "Hooded Men", acknowledging that their treatment "would be characterised today as torture" and was "not acceptable at that time and is not acceptable by modern standards of policing". Joe Clarke — one of the 14 men subjected to the controversial

Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has decided not to prosecute a former police officer in connection with the fatal shooting of Colum Marks in 1991. The retired officer was reported for consideration after an investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland into the shoot

Belfast-based Phoenix Law has promoted Gavin Booth to partner amid an expansion which has also seen the human rights firm hire new managers and grow its footprint. The firm celebrated Mr Booth's promotion, the opening of a brand new 3,000 square foot extension to its Belfast headquarters and the app

A court has dismissed charges against dozens of people who allegedly took part in an illegal dissident republican parade after a successful challenge to the prosecution evidence. A total of 43 people — 35 men and eight women — were charged with failing to comply with conditions put in pl

The former manager of the Stardust nightclub has failed in a High Court bid to prevent a verdict of "unlawful killing" being considered in the fresh inquests into the deaths of 48 people in the infamous 1981 nightclub fire. Eamonn Butterly sought an order preventing the jury in the new inquests from

This has been another eventful month for Gavin Booth. On Friday 7 October, a judge at the High Court in Belfast ruled that the PSNI was in breach of a legal duty to carry out an effective investigation into a fatal loyalist gun attack on a pub in Co Down 30 years ago, which involved allegations of c

A bereaved mother has received "substantial damages" from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and the Northern Ireland Hospice following a settlement ending legal action over alleged medical negligence. Christina Campbell, whose daughter Jessica died at four months old after being di

The so-called "gay cake" case could return to the domestic courts following a "disappointing" ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), lawyers have said. The ECtHR ruled that the case brought by Gareth Lee against the United Kingdom was inadmissible because Mr Lee did not explicitly r