Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) has extended its contract for the use of the International Convention Centre (ICC) as a courts venue for a further three months. The ICC was deployed in January as Northern Ireland’s first “Nightingale venue” to facilitate c

Two law firms have merged to form MacAllister McAleese Solicitors, a new full-service practice based in Larne and led by experienced solicitors David McAleese and Kevin MacAllister.

Horwich Farrelly's Northern Ireland team has moved to larger premises in Belfast following its continued growth. The defendant insurance specialist firm, which opened its Belfast office in 2018, has moved into Urban HQ in Upper Queen Street after outgrowing its former base in the Scottish Provident

One in five law firms in Northern Ireland made redundancies last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research published by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The results from two Law Society surveys of member firms, conducted in May 2020 and November/December 2020, have bee

The winter 2020 edition of the Journal of Elder Law and Capacity has been published by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Available from the Law Society website, it includes articles on advance directives, discretionary variation of trusts and solicitors' experience as executors, as well as book r

Victims of sexual offences will receive publicly-funded independent legal advice under a pilot scheme launched today. The new scheme fulfils one of the recommendations of retired Court of Appeal judge Sir John Gillen’s high-profile review of the law and procedures in serious sexual offences in

Crucial reforms to sexual offence trials have been delayed and victims of sexual offences now have to wait up to three years for a trial to commence as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new report from Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland (CJINI) highlights improvements in the way sexua

Lawyers have launched a class action lawsuit against the UK government over the economic impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Ballymena-based haulage company Blair International and DUP MP Ian Paisley have been named as the initial claimants in the claim form lodged with the High Court in London

A new chairperson will be appointed to the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in May following a one-month extension to the current chair's term. Economy Minister Diane Dodds yesterday announced that Marie Mallon would remain in place as chair of the LRA board until 30 April 2021.

No prosecutions followed the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry despite 190 complaints of criminal activity being passed to the PSNI and 77 files being passed to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). The figures were revealed yesterday in the first of a new series of online events organise

An increasing number of cases involving allegations of parental alienation are coming before the Northern Ireland courts, a family lawyer has warned. Claire Edgar, family law partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, shared her experience as a practitioner at an online event organised by the Sou

This year's increases in the limits for payments and awards to workers in employment rights cases in Northern Ireland have been confirmed. From 6 April, the limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal will rise from £88,693 to £89,669, while the maximum amount of "a week's pay"

Solicitors, barristers and rights campaigners attended a "hybrid" roundtable event hosted by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Bar Council of Northern Ireland to discuss the independent review of the Human Rights Act.

Sir Declan Morgan's successor as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland will be named by the second week of September. The Office of the Lord Chief Justice today launched a recruitment process to fill the vacancy which will arise when Sir Declan turns 70 this year.

The personal injury discount rate will be dramatically lowered from 2.5 per cent to -1.75 per cent, Justice Minister Naomi Long has announced. The rate will be changed from 31 May through secondary legislation owing to delays in steering the Damages (Return on Investment) Bill through Stormont.