Northern Ireland

Retired Belfast solicitor Robert Watts has passed away at the age of 96. Mr Watts joined C&J Black Solicitors in the 1940s after serving in World War II, eventually becoming a senior partner.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service has launched a new strategy for strengthening prisoners' family relationships to support the rehabilitation process. Director general Ronnie Armour launched the Strengthening Family Relations Strategy as he attended the official opening of the "Big Visit" area at

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal has found that the Executive Office can exercise the prerogative power to set up an ex gratia redress scheme for the victims of historical institutional abuse, and that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland should consider giving a direction to the Executiv

Belfast firm MKB Law has announced that two of its family lawyers have been appointed to the Children Order Panel by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Solicitors Karen Edwards and Ainé Toner have been appointed to the Panel of family lawyers who have undertaken specialist training and exam

Belfast solicitor Laura Banks has welcomed a report by MPs criticising the UK government's failure to act following a landmark UK Supreme Court decision on Widowed Parent's Allowance. Ms Banks, of Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in her successful challenge to the rule

Human rights law expert Professor Colin Harvey has called for dialogue about Irish unity to continue in the "spirit of generosity" after speaking out about political pressure over his work. Professor Harvey, of QUB School of Law, told an event at Derry's Guildhall that he felt "under siege from poli

Lawyers from Shanghai and Shenzhen addressed Northern Ireland firms on doing business in China at a seminar hosted by A&L Goodbody (ALG). Guests at the firm's ‘Understanding China’s Economic Drivers and Practices’ event heard from Chinese lawyers Chris Zhang and Teresa Yang, wh

Wilson Nesbitt has become the first law firm in Northern Ireland to achieve a certification in GDPR from compliance specialists Briefed. The certification process involved an in-depth audit of the firm's information governance and accountability, and the policies, procedures and controls in place to

Pinsent Masons has announced the appointment of Danielle McKeefry, Hannah Megarry, Lisa McGrady and Rory Copeland as solicitors following the end of their training contracts in Belfast. Ms McKeefry has joined the corporate team, while Mr Megarry has joined the property team and Ms McGrady has joined

Human rights firm KRW Law has announced the appointment of Chris Fox as an assistant solicitor. Mr Fox, from Donegal, is the latest addition to the growing practice, which now extends beyond Belfast to Dublin and London.

Prominent human rights lawyer Patrick Fahy has passed away at the age of 75. Mr Fahy, who founded Patrick Fahy & Co Solicitors in 1970, acted for the families of Troubles victims in a series of high-profile cases.

A recent crackdown on paramilitarism in Northern Ireland is being held back by stalled reforms to the committal process, the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) has warned. The collapse of Stormont has put plans to phase out the committal process on hold, leading to longer criminal cases, accordi

Staff Maghaberry Prison have received an Excellence Award from the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) at their annual conference in Buenos Aires. The award is in recognition of “outstanding programmes which contribute to the safe reintegration of offenders into the commun

Claire Edgar, partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, considers yesterday's UK Supreme Court decision in a child abduction case. The majority of child abduction cases do not involve strangers. Children, who are caught up in the relationship disputes of their parents, are often removed from the

An apprentice solicitor at Higgins Hollywood Deazley has become a "dementia community champion" for the firm. Naomi Woods completed training with the Alzheimer's Society to expand her knowledge of the disease and how it can affect people.