Northern Ireland

Belfast solicitor Shannon Gawley has been elected to the executive committee of the European Young Bar Association (EYBA). Ms Gawley is a solicitor in the commercial team at Carson McDowell who is currently on secondment to Invest NI. She is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and obtained her

Over 70 newly admitted solicitors have been welcomed to the profession in the Law Society of Northern Ireland's first in-person admissions ceremony since the start of the pandemic. The new lawyers were joined by masters, family and friends at the event, taking place in the Assembly Buildings in Belf

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has criticised the UK government over "attacks on lawyers" representing victims and survivors of the Troubles. In a short statement, the Law Society said it had formally lodged concerns about the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) and its "

An obituary of former solicitor Jim Fitzpatrick, best known as the long-standing proprietor of The Irish News, has been published by the Sunday Independent. Mr Fitzpatrick, who was admitted as a solicitor in 1954 and was a partner in James F. Fitzpatrick Solicitors, passed away last week at the

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has found that a Hospital Tribunal and a subsequent High Court decision erred in the legal test to be applied for detention of a mentally impaired patient. The court granted the appeal against a decision of Mr Justice Adrian Colton, where it was found that th

The former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, has been presented with an honorary degree by Queen's University Belfast. Sir Declan was honoured at a special celebration event at the university alongside graduates from arts, humanities and social sciences.

Judge Patricia Smyth has been appointed as presiding County Court judge and Recorder of Belfast. The five-year appointment by the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Dame Siobhan Keegan, will take effect from Monday.

The Brussels office of the UK's law societies will close in November. Opened in 1991, the office represents the profession to the EU and monitors legislative developments in the bloc.

UK law firm TLT has furthered its commitment to reducing carbon emissions from clients’ disputes with the launch of a new UK-wide Greener Disputes Committee. The committee will be responsible for actively reducing, with a view to minimising, the environmental impacts of litigation in all three

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has launched a new hub designed to support clients with legal matters related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in business. ESG issues have become more prominent in the wake of the pandemic, climate crisis and increased cost of living as stakeh

Lawyers involved in the high-profile 2018 rape trial of rugby player Paddy Jackson have reached a settlement in their defamation proceedings against former Ireland and Ulster rugby captain Rory Best. Solicitors Kevin Winters and Joe McVeigh of Belfast firm KRW Law and barristers Brendan Kelly QC and

Staff and clients from Carson McDowell have raised £10,000 for the firm's charity partner, Samaritans Belfast, following activities including a retro-styled sports day at CIYMS Rugby Club. The event saw 120 people from 18 client teams participate in traditional school sports, including th

Controversial legislation which will allow the UK government to unilaterally disapply parts of the Northern Ireland protocol has cleared a major parliamentary hurdle. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill was approved at second reading in the House of Commons by 295-221, with Conservative and DUP MPs v

Dr Phil Anderson, consultant in child, adolescent and forensic psychiatry, makes the case for an increase in Northern Ireland's minimum age of criminal responsibility. The minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) is the lowest age at which a child is deemed to have the capacity to commit a crim

Former solicitor Jim Fitzpatrick, best known as the long-standing proprietor of The Irish News, has passed away at the age of 93. Born in Belfast in 1929, Mr Fitzpatrick was admitted as a solicitor in 1954 and began to practise civil law in the firm established by his father.