The Supreme Court saw a 14 per cent increase in both applications and determinations last year, according to its latest annual report. In its busiest year since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the court resolved a total of 183 applications for leave to appeal in 2024, with 49 grant
Appointments
See all articlesSquire Patton Boggs has hired Jason O'Donnell to lead its real estate practice in Ireland. Mr O'Donnell joins from A&L Goodbody and brings more than a decade of experience advising on complex real estate transactions across Ireland and internationally.
Belfast firm RP Crawford Solicitors has welcomed solicitor Aaron Murchan and paralegal Conor McKeown to its team. Mr Murchan brings broad experience across public law and litigation, having previously worked at firms in Northern Ireland and Australia.
Hayes solicitors has appointed five new partners, three new senior associates and one new associate. The new partners are Pamela Fitzpatrick and Gill Cotter in the firm's commercial and business team, Michael Kelly in the commercial litigation and dispute resolution team, Fergal Mullins in the healt
Michelle Drury and Maria Cleary have been appointed to the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation's board of directors. Ms Drury, a member of the Bar of Ireland as well as a qualified solicitor, brings over 12 years' legal experience in corporate governance, finance, commercial, employment, da
Sir John Gillen has been reappointed as independent assessor of PSNI recruitment vetting for a further four years. The retired judge, who sat on Northern Ireland's High Court from 1999 and the Court of Appeal from 2014 until his retirement in 2017, will serve for a second term until 30 April 2029.
Northern Ireland personal injury law firm JMK Solicitors has recognised the expertise of five team members by giving them new titles. Marie-Claire Meehan is now director of performance, while Susan Morrison is now costs consultant and Sinead Toal, Ailis McKeown and Wendy McIntosh are now senior asso
Northern Ireland
See all articlesCarson McDowell has joined a prestigious list of Northern Ireland's top 100 companies for the first time. The independent law firm has secured position 66 in the Belfast Telegraph's Top 100 Companies list, making it the first Northern Ireland-based law firm to be featured.
Northern Ireland's justice minister has rowed back on plans for legislation requiring compensation settlements for injured children to be approved by judges. Sir John Gillen's 2017 review of civil justice recommended that minor settlements in personal injury cases where legal proceedings have not be
Belfast firm RP Crawford Solicitors has welcomed solicitor Aaron Murchan and paralegal Conor McKeown to its team. Mr Murchan brings broad experience across public law and litigation, having previously worked at firms in Northern Ireland and Australia.
Phoenix Law partner Darragh Mackin has appeared before the St Helena Court of Appeal in a case concerning access to justice for citizens of the British overseas territory. The Belfast lawyer has been instructed by St Helena's Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is intervening in the case, Pe
Sir John Gillen has been reappointed as independent assessor of PSNI recruitment vetting for a further four years. The retired judge, who sat on Northern Ireland's High Court from 1999 and the Court of Appeal from 2014 until his retirement in 2017, will serve for a second term until 30 April 2029.
Universities
See all articlesTrinity Law School says it has received a "significant gift" from alumnus Craig Verdon to support the Trinity Centre for Constitutional Governance (TriCON). Founded in 2020, TriCON provides an intellectual hub for research, discussion, and public engagement on cutting-edge issues of constitutional l
Human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC has joined the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford as a visiting fellow. Ms Gallagher will be a visiting fellow from April to June 2025, during which time she will focus on the pressing issue of impunity for journalists’ deaths, and on cre
Trainee solicitors from the Law Society of Ireland and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) have represented Ireland and the UK in the Florida finals of the prestigious Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition. Organised by the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Polic
Maynooth law students Adrian Karbownik and Ramisa Hossain have triumphed in a moot court competition at Technological University Dublin.
Dublin firm Corrigan & Corrigan Solicitors has presented its inaugural tort essay prize to Technological University Dublin student Jake McCabe Cusack. Mr Cusack's essay on vicarious liability came first in a field of nearly 150 submissions.
Interviews
See all articlesWherever there is an Irish diaspora — and where is there not? — there will be St Patrick’s Day celebrations. This was the case earlier this month at the Hyatt Regency hotel in London when the London Irish Lawyers Association (LILA) gathered for its third annual St Patrick’s D
Even by the standards of the bewilderingly swift advances in the social media arena, TikTok is a phenomenon. Launched in 2016, the app began its dizzying ascent to become a giant with more than 1.04 billion monthly active users, a scale of growth that took Instagram and Facebook almost a decade to a

The nature of the law means that major modifications to the status quo come rarely and after long consideration. But while the wheel turns slowly, it’s hard to stop once in motion. So, when October last year saw the introduction of new legal partnerships — which enable barristers a

Recent years have seen an impressive influx of significant international law firms to Ireland. They have arrived in the country to service multinational businesses attracted to the country by seamless access to the EU post-Brexit as well as the country’s growing reputation in areas such as tec

Barristers appearing in the most serious criminal cases in Northern Ireland are effectively being asked to do twice the work for half the pay they were getting two decades ago, the chairperson of the Bar of Northern Ireland has told Irish Legal News. Donal Lunny KC, who took up office in September,
