Connor Beaton

All practising lawyers have vital skills to offer a charity, NGO or social enterprise in need, a panel discussion has heard. An event in Dublin has put the spotlight on how preventive, transactional legal support — on matters including governance, structuring, contracts and compliance —

Plans to effectively slash criminal legal aid payments in the District Court have been set out on the same day the government confirmed a date for fee restoration. Justice, home affairs and migration minister Jim O'Callaghan last night announced he is seeking to introduce a system whereby one flat f

A judge has warned of delays in the Northern Ireland family courts due to difficulties in obtaining expert medical reports. In a judgment handed down last week, Mr Justice Humphreys remarked on the "herculean efforts" by a solicitor to obtain an expert medical report, having approached 38 paediatric

A major oil and gas company has said it is moving forward with a claim for $100 million in compensation from Ireland under the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Lansdowne Oil & Gas announced Monday that it has engaged Diamond McCarthy LLP to pursue its arbitration claim over Ireland's r

Law students and graduates who secured training contracts with the Irish firm formerly known as Eversheds Sutherland LLP have been left scrambling to find new offers as the firm is now winding down and unable to take them on. The law firm was plunged into crisis in May following the collapse of mont

Irish judges have been told they can use AI tools like ChatGPT to summarise information, write speeches and carry out administrative tasks, but should not use it for legal research or analysis. Irish Legal News has seen the first formal guidelines for Irish judges on the "responsible use of generati

A senior Irish legal academic has withdrawn from a major EU symposium on the rule of law after organisers proposed to platform "fake judges and pseudo experts" linked to Poland's rule of law crisis. Professor Laurent Pech of UCD Sutherland School of Law yesterday said he had lost faith in the organi

A barrister who survived breast cancer in her 40s has urged colleagues to undergo screenings after she received an early diagnosis and treatment thanks to what felt like “divine intervention”. Northern Ireland barrister Julie Ellison was diagnosed with cancer in May 2024 after taking up

Solicitors have overwhelmingly rejected plans to lower the standard of proof applied in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland. Members of the Law Society of Northern Ireland last week forced a U-turn on its position at a special general meeting which backed the continued applicat

The Law Society of Northern Ireland is today facing a rebellion from members over a proposed change to the standard of proof applied by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland. A special general meeting is taking place this afternoon following a request from more than 50 solicitors

The Law Society of Northern Ireland is to hold a special general meeting following a backlash from members over plans to lower the standard of proof applied by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland. The tribunal currently applies the criminal standard of proof, meaning that alleg

Solicitors have urged the Law Society of Northern Ireland to intervene against plans to lower the standard of proof applied by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland. The tribunal currently applies the criminal standard of proof, meaning that allegations must be proved beyond reas

Two Irish lawyers have set sail towards Gaza alongside a flotilla which is seeking to break Israel's blockade and bring humanitarian aid directly to starving Palestinians.

An employment lawyer who moonlights as an electropop musician has released her latest single. Fiona Sharkey, a senior associate at McInnes Dunne Murphy LLP, performs under the project name Sharkett and just released her new single, Shy, on major streaming platforms including Spotify.

Ireland's long-standing representative on a Council of Europe human rights body has resigned over its failure to speak out on Gaza. Human rights lawyer Michael Farrell has been a member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) for the past 14 years, and has served at various