Opinion

Gareth Planck, partner at Eversheds Sutherland, considers the commercial property landscape in Northern Ireland. The reopening of our economy and society across these islands is extremely positive and welcome news as we seek to return to some form of normality. Recovery and rebuild will be the watch

Fidelma McManus, partner and head of housing at Beauchamps, explores whether the cost rental model is a feasible approach to increasing Ireland's affordable housing supply. Few would dispute that more homes must be built in Ireland, but perhaps the more pertinent question is how we build the right t

Professor Colin Harvey of Queen's University Belfast School of Law considers the post-Brexit challenges for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has always been, and remains, a ‘special arrangement’. The changes in the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) do not alter the basi

The EU Settlement Scheme will start wrapping up on 30 June 2021. Some EU nationals may have already missed the boat, and some may actually be on the boat but may still need to buy a ticket, writes Helena Sheizon, immigration lawyer and founder of Kadmos Consultants. The timeline

Eugene F Collins partner Paul Dempsey and associate Rachel Solanki consider what options creditors have in the aftermath of Brexit in enforcing a judgement handed down by a UK court in Ireland or vice versa. The UK is one of Ireland’s largest trading partners with Irish exports to Britain tota

Tom O’Malley SC explains his interest in sexual offending and the background to his appointment as chair of the review of protections for vulnerable witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences. It all started one miserable winter’s evening in the mid-1980s at Yale L

Sumi Nadarajah of FRKelly introduces Ireland's first registered "motion mark". Companies and brand owners are increasingly looking for innovative and creative ways to promote and market their brands in the digital age. This has led to the creation of new forms of trade marks such as motion marks, ho

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan explores a case involving unfair dismissal where an employee is smoking on work premises. The issues of mitigating loss and smoking on premises arose in UDD2135, being a case of Q Park Ireland Limited and Denis Fitzpatrick.

Ultán Anderson, litigation solicitor at Leman Solicitors, explains how "cyber insurance" can help protect businesses from ransomware attacks. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past two weeks, you will have heard of the cyber attack on the HSE. A Russian gang known as ‘Wiz

Matthew Austin and Mary Gill of Hayes solicitors LLP explain how the proposed new rescue process for small and micro businesses will operate. The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment announced on 10 May 2021 that it has secured government approval for the priority drafting of the Companies

Matthew Howse, partner at Eversheds Sutherland in Belfast, reflects on the UK's recently announced Covid public inquiry and what it means for Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that an independent public inquiry into the handling of the Covid pandemic will be held in Spring

Benjamin Bestgen, the author of the jurisprudential primer series published in Scottish Legal News and Irish Legal News, reflects on a year of his articles – from their inception in far-flung New Zealand to their conclusion in besieged Jersey. My little jurisprudential-philosophical thought pi

Rachel Rodgers, partner at Walkers, considers the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on agreements between landlords and tenants. There is no doubt that as a consequence of the pandemic, the way we work and live has changed. Our attitudes, our priorities – they have all shifted slightly. They say

Employment solicitor Leanne McKeown of Rosemary Connolly Employment & Equality Solicitors examines the lessons of a ruling against a law firm accused of age and disability discrimination. In a stark reminder to respondents and their legal advisers on the importance of deadlines, the Employment T

Benjamin Bestgen this week encourages lawyers to consider the craft of writing. See his last jurisprudential primer here. George Orwell opined in 1946 that written English “is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble&