News

Holmes O’Malley Sexton LLP has announced the promotion of two lawyers to its partnership. Rachael O'Shaughnessy and Sean Fitzgerald have been promoted as partners to HOMS Assist, part of Holmes O’Malley Sexton LLP.

Reports of domestic abuse have doubled in the past five years, the Garda’s annual policing report shows. There were 7,600 charges brought last year over domestic abuse, an increase of 24 per cent on the 2019 figure.

On Saturday 6 November, the third annual conference of the Irish Supreme Court Review will take place online, hosted by the School of Law Trinity College Dublin and supported by Pinsent Masons. The speakers are:

A new phone line has been set up for gardaí to report corruption by other members of the force, The Irish Times reports. The phone line is one of a package of measures introduced by the new Garda Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) to deal with misconduct and criminality.

The Law Society of Ireland has issued a warning that "Hamilton Douglas Legal" is not a regulated firm of solicitors in Ireland. A page on the company's website states: "We have one of the largest panel of solicitors, covering the whole of Ireland, and ready to assist you in making a No Win No Fee cl

UK law firms' fees and profits are exceeding expectations this year, a report from PwC shows. Its 30th Law Firms’ Survey showed that just under three-quarters of firms reported an increase in fee income with 76 per cent seeing profit increases. The findings are consonant with the figures from

A freezer containing 235 dormice to be eaten by the Mafia was discovered by police at a farm in Italy. The discovery at the site in Delianuova in Calabria, home to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, was made by officers as they seized 730 illegal marijuana plants.

The heads of the Bar and the Law Society should be considered for inclusion in the membership of the proposed new Judicial Appointments Commission, the Oireachtas justice committee has recommended. The joint committee on justice has completed pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Jud

Proposals for improved garda oversight are essential to the garda reform process and must not be watered down, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) will tell legislators this week. Doireann Ansbro, head of legal and policy for ICCL, will address the Oireachtas justice committee on Wednesday

A public consultation has been opened to seek the views of the public on issues relating to judicial resources, including the number of judges needed in Ireland over the next five years. Responses to the consultation will be considered by the new judicial planning working group headed by Brigid McMa

UK law Shoosmiths, with offices in Belfast, has announced partner David Jackson is to become its CEO from next May. Simon Boss, who remains CEO at Shoosmiths alongside chairperson Peter Duff, did not stand for re-election.

A new house of worship has been officially opened in Magilligan Prison following a delay linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northern Ireland's High Court has directed that an investigation into the 1998 Omagh bombing that is compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights should be carried out following a judicial review. The application for judicial review was brought in 2013 by Michael Gallagher, th

Scotland's prosecution service, the Crown Office, has paid out £35 million over its malicious prosecutions relating to Rangers FC, its accounts show. The 2020/21 accounts, laid before the Scottish Parliament last week, show that £40.5m of taxpayer money has so far been earmarked for Rang

Hundreds of barristers have left the criminal courts since 2016, prompting fears of a shortage. Lawyers told The Times that low legal aid rates and delays caused by the pandemic have led to an exodus from the profession.