News

Maples and Calder LLP (Ireland), the Maples Group's law firm in Ireland, has announced the appointment of Peter Stapleton as its new managing partner. Mr Stapleton, who also joins the firm's global management committee, succeeds Nicholas Butcher, who has retired from the firm after almost 18 years o

The principal legislation governing arbitrations in Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales is set to be reviewed by the Law Commission. The review of the Arbitration Act 1996, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 with a consultation paper to follower later that year, aims to en

Residential landlords in Northern Ireland could be required to give tenants up to six months' notice to leave their home under plans put out to consultation. The Department for Communities is consulting on the notice to quit period while the Private Tenancies Bill 2021 makes its way through the Asse

Service dogs used by police and prison officers in Northern Ireland will gain additional legal protections under legislation which has passed a major hurdle at Stormont. The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill, dubbed "Finn's law" after a police dog killed in England, will increase the maximum pen

Legislation providing for a reduction in stamp duty levies on health insurance contracts has been published by the government. The Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021 will reduce levies on advanced health insurance contracts to €406, a decrease of €43 compared to 2021, and on non-advanc

McCann FitzGerald LLP has been named Ireland's law firm of the year at The Lawyer European Awards 2021 in London. The firm, which also won the European litigation team of the year award and was highly commended in the European finance team of the year category, has won the top award for Ireland thre

EU law expert Gráinne de Búrca will deliver the FLAC Justice Lecture 2021 in memory of Dave Ellis over Zoom this evening. Professor de Búrca is the Florence Ellinwood Allen Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and director of the Hauser Global Law School Program.

ByrneWallace LLP has announced the appointment of seven new partners across a range of practice areas. The new partners are Triona Ryan, Gráinne Murphy, Eoin McGlinchey, Morag McCullagh, Fiona Wood, Daniel Holohan and Zelda Deasy.

Siobhan Phelan SC has been nominated by ministers for appointment as an ordinary judge of the High Court. Her appointment was approved alongside that of Judge Karen O'Connor and Conor Dignam SC, whose nominations for appointment to the High Court were confirmed earlier this week.

In a world first, New Zealand has legalised drug-checking after passing a law to allow a temporary pill testing service at festivals to continue and expand. In contrast, other countries' drug-checking services have operated in a legal grey zone.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Cabinet Office £500,000 for disclosing postal addresses of the 2020 New Year Honours recipients online. The ICO found that the Cabinet Office failed to put appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to prevent the

A church has apologised to a woman who was kicked out of the congregation for bringing what they thought was cannabis – but was actually coriander. Regular churchgoer Ashley Antiverso said she brought coriander for her Mexican soup, but was not allowed to enter the church because other members

An Iraqi member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) has been found guilty of genocide in a German court in relation to the murder of Yazidis. The Yazidi minority group has been persecuted for centuries but particularly in recent years by IS, which regards Yazidis as "devil worshippers" for their uni

The Supreme Court has held that the Labour Court erred in concluding that a worker who complained about pain while working did not make a protected disclosure to his employer. It was held that the Labour Court did not properly set out the findings of fact relating to the worker’s complaint to

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has announced the appointment of Jeanette Donohoe as its new head of dispute resolution. A director in the firm, she has been promoted to the position due to her depth of litigation experience and will lead the department as it continues to grow and innovate acros