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Co Antrim law firm Armstrong Solicitors has announced the appointment of Bryan Meldrum as its first-ever chief operating officer. Mr Meldrum joins the Newtownabbey-based firm from the healthcare industry, where he specialised in financial management, business development, management information syst

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has announced the 28 organisations to be awarded a total of €350,000 in funding for projects under its human rights and equality grants scheme 2021. The projects encompass a range of issues including social exclusion and socioeconomic discriminatio

The Law Society of Ireland has set a fundraising target of €300,000 for the 23rd annual Calcutta Run, which supports the fight against homelessness in Dublin and Kolkata. Solicitors and members of the legal profession are encouraged to run, walk, cycle, or hike to collectively cover 30,000 km o

A judge with oversight of speeding ticket cancellations has said he is "uneasy" about gardaí claiming exemptions for speeding on their way to and from court hearings. Judge Matthew Deery, the independent oversight authority for the Garda fixed charge processing system (FCPS) cancellation poli

India's most senior judge has said that the use of English in courts should be abandoned and that the wearing of colonial court dress should be discarded. While English is not recognised as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, historical attempts to bring an end to its use in other contexts h

The Judicial Council has commissioned a Scottish university to lead a new study into the quality of sentencing data. Professor Cyrus Tata of the Centre for Law, Crime & Justice at Strathclyde Law School will lead an international team of experts to examine the quality of available data about sen

The Bar of Northern Ireland has said a "radical increase" in the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland's County Court from £30,000 to either £60,000 or £100,000 is "not justified". In its response to a Department of Justice consultation, the Bar said both options represent "a misguided

William Fry's pro bono programme has been recognised at the 2021 Chambers Sustainable Business Impact Awards. The law firm won the "Excellence in Social Enterprise" award for its Social Impact+ programme, which was launched in partnership with Inner City Enterprise in July 2019.

The number of prisoners on remand in Northern Ireland rose to a record high last year as the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the courts system. The remand population increased by nearly 11 per cent to 545 for the 2020/21 financial year, the highest level since reporting by financial year began in 2014/1

Funeral directors in the UK have been ordered to display a standardised price list in their windows and on their websites. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave the funerals sector three months to implement changes to make it easier for families to arrange a funeral within their budget.

Philip Lee staff have raised nearly €17,000 for the Irish Cancer Society and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland after an end-to-end cycle tour of Ireland.

Belfast law firm Tughans has grown with the appointment of two new directors, four newly-qualified solicitors and three new trainee solicitors. Kevin Hegarty has been appointed as a director in the commercial law firm's healthcare department, while Ben Sims has been appointed as a director in the co

Barry Walsh, head of Fieldfisher Ireland's employment department, comments on a recent case involving disability discrimination. Employers are often asked by employees to provide references for future would-be employers or for internal promotion competitions. Many employers are reluctant to do so an

EU rules giving workers the right to "transparent and predictable" working conditions will be transposed into Irish law through primary legislation under plans now out for consultation. Ireland is required to transpose EU Directive 2019/1152 into Irish law by August 2022, though some of its provisio

Scottish legal academic Professor Martin Hogg has been named as head of NUI Galway School of Law with effect from November. Professor Hogg joins the university from the University of Edinburgh, where he has served as head of school and dean of law since 2017.