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A police investigation into alleged Covid-19 breaches in Downing Street has led to 20 fines – and a warning that more could be on the way. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the UK's so-called "partygate" scandal months after it first emerged that parties and other gatherin

Wasted costs orders can be sought against barristers as a little-known consequence of the 2015 reforms to legal regulation, a judge in the Court of Appeal has noted. In a judgment handed down last week, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan pointed out that the term "solicitor" in Order 99 of the Superior Court

A total of 28 prosecutions have been brought by gardaí to date under new laws targeting the sharing of intimate images without consent. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, which the government calls "Coco's Law" after a young woman who took her own life in 20

Co Cork firms Walsh & Partners Solicitors LLP and Deborah O'Connell Solicitors have announced a merger with effect from next week. The new firm will practice under the title of Walsh and Partners Solicitors LLP, incorporating Deborah O'Connell Solicitor, and will be located at 88 Main Street, Mi

Former chief justice Frank Clarke has joined the board of directors of Community Law & Mediation (CLM). The independent community law centre and charity, based in Dublin and Limerick, assists more than 4,000 people every year through its community-based free legal advice, advocacy, mediation and

Co Roscommon solicitor Gordon Roe has announced the launch of a new specialist boutique law firm, Roe Solicitors. The firm, located in Boyle, offers a range of legal services including residential and commercial conveyancing, landlord and tenant matters, wills and probate, small business law and agr

Financial service providers paid out more than €7 million following complaints to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) in 2021, new figures reveal. The total includes €4.6 million in mediated settlements in 1,153 complaints in the FSPO's dispute resolution service and &euro

The Northern Ireland Assembly has dissolved ahead of elections on Thursday 5 May 2022. The final sitting of the Assembly last week saw a raft of private member's bills complete their final stage, including the Period Products (Free Provision) Bill, the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill, the Hospital

The Law Society of Ireland has set an ambitious €350,000 fundraising target for its first in-person Calcutta Run fundraiser since 2019.

Legislation to introduce the most significant reforms to the judicial appointments process in 25 years will be published within weeks and enacted by the end of September, the government has announced. The enactment of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2020 is one of 159 actions to be deliver

A major conference hosted by the Law Society of Scotland will mark the 90th anniversary of the famous "snail in a bottle" case, Donoghue v Stevenson. The conference will welcome speakers from across the world in recognition of the global significance of the case, which laid the foundations of the mo

A nearly eight-metre sculpture of a shark crashing through the roof of a terraced house has been recognised as a protected landmark 36 years after it was illegally installed without permission. Oxford City Council spent years seeking to remove the 1986 sculpture by Bill Heine, an American who came t

The European Union has reached political agreement on landmark new legislation aimed at addressing "systemic misbehaviour" among so-called Big Tech companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will blacklist certain practices used by large platforms acting as &

An English barrister who mocked and humiliated opposing counsel at a hearing has been fined £1,500 by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Althea Sonia Brown was found to have "improperly undermined, insulted, humiliated and/or annoyed" the opposing barrister, named NC, and/or "was in the circumstan

Partners at global law firm Clyde & Co and UK-headquartered BLM have voted in favour of merging this July to create a combined entity with a global revenue of over £700 million per year.