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A judge has complained that she is struggling to hear through thick screens installed in the Four Courts in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Perspex screens, around half-an-inch in thickness, have been installed in front of the bench in some courtrooms to protect public health.

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has won a UK Supreme Court appeal against his two convictions in 1975 for attempting to escape from detention. In the judgment delivered this morning, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the interim custody order (ICO) made in respect of Mr Adams in

Over a quarter of applications to the interim payment scheme set up by the legal aid agency in response to the coronavirus pandemic have been rejected. As of Monday night, the Legal Services Agency (LSA) had processed 264 requests under the COVID-19 interim payments scheme which came into operation

A number of undefended divorces are set to be heard via remote hearings under a new pilot in Belfast. The announcement from the Recorder of Belfast, Judge David McFarland, comes less than a week after the first divorces were granted in remote hearings south of the border.

A round-up of deals involving Irish law firms. Submit your deals to newsdesk@irishlegal.com. Arthur Cox has advised Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners on their investment in a company aiming to produce and supply at-home COVID-19 testing kits.

The Court of Appeal in Belfast has clarified the circumstances in which an Enhanced Combination Order (ECO) can be imposed on sex offenders. In a recent judgment, Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice, found that two offenders who admitted sexual assault by penetration contrary to article 6(1) o

Over £2 million in legal aid fees has not yet been paid to lawyers because their claims have not been resubmitted after being queried by the Legal Services Agency (LSA). There were 1,767 queries with a total value of £2.24 million awaiting replies and resubmission from 139 different firm

Attorney General John Larkin QC will appear before MLAs tomorrow to provide evidence on legal issues relating to the emergency coronavirus laws. Mr Larkin will appear for over an hour and a half as a witness before the Stormont justice committee, which is meeting tomorrow at 11am in the Senate Chamb

The law firm used by celebrities including Robert De Niro and Madonna has reportedly been hacked. Hackers claim to have 756 gigabytes of data taken from Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, including emails and contracts.

Benjamin Bestgen looks at why you might breathe a sigh of relief knowing his lordship has had breakfast. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Legal television like My Cousin Vinny, Silk or The Good Wife is sometimes used to exemplify courtroom dos and don’ts – the first one having r

French people have been urged to buy more cheese after a sales slump linked to the coronavirus pandemic. The National Council of Appellations of Dairy Origin (CNAOL) has said sales declined by 60 per cent in the first month of the lockdown, CNN reports.

The High Court has denied bail to three brothers after finding that there is a risk that they would interfere with a witness if released. Background

Independent fund depositary and oversight business INDOS Financial has announced the appointment of Elaine Breen as head of legal and compliance in Ireland. Ms Breen was previously general counsel at BlackBee Investments, an investment firm in Cork, and has held senior roles at IFG Group PLC and Wil

The granting of divorces in remote court hearings for the first time in Irish legal history has been welcomed as a "quantum leap from the 19th to the 21st century for courts, lawyers, judges and court users". Family lawyer Keith Walsh acted in a number of divorce cases heard remotely in Dublin Circu

The Bar of Ireland has failed in a bid to secure a rent suspension for its use of two floors in the Criminal Courts of Justice. The representative body for barristers wrote to the Courts Service to request a suspension from March 2020 because its income has been "adversely affected" by the COVID-19