News

Belfast-based Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors sponsored local man Garrett Curran on his charity fundraising expedition to the South Pole.

A goalkeeper who was hit by a football has won a £500,000 payout over the injury. Darren Conquer, 47, ruptured his biceps tendon during a football game in 2003, but the injury was not properly diagnosed until the following year.

The fact that the remand period in a recognisance exceeded 30 days, in breach of the Criminal Procedure Act 1967, did not deprive the District Court of substantive jurisdiction, the High Court has ruled. Finding that the making of a complaint was sufficient to give jurisdiction, Mr Justice Garrett S

Holmes O'Malley Sexton Solicitors has announced the appointment of Lisa Killeen as a partner in the banking team. Ms Killeen, who will also play a key role in the firm's construction unit, joined the firm in 2013, having previously worked at William Fry.

LK Shields has announced the appointment of Paul Dineen as an associate solicitor in the firm's corporate and commercial team. Mr Dineen will act on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions.

Belfast-based Higgins Hollywood Deazley (HHD) Solicitors has announced the appointment of advanced solicitor advocate Sheena Mahaffey to the firm's criminal department. Ms Mahaffey, a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and Queen's University Canada, called to The Bar of Northern Ireland in 1992

A record 320 bills, including the controversial bill to reform the judicial appointments process, are expected to lapse when the Dáil is dissolved for the election next month. The majority of the bills expected to fall were introduced by backbench TDs, who had more opportunities to introduce

Irish lawyer Michael Farrell has been elected as first vice-chair of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). Mr Farrell has represented Ireland on the Council of Europe's anti-racism monitoring body since 2011 and has been a member of its executive bureau for the last two year

Maynooth University has announced the appointment of Dr Ciara Bracken-Roche as an assistant professor of criminology. Dr Bracken-Roche's current project explores the adoption and use of drone technologies in Canada and Ireland with a specific focus on policing and public safety agencies.

Disabled people in Irish prisons face challenges in "all areas of prison life" and have poor understanding of their own legal rights, according to new research published by the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT). The penal reform group commissioned the report, entitled Making Rights Real for Peopl

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates examines the law on protected disclosures. The issue of what a protected disclosure is arose in case ADJ-00023777. The Adjudication Officer in this case helpfully set this out, namely the issues set out in section 5 of the Pr

Ronan Daly Jermyn partner Jennifer Cashman and solicitor Alan Devaney consider whether a recent UK employment equality decision recognising ethical veganism as a belief protected by law could be replicated in Ireland. An employment tribunal in the UK found, in the case of Casamitjana v League Agains

Global legal business DWF gave sixth form students from Belfast first-hand experience of the recruitment process by participating in a The Apprentice-style employability programme. The students from St Louise’s College in West Belfast and Boy’s Model in North Belfast were mentored in CV

Top law firms in Northern Ireland are supporting a new initiative aimed at encouraging professionals in the diaspora to make Belfast their home. The inaugural BelfastforLife expo in March has backing of businesses including Carson McDowell, Tughans, Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills and Bak

A man has asked a judge to let him resolve a dispute with his ex-wife and her lawyer through "trial by combat" with samurai swords. David Ostrom, 40, told the court that he could secure the Japanese swords within 12 weeks to allow for the trio to "resolve our disputes on the field of battle".