News

Fifteen solicitors have been deemed provisionally elected to the Law Society Council following a ballot of solicitors. There were 4,029 valid votes in the election, representing just under a fifth of the total number on the roll.

The UK government should review the system by which public places are assessed as possible targets for terrorists following the London Bridge attack, the Chief Coroner for England and Wales has said. Eight people were killed two years ago when three men drove into pedestrians on the bridge before st

Unesco has apologised to an artist whose nude sculptures were covered up with a thong and a nappy. Stéphane Simon, 45, designed the nude statues in the pose of men and women taking a selfie with an invisible mobile phone.

A recent crackdown on paramilitarism in Northern Ireland is being held back by stalled reforms to the committal process, the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) has warned. The collapse of Stormont has put plans to phase out the committal process on hold, leading to longer criminal cases, accordi

The Supreme Court has said that the Court of Appeal erred in reversing a non-party costs order made against the principal shareholder of a company who was found to be solely responsible for directing and overseeing a fraudulent claim issued by his insolvent company. Emphasising “the need to pr

Laois law firms Rollestons Solicitors and McElwee Solicitors have merged with effect from today. The new combined Rolleston McElwee Solicitors will be based at the former Rolleston offices in Portlaoise, with a sub-office at the former McElwee offices in nearby Mountmellick, Laois Today reports.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from the State over the definition of "child" in the International Protection Act 2015. Mr Justice Max Barrett ruled in May 2018 that the legal guardian of a child who is not their biological or adopted child is eligible for family unification.

Former Irish president Professor Mary McAleese has been officially named the next chancellor of Trinity College Dublin. The Belfast-born former barrister previously held the position of Reid professor of criminal law, criminology and penology at the university from 1975 to 1987 and has been involved

A Lords committee has criticised the presentation of a proposed agreement between the US and UK governments on providing electronic data in order to counter serious crime. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) criticised the "staggered laying of associated papers as poor practice and l

A man has been jailed for four months for failing to give evidence at an inquest in a legal first. Duncan Lawrence, 60, was a consultant at a London care home where 19-year-old Sophie Bennett took her own life in May 2016.

Barry Walsh, partner and head of employment at Fieldfisher, considers employees' right to accompaniment or representation in internal company processes. A recent piece in the Law Society Gazette reported on how an employee involved a redundancy consultation process in New Zealand brought a clown (th

Staff Maghaberry Prison have received an Excellence Award from the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) at their annual conference in Buenos Aires. The award is in recognition of “outstanding programmes which contribute to the safe reintegration of offenders into the commun

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has found that a fifth of law firms in England and Wales are not compliant with the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. In March, the SRA wrote to 400 firms asking them to demonstrate compliance with the regulations.

On 24 March 1661, Florence Newton was committed to prison in Youghal, Co Cork, having been accused of bewitching a young servant girl named Mary Langdon. At Florence’s trial on 11 September 1661, Mary gave evidence that the previous Christmas, Florence had gone to the house of John Pyne, where

McDonald's has apologised for promoting a Halloween dessert with the slogan "Sundae Bloody Sundae". The fast food chain said the ad campaign in Portugal was not meant to be an "insensitive reference to any historical event".