News

Lawyers and campaigners discussed the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers last night after a series of film screenings jointly hosted by the Immigration Practitioners' Group (IPG) and Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Solicitor Sinead Marmion, secretary of the IPG, introduced the "Silent Cri

A law firm must pay damages to the estate of a late coal miner who missed a chance of claiming compensation because he was given negligent advice, the UK Supreme Court has ruled. Arthur Watkins was an employee of British Coal from 1964 to 1985 and, as a result, developed the condition known as vibra

Internet giants Facebook and Google pose a systemic threat to human rights because of their "surveillance-based business models", Amnesty International has warned in a new report. The human rights group's Surveillance Giants report argues that the companies "control the primary channels that people

A judge has ruled that dozens of ducks can keep on quacking in spite of complaints from a neighbour. The fate of 60 ducks and geese living in an enclosure kept by retired farmer Dominique Douthe was momentarily up in the air.

A pedestrian who was struck by a driver on an N road in Longford has had his personal injuries claim against the driver dismissed in the High Court. Stating that the case turned on the appropriate application of The Rules of the Road, Mr Justice David Keane said that if the pedestrian had followed t

Mason Hayes & Curran has announced the promotion of David Ormsby to partner in the firm's dispute resolution team. Mr Ormsby, previously a senior associate with the firm, practices in corporate and personal insolvency law and all related litigation.

Tully Rinckey Ireland has announced the appointment of Setanta Landers as of counsel in the firm's Dublin office. Mr Landers, who is dual-qualified to practice in Ireland and in England and Wales, will focus his practice on litigation, including matters related to planning law, tax law and technolog

The requirement to hold a Public Services Card (PSC) in order to apply for the National Childcare Scheme is illegal, highly discriminatory and will violate the privacy rights of people living in poverty, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has warned. The alternative paper application proce

Cork solicitor Bill Holohan of Holohan Lane reflects on his recent election to the Law Society Council. Thanks to my colleagues in the legal profession, I have recently elected as a member of the Council of the Law Society of Ireland for the next two years. My first meeting was last Friday. However,

Only limited progress has been made in improving the safety of prisoners in Northern Ireland over the past five years, according to a new report. Brendan McGuigan, the outgoing chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, said he was "frustrated" by the pace of progress in implementing r

A landmark case brought against three NHS trusts by a woman who was not told during her pregnancy that her father has Huntington's disease has begun in the High Court in London. The claimant, known only as "ABC", said she would have had an abortion if she knew at the time that her father has the con

Irish employers looking to enforce a mandatory retirement age cannot rely solely on an employee’s contract of employment even if it does stipulate a mandatory retirement age, businesses have been warned at a William Fry breakfast briefing. Over 100 clients attended the briefing on the topic "M

Humanitarian aid agency GOAL has congratulated its general counsel, Alison Mitchell, on being the only Irish lawyer working for a non-profit to be named in a prestigious list of top in-house lawyers. Ms Mitchell is named in the The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Ireland 2019, which was recently launched at

A new guide details the best practice on gender-neutral drafting for the legal profession. The publication has been prepared by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Government Legal Department.

A state prosecutor has been shot dead after a loaded shotgun went off in court. Addelaid Ferreira-Watt, 62, a senior barrister, was shot in the thigh and is believed to have died from blood loss in the freak incident on Monday at the regional court at Ixopo, 85 miles from Durban.