Northern Ireland

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has welcomed 86 newly-qualified solicitors to the legal profession. The new lawyers were presented to president Rowan White and the Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, by the registrar of solicitors, David A. Lavery CB.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland's complaints system is open, accessible and timely, the Lay Observer for Northern Ireland has found. The watchdog's annual report for 2018/19 has identified a positive trend in how complaints are registered and handled by the Society.

Rachel Toner, solicitor at Carson McDowell, explores a recent court judgment on the powers of Northern Ireland's charity regulator. The Court of Appeal have affirmed the decision of the High Court that the staff of the Charity Commission Northern Ireland (CCNI) do not have any decision making powers

Global legal business DWF has announced the appointment of David McNeice as head of its construction and infrastructure team in Northern Ireland. Mr McNeice was recently promoted to director in a round of appointments bringing the firm's Belfast headcount to 90.

Lawyers representing the family of a man shot dead by the British Army in 1974 have condemned an "attempted political intervention" by the prime minister. Former soldier Dennis Hutchings will go on trial next month in connection with the shooting of 27-year-old John Patrick Cunningham in Co Tyrone o

A man who was repeatedly stopped and searched under the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 has been granted a declaration that the PSNI, in failing to record the basis for searches carried out in 2013, acted in breach of the man’s right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 EC

Some thought it would never happen but the UK has officially left the European Union and with that departure, we prepare to welcome a new points-based immigration system, writes Leona Rankin, associate at Carson McDowell. A Westminster policy statement issued last week details how the UK needs to sh

The average house prices in Northern Ireland have increased by almost eight per cent in the past year to nearly £179,000, according to new research. Ulster University’s latest Quarterly House Price Index recorded a 7.8 per cent increase between the last three months of 2018 to the end of

Worthingtons Solicitors has announced the promotion of Naomi Devlin and Janeen McKay to associate partners within the firm. Ms McKay, a property lawyer who specialises in all aspects of residential conveyancing and probate matters, joined the firm three years ago and acts for a number of investors a

Unexplained wealth orders will be available for law enforcement in Northern Ireland from October 2020, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. The commencement in Northern Ireland of all outstanding provisions of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 is one of her "key priorities", she said.

The Department of Justice should set out what "mitigation measures" are in place to deal with the potential fall-out of Brexit, an MLA has said. Justice and security arrangements including sensitive areas such as family law could be affected by any failure to secure a post-Brexit agreement.

Lawyers in the Belfast office of A&L Goodbody have appeared in the UK Supreme Court for the first time in the firm's history. Partner Brendan Fox and solicitor Claire McGoldrick travelled to London to represent Peninsula Securities Ltd in a case concerning the applicability of the restraint of t

Police are investigating after a "crude explosive device" was thrown at the home of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane's brother. Martin Finucane, who lives in west Belfast, is a long-standing justice and human rights campaigner who co-founded Relatives 4 Justice and serves as a board member of the Pat

Olivia O'Kane, partner and head of media and entertainments at Carson McDowell, examines a recent English court case concerning the authorship of a screenplay. In Julia Kogan v Nicholas Martin & others [2019] EWCA Civ 1645, a dispute arose over the authorship of the screenplay for the film Flore

A solicitor has been jailed for over two years after being found guilty of stealing nearly £1 million from his former law firm and its clients. Graham Keys, a former partner at Diamond Heron Solicitors, stole £856,714.89 from the client account and £83,931.01 from the company accou