Northern Ireland

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

A further delay to a long-awaited review into the care of vulnerable people in Northern Ireland's prisons has been condemned as "unacceptable". Justice Minister Naomi Long yesterday admitted that the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) had been "unable" to complete the review by Marc

Work to establish a dedicated Mental Health Court in Northern Ireland is set to move forward later this year. The Department of Justice has confirmed that a project board for the proposed problem-solving court has been established and plans will be developed in conjunction with other stakeholders in

Belfast-based Cleaver Fulton Rankin has been awarded Investors in People's standard accreditation in recognition of its commitment to good people management. Investors in People is an international standard for people management, defining what is required to effectively lead, support and manage peop

A police officer has been rapped for recording a private area of a Belfast solicitor's office without informing the lawyer. The bodycam footage captured documents sitting in different parts of the office, and audio of a number of staff members from the legal firm engaged in phone calls, the Police O

Justice Minister Naomi Long has met campaigners for new legislation on stalking as she prepares to introduce a bill to Stormont.

There is "huge potential" for the real estate market in Belfast in spite of continuing political uncertainty, real estate lawyer Gareth Planck has said. Mr Planck, a partner at Eversheds Sutherland, addressed 100 leaders from the real estate, property development, finance and business community at a

Corporate and commercial law firm Mills Selig has announced two new appointments across the firm's commercial property and corporate teams. Michael Young has joined the Belfast-based firm's property team as a solicitor, while Darren Marley has joined the corporate team as a senior associate.

The sacking of Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith shortly after the restoration of devolution is a "really poor decision", Justice Minister Naomi Long has said. Mr Smith was among a number of high-profile politicians removed from their posts in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle t