Northern Ireland

Dr Michael Wardlow, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, considers the future of welfare in Northern Ireland. The election is now over and, once again, there’s an attempt this week to restore a working government at Stormont. It is also now two years since the Eq

Personal injury and road traffic specialist firm JMK Solicitors has presented cheques totalling £26,000 to their 2019 charity partners following a year-long staff fundraising programme.

Legal academics Professor Rory O'Connell and Dr Catherine O'Rourke have been appointed to the Peer Review College (PRC) of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Members of the PRC are involved in reviewing proposals received to the AHRC's various funding schemes and programmes.

Belfast man Brian Keenan, who spent four-and-a-half years as a hostage in Beirut, addressed inmates at Magilligan Prison during a creative writing awards ceremony. Mr Keenan was captured by the Islamic Jihad Organisation over 33 years ago on 11 April 1986 and spent nearly five years in a concrete ce

A charity is helping imprisoned dads at Hydebank Wood College deliver a special Christmas gift to their children this year. Personal recordings of Bible stories read by the dads, along with an illustrated storybook for them to follow the reading, will form part of a Christmas toy parcel and food ham

The collapse of Stormont has left outstanding human rights issues to "drift indefinitely", the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has said. The commission's 2019 annual statement warns that there has been "no progress" over the course of the year on "substantial, lengthy and broad-base

Pupils at Thornhill College have won the Derry regional heat of the annual Bar Mock Trial Competition.

Belfast-based Millar McCall Wylie (MMW) has announced a sponsorship deal with Ulster hockey’s most prestigious male competition. The firm will sponsor the final of this year's Kirk Cup on Boxing Day, which will see title holders Banbridge face Lisnagarvey at Stormont, as well as the 2020 compe

The Royal Courts of Justice was packed out for the Pro Bono Choir's annual Christmas concert.

The prosecution of a woman who bought abortion pills for her teenage daughter did not breach human rights laws, the High Court in Belfast has ruled. The woman was charged with two counts of unlawfully procuring and supplying the abortion drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, with intent to procure a

Six new criminal justice commissioners have been appointed to the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland. The Department of Justice announced the appointments alongside that of Paul Mageean as chief commissioner and 34 serving commissioners for a further term of office.

Greg Berry QC has been reappointed as a governor of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. The senior barrister, who called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1990 and became a Queen's Counsel in 2006, was first appointed to the role by the Department of Communities in 2011.

Staff and clients from Carson McDowell raised more than £50,000 for Cancer Fund for Children at their recent Strictly-themed dance event. Over 600 people attended the "Carson McDowell Does Strictly" event, modelled on the hit TV show Strictly Come Dancing, at La Mon Hotel and Country Club.

Scottish lawyer Justin D'Agostino has been appointed as Herbert Smith Freehills' new chief executive officer. The appointment by the firm's council, approved by partnership vote, will take effect from 1 May 2020 for a term of four years. Mr D'Agostino will succeed Mark Rigotti, who has served two te

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has announced a £2 million five-year partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The firm's partnership with MSF began in Australia and now includes the Belfast office as well as its teams in London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and