Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors

Belfast family lawyer Claire Edgar has provided training on domestic abuse to Northern Ireland's new advocacy service for victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse. Ms Edgar, family law partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, presented at a training panel event to welcome newly-appoint

Family lawyer Claire Edgar has welcomed an English court ruling emphasising the importance of domestic abuse training for the judiciary. The Court of Appeal in London last month handed down judgment in four appeals dealing with how allegations of domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour

An increasing number of cases involving allegations of parental alienation are coming before the Northern Ireland courts, a family lawyer has warned. Claire Edgar, family law partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, shared her experience as a practitioner at an online event organised by the Sou

Family lawyer Claire Edgar, partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, examines the issue of equality in divorce settlements. It is 20 years since the House of Lords handed down the seminal judgement of White v White, which decided that, when determining each spouse’s contribution to the ma

Lawyers acting for victims of the contaminated blood scandal have welcomed an announcement that compensation payments in Northern Ireland will be brought in line with England. The announcement by Health Minister Robin Swann concerns people on the NI Infected Blood Payment Scheme, who were diagnosed

Laura Banks, solicitor at Francis Hanna & Co, considers how human rights law can assist people experiencing a bereavement related to coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has wide-reaching implications and it is therefore throwing up myriad issues in our society, some of them fundamental and going

Campaigners have renewed calls for the UK Government to bring the Widowed Parent's Allowance scheme in line with human rights laws a year and a half after a landmark UK Supreme Court ruling. Belfast solicitor Laura Banks acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in the case which led to a ruling that the legisla

Belfast-based Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors sponsored local man Garrett Curran on his charity fundraising expedition to the South Pole.

Claire Edgar, family and divorce partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, has been appointed to the Law Society of Northern Ireland's International Children Law Panel of Solicitors. The Panel is made up of solicitors experienced in international children cases, and specifically child abduction

Belfast solicitor Laura Banks has welcomed a report by MPs criticising the UK government's failure to act following a landmark UK Supreme Court decision on Widowed Parent's Allowance. Ms Banks, of Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in her successful challenge to the rule

Claire Edgar, partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, considers yesterday's UK Supreme Court decision in a child abduction case. The majority of child abduction cases do not involve strangers. Children, who are caught up in the relationship disputes of their parents, are often removed from the

Belfast solicitor Laura Banks, who acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in her UK Supreme Court challenge to the rules governing the payment of a Widowed Parent’s Allowance, was the first of 18 speakers at the recent TEDxStormont event in the Parliament Buildings.

Northern Ireland lawyers Claire Edgar and Gráinne Murphy are in Norway this week for a major conference on domestic violence. The European Conference on Domestic Violence, which was previously held in Belfast in 2016, is meeting this week in Oslo.

Belfast solicitor Laura Banks has warned that the UK government could be brought to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over its failure to legislate following a landmark ruling on Widowed Parent's Allowance. Ms Banks acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in the case, which was heard by the UK Supreme

Claire Edgar, partner at Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors in Belfast, writes on new pensions guidance which has been published to help family law practitioners in ancillary relief cases. A recently published report provides guidance for how pensions should be treated in divorce. The Guide to the Tr