Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for parental responsibility where the father was found to be coercive, and had sexually assaulted the child’s mother while he was in the home. The court did grant an indirect contact order between the father and son, but also gra

Dr Evelyn Collins CBE, the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, has announced her intention to step down this autumn. A graduate of University of Sheffield School of Law with Masters' degrees in criminology from the University of Toronto and human rights and discriminatio

The Law Society of Northern Ireland will participate in this month's Belfast Pride Parade for the first time in its history. Many lawyers have joined the parade in recent years as part of groups such as Lawyers with Pride, which was established in 2016, but the Society itself has never taken part in

Revenue at multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has increased by just under six per cent to €594.8 million (£531.1 million) while profit per equity partner rose by just over 16 per cent to €828,000, the firm's latest financial results show. The firm now employs more than 3,500 staff

Lady Hale, the first woman justice of the UK Supreme Court and its first woman president, has been awarded an honorary degree by Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Her recognition by QUB comes days after the university also bestowed an honorary degree on the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Irel

Certain new laws risk undermining the rights, safeguards and equality protections in the Northern Ireland protocol, the human rights and equality watchdogs in Northern Ireland have warned. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland have publ

An associate solicitor at Cleaver Fulton Rankin has been recognised as a rising star at the annual LawNet Awards 2022. Nathan Campbell, who works in the firm's employment and immigration team, was the only award winner from Northern Ireland at this year's ceremony, receiving the award in the "Rising

Allen & Overy (A&O) has raised over £30,000 for pregnancy and baby loss charity Sands in Northern Ireland and across the UK following a three-year pro bono and community investment partnership. Sands works to save babies’ lives and to make sure that the right care and support is

Lady Hale, the former president of the UK Supreme Court, has warned of the "risks and dangers" posed by the proposed British Bill of Rights in a speech delivered in Belfast. The retired judge was invited to give the keynote address at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's (NIHRC) annual hum

Human rights organisation JUSTICE has been granted permission to intervene in a UK Supreme Court case concerning the introduction of safe access zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, which was approved by MLAs in March, has been referred t

Belfast solicitor Shannon Gawley has been elected to the executive committee of the European Young Bar Association (EYBA). Ms Gawley is a solicitor in the commercial team at Carson McDowell who is currently on secondment to Invest NI. She is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and obtained her

Over 70 newly admitted solicitors have been welcomed to the profession in the Law Society of Northern Ireland's first in-person admissions ceremony since the start of the pandemic. The new lawyers were joined by masters, family and friends at the event, taking place in the Assembly Buildings in Belf

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has criticised the UK government over "attacks on lawyers" representing victims and survivors of the Troubles. In a short statement, the Law Society said it had formally lodged concerns about the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) and its "

An obituary of former solicitor Jim Fitzpatrick, best known as the long-standing proprietor of The Irish News, has been published by the Sunday Independent. Mr Fitzpatrick, who was admitted as a solicitor in 1954 and was a partner in James F. Fitzpatrick Solicitors, passed away last week at the

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has found that a Hospital Tribunal and a subsequent High Court decision erred in the legal test to be applied for detention of a mentally impaired patient. The court granted the appeal against a decision of Mr Justice Adrian Colton, where it was found that th