Government lawyers and the ethics of instructing experts
When the State is involved in litigation, do different ethical considerations apply than those concerning other litigants? In a recent paper by Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy and others, entitled ‘The Role and Responsibility of the State in Litigation’ (202 …
Mark Tottenham BL | January 7, 2022
Christmas Cancelled? Lessons Learned from the Christmas Ban of 1647
(This article was originally published in Decisis Law Ireland in December 2020.) This year is set to be a Christmas like no other. With COVID-19 still posing a risk to the health of the public, the financial strain of the last number of months continui …
Gemma McLoughlin-Burke BL | December 21, 2021
Historical Female Lawyers and the Absence of Portraits
“Firsts” In light of the 100-year anniversary of Frances Kyle and Averil Deverell being called to the Bar, I’d like to highlight what were, at least to me, some less well-known legal “firsts” achieved by women in Ireland. The first three solicitors wer …
Sean Beatty BL | December 17, 2021
Balancing the Scales: The Abolition of “Basis of Contract” Clauses
Introduction A recurring theme in insurance law is the power imbalance between the insurer and the insured. The Law Reform Commission in its ‘Consumer Insurance Contracts’ Report (LRC 113 – 2015) recognised that many rules in the area have not changed …
Lawrence Morris BL | December 15, 2021
Acts of Union “Shattered” by Northern Ireland Protocol
Irish practitioners might recall the Acts of Union 1800 (often mistakenly referred to as the Act of Union 1801) as being the key piece of legislation that led to Ireland joining the United Kingdom. Although the now Republic of Ireland withdrew from the …
Brendan Rooney BL | December 10, 2021
“A Lawyer and Yet Not a Thief, to the Wonder of the People”: A Brief History of Pro Bono Work
Introduction It is very common to see lawyers working for clients on a pro bono publico basis; that is, “for the public good”. Noonan J. has written that “[s]olicitors frequently provide pro bono help to their clients” (KBC Bank Ireland Limited v. Flyn …
Seán Beatty BL | December 6, 2021
Tarisai May Chidawanyika: Diversity in Law and Campaigning for Change
Tarisai May Chidawanyika is a newly qualified solicitor and the founder of “Diversity in Law”, an organisation which seeks to promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. She is also the first Zimbabwean to be registered as a solicitor in I …
Gemma McLoughlin Burke | November 29, 2021
The art of boring advocacy
What can a new barrister like me learn from the mountains of what has been written about advocacy? Quite a lot, I think. A big theme you will come across is to ask: how listenable is your advocacy? Or, put in a way that refers to one of my favourite qu …
Seán Beatty BL | October 5, 2021
The Archives Act, Data Protection and the GDPR: Do Garda PULSE records amount to a historic account?
Although now 3 years in operation, the GDPR remains as much a mystery to many as it did when it was first introduced. Data protection has become particularly topical in the criminal law sphere as challenges to the manner in which the Gardaí obtain and …
Gemma McLoughlin Burke | September 22, 2021
A letter from a judge to a teenager
(Originally published in Decisis Law Ireland in 2017) It is not often that judgments of the superior courts of any country go ‘viral’ online. They are normally written for, and read by, the legal teams in the case. Even where high profile cases are dec …
Mark Tottenham BL | September 21, 2021
