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Small businesses in these current difficult times are particularly vulnerable should their employees decide to be less than honest. Small business owners know that it takes a considerable amount of work to build a successful business and to maintain the business as being successful. A criminal staff member who decides to take advantage of yourRead more

I came across an interesting article recently that made me think about how us lawyers use words and how normal use words. A wrong word can mean the difference between a happy customer and a law suit. Some of the more common ones are as follows: 1. Partner/partnering. Partner I get. Partner generally tends toRead more

I attended a very good talk on Risk Management by Colin Taylor at the last Law Society Conference in Cork. Colin Taylor is the head of the Risk Management Services of Prime Risk Solutions and while very entertaining in his talk, he was also very astute in the advice that he gave. He began hisRead more

Heretofore, the position was governed by a case called John Lawe-v-Irish County Meats Limited, which was a Circuit Court decision of Mr. Justice White. It allowed lay-off without wages in limited circumstances, provided there was a contractual clause in the employee’s contract to that effect. The position has now been changed by a decision ofRead more

Note taking. I’ll say it again, note taking. I really can’t emphasise it enough the importance of taking proper notes. A client came to see me last week about a deal that he was engaged in, and a contract which was entered into which was subsequently breached by the other side. Quite apart from theRead more

Legal Practitioners will all be familiar with the concepts of Discovery and the complex Rules that attach to that. How many of us interact with our clients on an electronic level. eDiscovery refers to discovery in Civil Litigation which deals with the exchange of information in electronic format. For a small business or litigant thisRead more

THE ROLE OF AN ACTUARY In a High Court case where calculations of monetary expenditure and monetary loss are necessary, an Actuary will be required to give evidence to the Court, both as to what those expenses, losses or costs are annualised and increased for the duration of the injury are, or alternatively what theRead more

LITIGATION AND DECISION MAKING Forbes Magazine published an article, as they tend to do at this time of year, on secrets to getting more done in the coming year. Many of the suggestions apply equally well to the management of litigation and the analysis of legal actions as they do to every other business. IfRead more

In September of 2010 the Court of Justice of the EU finally gave its judgment in the case of Akzo Nobel Chemicals Limited and Akcros Chemicals Limited-v-The European Commission. This is one of the unusual cases in which the opinion that the Advocate General Kokott had issued and was not followed. This case has nowRead more

There is no doubt that the Health & Safety regime in Ireland has saved many from workplace injuries and indeed saved lives. However the downside of the regime is considerably more red tape and expense to businesses and their staff and a constant surveillance regime for all concerned. Two articles in the newspapers over theRead more