E83 The Fifth Court

Problems have emerged around new legislation around enduring powers of attorney (EPA). On this episode hosts Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL discuss these issues, and some solutions, with David Byrnes BL and solicitor Flor McCarthy, Founder Director of Solicitors Growth, Ireland’s largest independent community of mutual support and collegiality for Irish legal professionals. David tells his own personal and poignant story about issues that arose with his own father-in-law.

Mark and Peter also discuss three fresh cases from the Decisis.ie file

• A tax case where a party failed to pay €180k in its entirety.
• Asylum law. A case involving a 'marriage of convenience'
• A money laundering case, referencing the infamous Northern Bank robbery.

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E82 The Fifth Court

Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL talk to Kevin O'Higgins, solicitor, about his life and times.

As he says himself, 'After 40+ years of practising law, I’ve learned a few things along the way!' and he shares some of that knowledge at

https://ohigginssolicitors.ie/blog

BTW, when he started in law a fax machine was seen as near revolutionary!

A sole practitioner he says he's so busy he sometimes turns business away.

His recommendations for a legal book, Eugene McCague's book on law firm Arthur Cox.

And, as always, three cases from the Decisis.ie casebook;

• A Judicial Review of a case involving The College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland and recognition of a qualification
• A Personal Injuries case taken against the State judged to be an abuse of the appeal process
• An Isaac Wunder order, a person claiming he was 'immune from court orders'

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E81 The Fifth Court

Supported by Clio Legal Software

Hosts Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL spoke to Arko Ganguli, co-founder of Letigify, an AI powered solution using audio-video authentication that allows clients to notarize documents online remotely from anywhere, without the hassle of visiting a notary public in person.

Arko is a trained lawyer and a legal consultant for over eleven years, working with various clients and organisations in different sectors and domains. He's also a certified mediator and a design thinking practitioner, with a passion for changing the way law works in the world, enabling legal teams and their clients to carry out their business more efficiently. He's eager to explore innovative ideas in legal tech, and to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors in the field.

And as always, our two hosts discuss three new cases from the Decisis.ie website

• An asylum case taken by a Ghanian national who claimed he was gay. IPAT questioned his bona fides.
• A family law case where foster parents tried to adopt a fostered child who had complex medical needs, but the birth mother withheld consent.
• A defamation case involving Google, YouTube (owned by Google) that was taken too late to join them as defendants.

Arko recommends 'Judgement at Nuremberg' a 1961 American epic legal drama film directed by Stanley Kramer,

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E80 of The Fifth Court was recorded at the Dublin Tech Summit

AI not a concept, but a reality now in law. This is a must listen-to episode if you want to know what's about to happen to your legal practice.

Dr Leif-Nissen Lundbæk is FORBES 30-Under-30 Listmaker. He's also co-founder and CEO of the AI company Xayn. His company is working with CMS, an international law firm, offering companies and organisations advice on a full range of legal issues. CMS consists of 18 independent law firms with about 80 offices worldwide and is the world's 5th largest law firm by lawyer headcount and the 21st by revenue.

Prior to founding Xayn, Leif-Nissen Lundbæk worked at Daimler AG and IBM. He holds a degree in Economics from Humboldt University in Berlin, an MSc in Mathematics from Heidelberg University, an MSc with Distinction in Software Engineering from Oxford University, and a PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College London.

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Plus three more cases from the Decisis.ie casebook

• A case where a wedding guest slipped on a dancefloor and her case was appealed right up to the Court of Appeal. The judge was very specific is his view on the plaintiffs sobriety at the event.
• A case involving a bank lending a mortgage to a couple, where the husband was making repayments but the lending contract was with the wife.
• A contractual dispute between an Irish company and a Dutch company involving a heat exchanger and chicken manure.

With thanks to Clio legal software

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E79 The Fifth Court

Hosts Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL are joined by barrister Mema Byrne BL, to talk about the 2nd edition of her book, Landlord and Tenant, (Commercial Sector). The three discuss many issues around this area of law in which she works and lectures - but also the road that brought her to law. She worked in banking which she says didn't 'resonate with her at all'. She had a child, needed a job, but not in banking. She did a night course in law - and as she says herself, started to 'eat it up'.

Her cultural recommendations include the art exhibition at the Royal Hibernia Academy as well as a book, Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda (1946).

With thanks to Clio legal software

And, as always, the two hosts review three higher court cases drawn from the Decisis.ie casebook

• The first case concerns the mandatory retirement age for a Sheriff (currently 70 years of age)
• The second case is about a confiscation order, its proportionality, amounting to almost €400,000
• The third case revolved around whether a baseball bat, used in an alleged assault, was made of metal or timber

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E78 The Fifth Court

DSBA Legal Podcast of the Year

With thanks to Clio Legal Software.

Bloomsday is a celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses, taking place annually on June 16th. The date commemorates the events of the novel, which are set on June 16, 1904. This day is significant because it marks Joyce's first outing with his future wife, Nora Barnacle.

The publication of Ulysses itself became a landmark legal case in literary history. The novel was banned for obscenity in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, leading to legal battles that challenged and eventually redefined the limits of literary expression and censorship.

Our hosts, barristers and literary buffs, Peter Leonard and Mark Tottenham discuss some of the many issues around the case taken in the US including some nuggets that you'll be able to 'drop' at the dinner party table when next discussing why you haven't finished reading Ulysses.

As always, Peter and Mark also discuss some more recent cases from the Decisis.ie casebook.

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E77 The Fifth Court - with @Mark Tottenham BL and @Peter Leonard BL

With thanks to Clio Legal Software

Something you may not have considered.

The Polish community, numbering above 100,000, is one of Ireland's largest non-Irish communities. Naturally, they need legal representation and advice. So who do they go to?

Krystian Boino obtained his masters degree from the University of Wroclaw, Poland in 2003. By 2006 he had completed a judge’s apprenticeship and successfully passed exams which entitled him to apply for judge vacancies in Poland. Krystian also qualified as a Polish solicitor (Radca Prawny) and is a fully qualified Irish solicitor since 2013.

Krystian says he's the only such lawyer from Poland registered in Ireland having full professional qualifications in both jurisdictions. He has been practicing since 2006 with William Crean & Co Solicitors and then with JC Hoban & Company Solicitors. He established Hoban Boino Solicitors in partnership with Joanne Hoban. Krystian advises clients from both Ireland and Poland as well as many other nationalities. He specialises in personal injury litigation and employment law and also advises clients in wide range of aspects of Polish law regarding wills and property.

Peter and Mark also take a look at three more curious cases from the Decisis.ie casebook

• An Order 67 company law case
• A case involving a guarantee given by a father for a son's debts, when the father tragically died.
• A case where the court was asked to adjudicate on the transfer of a vulnerable minor to the UK for care as suitable care was not available in Ireland.

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E76 The Fifth Court

DSBA 'Podcast of the Year'

With thanks to Clio Legal Software

Hosts Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL interrogate Senator (and former councillor) Barry Ward BL about the powers that local authorities have and the claimed powers of local councillors (especially in the light of claims made in election literature).He discusses all aspects of local authorities including the corruption of the 1990's, the number of elected councillors and whether that could/should be cut, what the office of the new elected Mayor of Limerick might mean, and why other EU countries appear to have a better system of local government than Ireland (which ranks close to the bottom of surveys).

Barry's 'cultural recommendation'? Fatherland, by Robert Harris, a 1992 novel of alternate history conceived as: "What might have happened if the Nazis won World War II?

Our hosts also look at a further three cases from the Decisis.ie casebook

• A tax compliance case where a tax payer wanted to cross examine his investigating revenue officer. The judge decided it was an attempt at trying to delay the case.
• A personal injuries case where a woman claimed she fell over tree roots that had broken through the pavement. She couldn't tell the court exactly where she fell nor did any of her three friends who her with her on the night of the fall choose to give evidence.
• A case involving the Charity Regulatory Authority and their powers of search (the CRA has assumed powers previously held under the AG's office). The Court decided that there was no obligation on the CRA to give advance warnings of investigations.

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E75 The Fifth Court - recorded at the Solicitor's Growth Summit

Our hosts, Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL are joined by barrister Joe Brolly BL, the well know GAA football analyst who played at senior level for Derry and was a member of that county's only All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side in 1993. An entertaining romp through the life and times of the well known lawyer and pundit. About the Northern Troubles, according to Joe his mother always said, 'he started the Troubles'. Having won an All-Ireland he was dispirited and wondered 'Is that it?' He denies Mary McAleese's description of him being (one of her) outstanding students. Great entertainment.

His book recommendation? 'The Fight' by Norman Mailer.

Peter and Mark also delve into three more cases from the Decisis.ie casebook. They include:

• A bankruptcy case where there was non-disclosure of a property in Thailand and a BVI company.
• A case involving an 'enduring power of attorney' where a woman was said not to have the ability to control her own affairs.
• A child abduction case where the judge decided it was not in the child's interest to be sent back to Ireland from Poland.

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E74 The Fifth Court with Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL

From Riverdance to the Four Courts, a life after RTE for TV personality turned barrister Cynthia Ni Mhurchú who is hoping for another career pivot as she stands for election for the EU Parliament. Obviously there was discussion with our two hosts about the iconic Eurovision Song Contest night, presented in Dublin by Cynthia and the late Gerry Ryan along with Michael Flatley, 'The Bull McCabe' is how she describes him, and the beautiful Jean Butler. She relives that truly electric evening along with "The Rock'n'Roll Kids"

After TV came a career in law and she concentrates on family law nowadays, saying about herself that she 'does a lot of listening'. However a fateful meeting at a dinner convinced her it was time to head for Europe where she hopes to make a change, particularly around women and the law.

This episodes cases from the Decisis.ie casebook include;

• A medical negligence case involving a woman who sustained injuries during childbirth back but the defence claimed that the statute of limitations applied.
• A property dispute involving a family home.
• A wardship case about whether a woman, a ward at the time, was allowed to take control of her own life again.

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