Mills Selig staff participated in the Business in the Community ‘Give and Gain Day’. Anne Skeggs and Glenn Watterson spent the day at Lisnasharragh Primary School.

The German-Irish Lawyers and Business Association held its annual conference in Belfast this year. Included in the speakers at this prestigious cross-border event was Kathryn Walls who outlined to those attending from both Germany and Ireland the recent developments in company law here, including the impact of the Companies Act 2006 and the new Bribery Act 2010.

John Kearns and Richard Craig acted for the directors of a number of public houses and restaurants in an application for the appointment of an administrator.

Is your House in order? In this month’s Business Eye Gary Rocks discusses the implications for the property industry on the application of the Competition Act to land agreements. View Article

Charity Spring Clean: The recent downturn has resulted in less being donated to charity shops than ever before. Mills Selig held a week long ‘Spring Clean’ drive for Save the Children inviting staff to bring in any unwanted clothes, books and bric-a brac they may have at home which the firm arranged to be delivered to the charity.

Marathon Update: Congratulations to our ten runners who braved the heat of Belfast on May Day, raising over £700 for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

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John Kearns and Maeve Fisher advised an objector in successfully preventing the grant of a liquor licence to Asda at Crumlin Road.

Congratulations to our clients, Crafty Genesis, SLA Mobile and Portview on being named as winners at the Deloitte Best Managed Business awards in Dublin earlier this month.

Why settle for retirement when you can keep on working? In this month’s Business Eye Richard Craig considers the implications of the abolition of the compulsory retirement age of 65, which will come into effect this April.  View Article

Three members of the Mills Selig team carried out Saintly Duties by participating in the Business in the Community ‘Be a Saint’ Day on 16^th March. Patrick O’Reilly, Katrina Lyons and Rachel McAllister spent the day volunteering at Fleming Fulton School in Belfast, preparing plots for the pupils to use to plant vegetables and working on the school pond.

John Kearns and Maeve Fisher advised Liz McKeown, Administrator in relation to Carter Clothing Ltd.

 Break Clauses in Leases – In this month’s Business Eye, Anne Skeggs discusses the steps landlords and tenants must take to exercise a break clause of a commercial lease. View Article

Congratulations to Gary Rocks, a solicitor in the Property Team, on receiving a Commendation at the Law Society of Northern Ireland Awards 2010.

Using Nuclear Weapons in the Courtroom – Adam Curry discusses the use of injunctions in this month’s Business Eye. View Article

Change is the only Constant – John Kearns discusses the firm’s approach to business in this month’s Business Eye.View Article

 Paul Spring and Emma Hunt acted for News Group Newspapers Limited in the defence of a privacy injunction issues by Van Morrison to prevent the publication of an article and photographs in the News of the World.

 John Kearns advised Liz McKeown, Insolvency Practitioner, in her appointment as Adminsitrator of Carter Clothing.

Bill McCann advised Finning International Inc, the world’s largest caterpillar equipment dealer, in the acquisition of the business and assets of McCormick Macnaughton (NI). View Article

Two Heads are Better Than One – Chris Guy discusses the benefits of joint ventures in this month’s Business Eye. View Article

 To renew or not to renew – Gary Rocks discusses renewing commercial leases in this month’s Business Eye. View Article

Sprucefield Public Inquiry adjourns to October on the first day without hearing any evidence as opponents win the right to mount a new legal challenge. Adam Curry acts for Bow Street Mall, Lisburn in this Inquiry.

Kiera Lee has joined the email service team at Legal Island. Legal Island’s email service provides updates on employment law to 100s of businesses across Northern Ireland. Kiera will be beginning her monthly instalments on the ‘A-Z’ of employment law this month.

Andrew Kirkpatrick acted on behalf of TM Lewin shirtmakers in their new letting in Victoria Square

Gary Rocks advised Pacon Inns Ltd on its acquisition of a Lease of The Beaten Docket, a well known City Centre Pub.

 Solicitors from across the practice attended a gala charity dinner sponsored by Cavanagh Kelly in the Armagh City Hotel on 15^th May to raise funds for building a school in Uganda. The evening was a great success and raised over £50,000.

 Richard Fulton and Kathryn Walls acted for AssetCo plc, the provider of integrated support services to the UK Fire and Rescue Service, in relation to the £40m contract to provide a fully outsourced firefighting service by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The contract, which is for an initial 3 years, is the first of its kind in the UAE that involves a total turnkey solution for the provision of personnel, training, operational equipment and facilities management.

 Legal Eagles Make their Mark – congratulations to the Belfast Solicitors GAA Society on reaching the Ulster junior inter-firms final at their first attempt – and in particular to Gary Rocks of our property team, founder and chairman of the Society. View Article

Five members of the Mills Selig team carried out Saintly Duties by participating in the Business in the Community ‘Be a Saint’ Day on 19^th March. Kathryn Walls and Nicola Simpkin mucked in and walked out with the dogs at Assissi Aninal Sanctaury in Conlig whilst Richard Craig, Maeve Fisher and Niamh McCullagh built paths and pruned rose bushes at the National Trust property at Minnowburn, Shaw’s Bridge.

Making the Companies Act Work for You – Chris Guy discusses changes made to company law under the recent legislation in this month’s Business Eye. View Article

Legal advisers to First Derivatives plc in the acquisition of the business and assets of Cognotec Limited, an Irish company specialising in e-commerce solutions to automated foreign exchange and money market dealing systems.

Acted for the developer in the disposal of the Curzon Apartment Development, Ormeau Rd, Belfast by way of the sale of 42 Units to Clanmil Housing Association Ltd which is intended to be the first mixed community social housing development in Northern Ireland and the short term lease of remaining 19 Units.

Legal Advisers to AssetCo plc in relation to a joint venture with the government of Abu Dhabi to develop and manage a 100 acre emergency services centre to be known as Rabdan Disaster City.

Legal advisers to First Derivatives plc in the acquisition of a further 15 per cent interest in Kx Systems Inc the California based firm which sells the market leading high-performance and time series analysis database kdb+.

Two of our lawyers, Anne Skeggs and Ciara Lagan, made an extremely successful presentation at the recent Chamber of Commerce event ‘Maximising your business opportunities’. They advised attendees on improving their contractual relationships with their commercial associates, including business partners, suppliers and customers and on negotiating lease terms and how leases can affect their business.

Mills Selig has formed an alliance with BCM Hanby Wallace, one of Ireland’s leading business law firms. The new alliance means that the two firms will be able to offer a seamless “all-Ireland legal service” to existing and new clients. More…

Acted for Homebase, part of the Home Retail Group PLC, in a claim to the Compensation Agency for criminal damage to their store at Shane Retail Park, Belfast.

Represented Warrenpoint Harbour Authority in a mediation and adjudication of a dispute with a large construction company concerning the new Ro-Ro facility at the Harbour

Instructed by PWS Ireland Limited in its joint venture with Traffic MS for the development of a leasing and sale of mobile messaging signs business.

Instructed by World Travel Centre Limited in the acquisition of the business of Thriftway Travel Limited.

Acted for the Sellers of a group of pharmacies in Northern Ireland.

Mills Selig was delighted to be involved in the opening of the new 169 bedroom Ramada Encore which forms part of the redevelopment of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. The hotel has not only been a boost to local tourism but also to employment in the area. Two of our lawyers, Anne Skeggs and Maeve Fisher assisted with licensing and property issues and attended the hotel opening which was an excellent event!

Legal advisers to First Derivatives plc in the acquisition of Market Resource Partners LLC, a US based technology marketing company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

Instructed by Enterprise Equity (NI) LLP in its recent investment in Kelsius Limited which manufactures, distributes and maintains a system that wirelessly monitors the temperature and safety of food products.

Mills Selig are delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Craig as a solicitor in the Litigation Department. Richard gained six years experience with another leading Belfast Law Firm and deals with a wide range of employment and commercial litigation matters.

Acted for Crombie clothing in the lease of their first store in Northern Ireland at Victoria Square, Belfast.

Acted for Ecco Footwear in the lease of their first store in Northern Ireland at Castle Lane, Belfast.

Instructed by Ulster Karting Club in negotiating an agreement relating to the acquisition and development of Nutts Corner Racetrack, Nutts Corner, County Antrim.

Instructed by Glover Site Investigations Limited in the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Discovery Drilling Limited.

Assisted Manchester solicitors, Cobbetts, in acting for Leeds-based laser eye surgery and treatment specialist, Ultralase, in the acquisition of Belfast-based Allclear Clinic Limited.

Acted for Waddell Media Limited in the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Flickerpix Limited.

Instructed by Goldsmiths Jewellers in the lease of premises in Victoria Square, Belfast.

Congratulations to Claire Reid, a solicitor in our property department who was involved in organising an extremely successful gala dinner raising over £80,000 for PIPS, which is a charity whose goal is to build a new suicide prevention centre in Belfast.

• Maeve Fisher as a Solicitor in the Litigation Department. Maeve completed her training with Mills Selig and has been working in the Litigation Department since September 2007.
• Gary Rocks as a Solicitor in the Property Department. Gary trained with a leading Welsh Commercial Firm in Cardiff before returning home. He is qualified to practice in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales and is experienced in all areas of Commercial Property.