The Law Society of Scotland is seeking urgent clarification from the Scottish government on why legal aid has again been ignored in the final budget before this year’s Holyrood election. Finance Secretary Shona Robinson announced the 2026-27 budget in the Scottish Parliament on 13 January 2026
Appointments
See all articlesThe Aberdeen Law Project has announced the appointment of three new members to its board. Professor Justin Borg-Barthet, the new head of the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen, and Scott Johnston, a partner at Pinsent Masons, accepted invitations to join the project’s board in O
Inksters Solicitors is now in St Andrews with Kevin Davidson joining the firm as a consultant solicitor. Mr Davidson has over 30 years’ experience as a solicitor. He was a partner in A C Morrison & Richards and then principal of his own firm K.W.A.D Solicitors, both in Aberdeen. Latterly h
Claudio Visco has been appointed as president of the International Bar Association (IBA). Mr Visco, a senior partner at Italian law firm Lipani Legal&Tax, has succeeded Jaime Carey, senior partner at Chilean law firm Carey.
Lord Sales has been sworn in as the new deputy president of the Supreme Court. Lord Doherty has been sworn in as a new justice of the Supreme Court. Lord Sales was appointed to the role of Deputy President following the announcement of Lord Hodge’s retirement.
Relationship support charity, Relationships Scotland, has announced the appointment of Ewan Malcolm as its new chair. Mr Malcolm, who takes over from Dianne Millen, brings four decades of experience as an accomplished CEO, chair, mediator, and conflict resolution specialist, spanning law, organisati
Dallas McMillan has announced a number of promotions and new appointments. Ryan Macready has been promoted to partner and Chloe Neil to associate in the firm’s personal injury team.
Universities
See all articlesDr Eddy Wifa and Dr Mitchell Lennan have both been appointed as co-directors of the Aberdeen University Centre for Energy Law (AUCEL). Dr Wifa is a senior lecturer (energy law) at the School of Law, which he joined in 2020 following the completion of his PhD in Marine Renewable Energy Health a
The Aberdeen Law Project (ALP) has obtained a four-figure settlement for a client over faulty roof repairs. Prior to ALP’s engagement in the matter, the client’s roof had been damaged and encroached upon by works commissioned by a third-party. Lead adviser Robert Johnson and the team at
Lady Dorrian is to be awarded an honorary degree by the University of St Andrews at the university's winter graduation tomorrow. The Class of 2025 students will celebrate gaining both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, with graduands from 81 countries including Namibia, the Netherlands, Ne
The last revolution in legal education was not digital but electrical. For a time, the lecture halls of Edinburgh and Glasgow stood half-in, half-out of the new century: stone stairwells lit by bare bulbs, while seminar rooms still relied on the yellow comfort of gaslight. No one doubted that electr
Legal academics were among the recipients of Royal Society of Edinburgh medals awarded at a ceremony held this week.
Legal Aid
See all articlesThe Law Society of Scotland is seeking urgent clarification from the Scottish government on why legal aid has again been ignored in the final budget before this year’s Holyrood election. Finance Secretary Shona Robinson announced the 2026-27 budget in the Scottish Parliament on 13 January 2026
The Scottish government is pausing it’s proposed changes to legal aid for adults with legal incapacity (AWI) cases, following an intervention by Govan Law Centre. Last month, GLC wrote to the Holyrood's Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee to recommend rejection of a draft Scottish statut
The Law Society of Scotland has warned that proposed changes to legal aid fees for cases related to adults with incapacity (AWI) would further exacerbate the shortage of solicitors for such work. The warning is contained in a submission by the Law Society on potential changes to legal aid regulation
Laura Simpson and Christine McKellar of Govan Law Centre raise the alarm over proposed changes to legal aid for adults with incapacity in Scotland. It is no secret that Scotland’s legal aid system is in urgent need of reform. With the increase in legal aid deserts caused by an ever-diminishing
Tony Lenehan KC remains the top earner of legal aid fees, new figures from the Scottish Legal Aid Board detailing gross earnings show. In 2024-25, Mr Lenehan’s fees were £490,000, an increase of £40,000, or nine per cent, on the previous year. Donald Findlay KC rose from third to s
And Finally
See all articlesThe US Department of War has demanded that a Canadian sex shop stop accepting orders from US soldiers stationed in Bahrain after a butt plug order was rejected by the kingdom. Grace Bennett and Katie Aitken, co-founders of Toronto-based Bonjibon, say they have proudly framed two official US governme
A pensioner who taught himself the law to defend the length of grass in his garden has won a five-year battle against local officials. Canadian man Wolf Ruck, 79, told CTV News that he studied law at a postgraduate level in order to pursue his legal action over rules restricting the length of grass
Two prisoners have been convicted of running a sophisticated telephone scam from behind bars which netted nearly half a million dollars from dozens of victims. Joey Amour Jackson and Lance Riddle – also known as "Apeshit" and "C-Port" – masterminded the scheme while locked up in the US s
New technology has been deployed to help enforce a Chinese smoking ban by taking away the privacy of toilet users when smoke is detected. Two shopping centres in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have installed new glass toilet cubicle doors, which are designed to turn from opaque to transparent
Legislators have been left red-faced after approving a law which included references to fake minerals named after lawyers. North Dakota's new law on mining critical minerals mentions "friezium" and "stralium", apparently references to Christopher Friez and David Straley, lawyers for North American C











