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September brought two milestones in the militarisation of space: the United States confirmed that it had put a weapon in orbit, and the RAF launched No. III Space Effects Squadron, its first unit dedicated to countering hostile threats to UK satellites. One of the few experts on the topic and the au
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The lord advocate has appointed Dominic Scullion as the first standing junior counsel to the Scottish government. Mr Scullion qualified as a solicitor in 2012, as a solicitor advocate in 2016 and called to the bar in 2020. He acted for the Scottish ministers for several years as a solicitor before b
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Sarah Loosemore has been elected as deputy clerk of the Faculty of Advocates and was formally introduced to members at Parliament House yesterday. Ms Loosemore has a mixed criminal and civil practice, with a focus on criminal appeals, extradition, clinical negligence, public law and inquiries. Since
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Burness Paull has appointed energy expert Sarah Vass as a partner to lead the firm’s energy exploration and production (E&P) team. Ms Vass brings extensive experience of the energy sector, having served most recently as general counsel for TotalEnergies E&P UK Limited. Over her time at
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Tom Usher is to take up his new appointment as chair of the East Neuk Festival (ENF). Mr Usher, a competition law expert at Burness Paull, has been a board member of the music festival since October 2025. He is passionate about music and he and his family now live in Elie in the East Neuk of Fife. H
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Ledingham Chalmers has appointed Sarah Morris as managing partner, bringing 25 years of experience with the firm to the role. Ms Morris leads the firm’s institutional litigation team and has extensive experience advising public sector clients, local authorities and major insurers. Having built
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Anderson Strathern has strengthened its dispute resolution team with the promotion of commercial litigation specialist Eilidh MacEwan to partner. A solicitor advocate with more than 10 years' experience, she advises clients across the financial sector on a range of commercial disputes including inso
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Samantha McPhillips, an LLM student at the University of Edinburgh, has won the postgraduate category of the Mason Institute’s 2025/26 Student Essay Competition. Her winning essay, From Risk to Capacity: The Limits of Fusion Law in Reforming Involuntary Treatment, was recognised in the competi
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Kehinde Adeogun, director of legal services and policy at the Black Equity Organisation (BEO), is to discuss strategic litigation and racial justice in a lecture at the University of Glasgow next month. Her lecture, entitled On Racial Justice and the Law: In Conversation with Kehinde Adeogun, will t
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Strathclyde Law School is to become the first Scottish host of LawWithoutWalls (LWOW), with the international legal innovation programme coming to Glasgow in March 2027. LWOW is a global initiative that annually brings together lawyers, in-house professionals, business leaders, academics and student
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An internationally acclaimed Scottish scholar who has written about the extremely high number of murders and prisoners in the US lectured on the topic at Middlesex University. David Garland, a professor of law and sociology at New York University, spoke to academics, criminal justice professionals a
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University of Dundee researchers have unveiled two new aids in the fight to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system. Experts from the Clarus Project, led by experts from Dundee’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, and Faculty of S
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South Korean lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has urged President Lee Jae Myung to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, arguing that its depiction of a North Korean invasion highlights the need for military preparedness. Writing on Facebook, Han said: "I hope the image of a Seoul reduced to ashes in the game
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New York City’s horse-drawn carriage drivers are preparing to sue the city after councillors voted 40-7 to ban the century-old tradition from June 2028. Romanch’s Law followed the death of 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan, who was thrown from a carriage earlier this year. Drivers argu
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Airbnb will prohibit hosts from requiring guests to clean their accommodation before checkout under new rules taking effect on November 20. The policy, applying to reservations booked from that date, bans requirements to wash and put away dishes, strip beds, start laundry or take rubbish off-site.
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A Canadian man has been convicted of felony and misdemeanour animal cruelty after stealing a flamingo from a Las Vegas hotel while drunk. Mitchell Fairbarn, from rural Ontario, took 27-year-old Peachy from the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino’s wildlife habitat in the early hours of 3 March
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Florida governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to make Tesla’s new 'flying' Roadster legal in the state, joking that it could "leapfrog golf carts in The Villages". "We will make sure that it's legal," DeSantis wrote on X, following Elon Musk’s unveiling of the long-awaited vehicle at a Space
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