Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Hodge, has entered the debate over the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), suggesting its terms may need to be “reconsidered” to address challenges posed by migration. The senior judge said Britain should consider working with other cou
Appointments
See all articlesShepherd and Wedderburn has announced that corporate finance specialist Donald Smith has joined the firm as a partner in the corporate finance team. Mr Smith brings a wealth of corporate finance and boardroom expertise, including in M&A, private equity and equity capital markets matters across a
Thorntons has appointed a new chief people officer to lead the development and implementation of its people policies. Helen Honeyman joins from Lothian Pension Fund (LPF), the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland. She has more than 20 years’ global experience in senior op
Jones Whyte has welcomed nine new trainees to the firm, bringing the total trainee pool to 20. This year’s induction programme received further investment and provided insight into the firm’s culture, expectations, and high standards of client service. Sessions were delivered by a range
Shakespeare Martineau’s Scotland practice continues to grow with the appointment of solicitor Fergus Spowart and qualification of Fin Campbell following the completion of his training contract. Mr Spowart, who joins the litigation team in Edinburgh, grew up in East Lothian before studying law
Burges Salmon has announced the appointment of Lillian Mackenzie as a partner in its projects department, based in the firm’s Edinburgh office. Ms Mackenzie's practice spans infrastructure finance, major outsourcings, and public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI), with a track record of advising s
Holmes Mackillop has made a trio of appointments to its Ayr office. Zainab Ifzal qualified as a solicitor last week, Robyn Davidson joins as a trainee solicitor, and Amy Paterson has been appointed as an admin assistant.
Legal Aid
See all articlesDefence solicitors in Dundee are stepping up industrial action after what they described as “fruitless” talks with the Scottish government over criminal legal aid funding. Members of the Dundee Bar Association (DBA) have voted to withdraw from a scheme operating at Dundee Sheriff Court t
The number of solicitors registered to provide legal aid in Scotland has fallen by more than 12 per cent in just three years, according to new figures. As of 26 May, there were 1,122 solicitors registered to provide criminal and children’s legal aid, while 450 firms were registered for civil l
A survey of Scottish legal aid solicitors has revealed further evidence of a deepening crisis in access to justice, with 41 per cent of respondents either planning to stop legal aid work within two years or unsure whether they will continue. The findings come from a Law Society of Scotland survey of
Scotland’s criminal defence solicitors are to withdraw from a new flagship summary justice scheme in protest at the Scottish government’s failure to increase legal aid rates. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) has confirmed that its members will no longer participate in imple
Solicitors employed on the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s emergency helpline have backed strike action over changes to shift patterns, The Scotsman reports. Sixteen solicitors working on the Solicitor Contact Line voted for industrial action following complaints that management had imposed 12-hour
Universities
See all articlesTasglann nan Eilean, the archive service of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has embarked on a collaborative project with the University of Glasgow which will result in an important local archive collection being catalogued, preserved and made publicly accessible. The project, on the history of disarmamen
Austen commemoration on the wall of Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London Credit: JRennocks, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cameron Wong McDermott (lecturer in social change, University of Glasgow) and Nicole Marshall (GO Justice Centre manager) write about the university's collaboration with The Marie Trust. At the Glasgow Open Justice Centre (GO Justice), part of the University of Glasgow’s School of Law, w
The University of Stirling has developed guidance to help health and social care providers design and deliver nature-based programmes for people with poor mental health and substance dependence. Experts in substance use at the university have created how-to guidance manuals for nature-based programm
University of Edinburgh alumnus Ben Kemp is to deliver the Opening of the Academic Year Alumni Lecture at Edinburgh Law School next month. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception.
And Finally
See all articlesA nightmare neighbour has been arrested and charged after allegedly tunnelling into an adjacent home following a dispute. Police in the Canadian city of Calgary said the bizarre incidents followed weeks of intensifying conflict between neighbours on two floors of an apartment building.
Albania has appointed an AI chatbot as a government minister who it says will be "free of corruption". "Diella" – meaning "Sun" in Albanian – has been put in charge of public procurement, The Guardian reports.
Our weekly round-up of human rights stories from around the world. South Korean women file landmark lawsuit accusing US military of systematic role in sex trade
A prisoner accused of threatening to shoot an officer after being served a jacket potato for lunch has gone on trial. Nicholas Brock, 57, a far-right sympathiser from Maidenhead, Berkshire, is currently serving a sentence for possessing terrorist materials. He is alleged to have threatened to kill a
Residents of a Bavarian apartment block who called police over persistent late-night doorbell ringing were astonished to learn the cause was not pranksters – but rather a slug. The creature had been sliding across the metal bell plate, repeatedly setting off the buzzer and disturbing residents