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When disputes specialist Rachael Bicknell flew out to New Zealand at the beginning of this year the plan was to enjoy a break with her in-laws in a coastal paradise on New Zealand’s North Island. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and a trip that was supposed to last just a few weeks began str

Two former directors of a company allegedly established to renovate a derelict hotel in Bristol into student accommodation have been found in breach of their legal duties, while the claims against another were dismissed. Paul Atkinson and Glyn Mummery, the joint liquidators of Grosvenor Property Dev

Scottish Legal News is saddened – and angered – to have to reprint the open letter sent by Glenrothes solicitor Yvonne McKenna to the Scottish Legal Aid Board highlighting the unsustainably low SLAB fees her firm received for work on a landmark case concerning the rights of relevant pers

A mother who applied for an order under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 on the basis that her child had been wrongfully retained in Scotland has had her petition refused on the ground that the child was not habitually resident in Italy. The petitioner, JP, shared parental res

A mother who was found by the English High Court of Justice to have wrongfully retained her children in England after moving from Germany with them has successfully appealed the decision in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division).  The children, aged 6 and 8 at the time of the application, ha

When Amanda Millar put herself forward to become president of the Law Society of Scotland she wanted to make a difference to her profession during a time of considerable challenges. What she did not know back in the relative calm of 2018 was that by the time she took over from John Mulholland in Jun

An asylum seeker who claimed to fear persecution from a criminal gang in El Salvador has succeeded in challenging the finding of the Upper Tribunal that there were no arguable grounds of appeal against the original decision.  The petitioner, MF, argued that the First-tier Tribunal judge ha

Benjamin Bestgen takes a timeous look at freedom of expression. See his last primer, on marriage, here. Evelyn Hall, the author of The Life of Voltaire, famously acquainted us with a summary of Voltaire’s belief in freedom of speech: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to th

Ten police officers who brought a petition for judicial review of the decision by their superior to conduct misconduct proceedings against them using WhatsApp messages sent to and from them have had their reclaiming motion against the refusal of the Lord Ordinary of their petition refused by the Inn

A taxi driver who had his licence suspended by a local authority on the ground of no longer being a fit and proper person to hold such a licence has had his appeal against the decision refused.  Scott McMillan argued that West Lothian Council had made several errors in their cons

The environmental organisation Greenpeace has had its petition for judicial review of the decision to allow the development of a North Sea oil field refused. The Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the first respondent to the petition, granted consent to BP

A Nigerian citizen with no right to remain in the UK who was ordered to be deported following the end of a prison sentence has successfully appealed a decision of the Upper Tribunal that his deportation would not disproportionately interfere with the ECHR rights of his family.  The appellant,&n

As a 17-year-old, I first met the late, great, and sadly missed David Lessels (1949-2018) at a law school information day. I brashly declared I would become an advocate. He smiled wryly. Fast forward several penniless years to my traineeship. At last I was earning. Two years later, I even had some m

Criminal defence work may be a tough gig, but for an aspiring writer of crime fiction it has one key draw: it throws up a huge amount of material to work from. Indeed, when Russel & Aitken partner William McIntyre decided to turn his hand to novel writing a little over a decade ago he found he h

The son of a deceased dairy farmer who entered into two loan agreements in respect of two farms has succeeded in obtaining a proof in his action to reduce the agreements.  William Lindsay argued that the loan facilities, which concerned one farm in England and another in Scotland, were obt