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The incoming president of the Law Society of Scotland has pledged to fight for the independence of the legal profession from government, describing this as a critical time for the profession and the rule of law in Scotland. Sheila Webster, a commercial litigation solicitor, takes up the presidency f

Gavin Pearson, managing director and head of Quantuma’s forensic accounting & investigations team, sets out a number of areas that may assist lawyers in the drafting of expert determination clauses. There will be contrasting views as to how effective Expert Determination is as a form of di

This week Fraser Myers in Spiked questioned if it was right in a country which allegedly protects its citizens rights to free speech, that the media can hardly cover more than the basic outline of the biggest Scottish political story for years. It was inevitable that the question of the strict limit

The recent arrest of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon predictably provoked widespread discussion of the Contempt of Court Act – as it applies in Scotland, writes Thomas Ross KC. It came as a surprise to many that the provisions of the Act were triggered so early in the process. This &ndas

An action for reduction of an eviction order made by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland’s Housing and Property Chamber in respect of a tenancy of a property held in trust by the landlord for the tenants had been allowed to proceed in the Outer House of the Court of Session. Pursuers Mohammad

The Supreme Court has held that a high street bank did not have a duty not to carry out a customer’s instructions if it had reasonable grounds for believing that customer was defrauded after an appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of England & Wales finding that such a duty cou

As is my wont, I will try to avoid ambiguity – the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill is, in part, dangerous and not just because some of the drafting is appalling. I will not comment on the whole bill but on a few aspects.I am not suggesting that there is no roo

At a cursory glance, the minimum legal requirements for producing Scotch Whisky appear to be deceptively simple. The spirit can only be made in Scotland from just three natural ingredients – water, yeast and cereals – and must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three year

A Lord Ordinary has refused a petition by a father seeking the return of two children to Poland after their mother took them back to Scotland, where they had lived the majority of their lives, on the basis that they would be at risk of harm if returned. Petitioner MP sought the return of his childre

The understandable furore over the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson on a charge of rape in the English High Court has led to calls from many eminent lawyers for a public inquiry. The failures of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Criminal Cases Review Commission add up to a dis

The owner and landlord of the site of a former whisky distillery in Elgin has been largely unsuccessful in an appeal against a decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office in relation to a trade mark dispute between the landlord and a tenant using one of its warehouses to provide whisky maturatio

Reports suggest that First Minister Humza Yousaf wants to change the law so that the only short prison sentences imposed will be on violent or sexual offenders, writes Douglas J. Cusine. Were the first minister actually visit a sheriff court (perhaps even more than once), he might realise the u

The recently decided – and widely reported – case of Sean Hogg has had so many twists and turns that it is not altogether easy to unravel what happened or what (if any) implications it has for future prosecutions. This led – when emotions were clearly running high – to the ma

The first in her extended family to go to university, intellectual property specialist Lesley Larg was appointed as Dundee-based solicitors Thorntons' first female managing partner in 2021, taking over from Craig Nicol who held the post for 10 years, seven of those years as joint managing partn

A personal injury sheriff has refused a motion for expenses by a successful defender in a case covered by qualified one-way cost shifting after rejecting their argument that the pursuer’s conduct had been unreasonable. Defender Robert Mykytyn, who was granted decree of absolvitor in an action