Features

In October of 1739 an Irish merchant vessel, the William, slipped out of Donaghadee harbour near Belfast and sailed into infamy. Its stated goal of collecting Norwegian timber shrouded the dark mission of its master William Davidson – to kidnap Scottish crofters and sell them into slavery in t

As AI systems embed themselves in everyday legal workflows, they begin to absorb not just what we produce, but how we think. Dr Corsino San Miguel sets out a strategy for protecting the judgment that defines a law firm’s identity. Imagine a chef using an AI assistant to make sandwiches.

Andrew McConnell and Victoria Hayward of Beale & Co examine a recent court judgment on prescription. Prescription remains a very hot topic and in this article we look at the Court of Session’s approach to the application of section 6(4) and the evidence relied upon by Greater Glasgow Healt

Michael Upton concludes his discussion of Robert Louis Stevenson's lawyerly credentials. Yesterday we marked the 150th anniversary of Robert Louis Stevenson’s admission to the Faculty of Advocates with the first part of this discussion of the assertion once made by the Times Literary Supp

There is just over a week until changes to the immigration rules take effect, writes Ashley Fleming. The Home Office has announced immigration rule changes, effective from 22 July 2025, which implement proposals set out in the Immigration White Paper. Approximately 180 occupation codes will be remov

Michael Upton marks the 150th anniversary of Robert Louis Stevenson calling to the Scottish bar.

Prison reform campaigners have called for a cap on the number of prisoners in Scotland as jails grow dangerously overcrowded and under-resourced. The country’s prison population reached an average of almost 8,000 last year, an eight per cent increase since 2023.

Robert Macduff-Duncan WS recalls the two-century-long history of the Society of Procurators and Solicitors in the City and County of Perth. On 8th July 1825, the Society of Procurators in Perth was formally instituted. In 1857, the members petitioned for a Royal Charter, and here we are, in 2025 pro

Alastair Tibbs reviews Netflix's new documentary on the Grenfell Tower fire. In the early hours of 14 June 2017, the London sky was ignited. What started as a spark from a faulty fridge soon became the blaze that claimed the lives of 72 men, women and children. It was, however, a perfect storm of ne

Anderson Strathern partner Robin Turnbull examines the potential impact on rural businesses of the UK government's employment law reforms. In rural Scotland, where around 84 per cent of businesses describe themselves as family-owned, the line between employee and family member can often blur. From f

As we have seen reported over the recent months, the Employment Rights Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will arguably bring about the greatest changes to employment law in a generation. The latest announcement is the fact that the UK government plans to ban the use of non-disclosur

Even after the Act of Union in 1707, Scotland and England maintained separate and distinct legal traditions. Over the centuries that have passed since, Scots law and English law have evolved differently, writes Thomas Mitchell. Their stark differences are most prevalent when it comes to the assessme

Ella Welsby discusses the Supreme Court decision in the English appeal of Standish v Standish. A long awaited Supreme Court judgment was published this week and reaffirmed that an asset being in your name on divorce does not automatically mean it will be eligible for division.

Employee ownership is surging in popularity across the UK, and particularly in Scotland. In this article, Douglas Roberts reflects on an increasingly sophisticated and diverse market. The Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is a special type of discretionary trust established by the Finance Act 2014 for

It’s not many lawyers that get to work on a high-profile, ground-breaking Supreme Court case just a year after qualifying, but Balfour & Manson solicitor Lindsay McCosh is one of them. As part of a public law team led by partner Sindi Mules, Ms McCosh acted for For Women Scotland in their