Features

As the youngest of seven children and growing up in Aberdeenshire, home life was a bit disorganised and my schooling suffered, but I had been interested in law from an early age and had tailored my subjects to what I thought would be needed to study law at university. Money was tight and I worked in

Robert Shiels reviews the latest book on the murders that terrified Glasgow in the sixties. After the early short study by Charles Stoddart, who passed away last week, Bible John: Search for a Sadist (1980), there have been at least four or more books, in the last 20 years, specifically on a we

Is an employer liable for “grooming” carried out by a work experience student during and following a placement? Dawn Robertson looks at a recent English case. Employers are, generally speaking, legally responsible for the wrongful, whether negligent or deliberate, actions of their employ

Digby Brown has succeeded in challenging a defender’s argument to have Qualified One-Way Cost Shifting (QOCS) disapplied following the alleged ‘constructive abandonment’ of the pursuer’s claim against the first defender, writes Elise Camilleri-Brennan. The pursuer, a sel

Irish barrister Ruth A FitzGerald SC considers the application of international humanitarian law to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. The question being considered here is as to the way fighting is being conducted between Israel and Hamas, i.e., the law of war, and not the question of t

Hamish Lean provides an update on the rural property market. The Scottish Land Commission has recently published the Rural Land Market Insights Report 2023, which provides an in-depth analysis of the landowner and buyer motivations over the 2023 period whilst also giving insight into emerging rural

There is a significant unmet legal need in Scotland, writes Neil Mackenzie KC. In a previous article I have described the bewildering patchwork quilt of organisations providing or funding legal advice and representation, including solicitors, law clinics and advice centres.

As Halloween approaches, the perennially popular witch costume will be donned by guisers across the country, Professor Bill Naphy writes. Images of witches have appeared in various forms throughout history – from evil, wart-nosed women huddling over a cauldron of boiling liquid to hag-faced, c

Robert Shiels reviews the autobiography of distinguished KC Michael Beloff. Michael Beloff KC has had a very varied career as a barrister in practice, arbitrator, and judge. His career followed an education as scholar at the Dragon School in Oxford, then Eton (a King’s Scholar and Captain of t

The dictionary notes that ‘innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any organisation’. As a leading law firm, recently shortlisted in the Innovative Firm of the Year category at the Legal500 Scotland Awards, Shoosmiths is constantly embracing – and investing heavily &ndas

Lesley Grant and Kimberley Tochel flag risks for employers following a recent ruling. An employee claiming disability discrimination has been awarded more than £134,000 in compensation. The recent Employment Tribunal judgment in Brosnan v Coalo Limited underscores the associated risks of using

Laura Kyne explains the details of the SQE and how best to prepare for it. I’m a senior solicitor within the Burness Paull employment team, originally qualified in Scots law. Whilst employment law is broadly similar across Scotland and England and Wales, I nevertheless decided to sit the Solic

This small book, with a big title, is commendable in several ways: it shows quite how many courts or tribunals and different types of case a member of the Bar, in the author’s generation at least, might have had to deal with. The nature and extent of the pressing political and legal issues tha

Tony Lenehan KC points out that the purpose of juryless trials, despite protestations to the contrary, is to raise the conviction rate in rape cases. Readers of SLN are likely tired of articles from me and my colleagues about the damage removing juries will certainly do to our criminal justice syste

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