Features

Ahead of a panel discussion event next week, Rachel Munro examines why, for housebuilders, planners and local authorities, heat networks promise to increasingly be a hot topic in the months and years to come. It need not be overstated that Scotland doesn’t have the best weather and despite hig

Sheriff Philip Mann sitting in Aberdeen Sheriff Court has just handed down a landmark decision (Mrs Susan Gordon, Petitioner, [2023] SC ABE 26) which, if followed by other courts, will open a new door in commissary practice across Scotland, writes Justin Reid. The deceased, Mr Thomas Nicol Rae,

When he was named the Law Society of Scotland’s In-house Rising Star of 2023, Too Good To Go global legal counsel Christopher Knudsen said the achievement was down to the help he had received from others and that he would equally like to “help others in the legal profession in the same w

Two new health and safety rulings demonstrate how Scottish courts are increasingly mirroring their English counterparts when determining fines, writes Willie Park. The appeal rulings showed the level of fines the courts will impose seems likely to continue to rise and get closer to levels seen in En

The week ahead sees the battle between the Scottish and UK governments over the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (GRR) move into court as Scottish ministers seek to overturn the Section 35 Order put in place by the Secretary of State for Scotland, currently blocking the bill from becoming a

As most employers will be aware, the duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person applies to workers/employees who have started work, as well as to those seeking work, writes Douglas Strang. Employers must, therefore, consider and comply with the duty to make adjustments when considerin

Peter Littlefair takes a realistic look at the uses of AI for practitioners and its direction of travel. As a smaller legal jurisdiction, Scotland is often behind the United States and England in its take-up of new tech. AI is no different and a range of options are rolled out into firms already. Ho

The death toll for motorcyclists will keep on rising unless the message is changed, writes Thomas Mitchell. Motorcyclists are classed as ‘vulnerable road users’ in the Highway Code and their disproportionate representation of those killed and seriously injured in road traffic collis

It is World Mental Health Day on 10 October: an opportunity to raise awareness and campaign for change. This year we want to highlight the responsibilities of employers to create mentally healthy workplaces., writes LawCare's Elizabeth Rimmer. The traditional view of health and safety in the wo

Laura Morrison discusses the rise of workcations. Given the predictably unpredictable Scottish climate, it was no surprise to read the results of a YouGov poll published earlier this year. It showed that 37 per cent of UK adults who can work remotely are interested in doing their job from a holiday

Previous generations of law students were advised to read the autobiographies of retired judges and that was certainly the case with that of Lord Wheatley One Man’s Judgement: an autobiography (1987). There was thought generally then to be much to be learnt about the central workings of the le

Fransiska Ari Indrawati, PhD candidate at Edinburgh Law School, writes on the prospective emergence of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Throughout most of history, money as a tool of payment has taken the form of tangible objects such as coins and banknotes. However, the rapid development of

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

A recent decision provides much welcome clarity on the application of Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS), writes Kelly Brotherhood. Some may feel that, like buses, we can wait a long time for an established qualification to the Scottish costs shift in personal injury litigation to turn up. Well

The Faculty of Advocates has in general welcomed the introduction of the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, much of which recognises and preserves the independence of the legal profession, writes Dean of Faculty, Roddy Dunlop KC. However, as the Scottish Parliament reconvenes this we