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In many of his works Sir Walter Scott referred to real cases and described real criminal court room procedure, drawing on his legal training and experience as an advocate. He once wrote: His library at Abbotsford contains a copy of the trial of Philip Standsfield. An entry dated March 1797 in his pr

A Scottish local authority which sued engineering contractors over a failed social housing development that had to be demolished for health and safety reasons has had its £12 million damages claim dismissed. Midlothian Council raised an action against Blyth & Blyth Consulting Eng

At the High Court in Glasgow today, Lord Matthews sentenced 16-year-old Aaron Campbell to detention without limit of time, with a punishment part of 27 years, after he was found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Alesha MacPhail. On sentencing, Lord Matthews said: "It is difficult to i

A judge-led review group is to consider what distinguishes sexual assault cases from other criminal cases and how court process and the experiences of complainers and witnesses can be improved – without compromising the rights of the accused. The review group, chaired by Lady Dorrian, the Lord

The personal service company of broadcaster Lorraine Kelly has won a First-Tier Tribunal appeal against a £1.2m demand from HMRC for unpaid income tax and National Insurance Contributions after a judge accepted that there was a contract for services between her and ITV – partly on t

The European Commission has imposed a €1.49 billion fine on search giant Google for breaching EU antitrust rules. In a decision yesterday, the Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position in the online search advertising intermediation market by imposing restrictive clauses in

Shoosmiths has announced three new appointments to its real estate team in Edinburgh. Gillian Ralph, previously a partner with Macnabs LLP in Perth has been appointed as a senior associate within the 20-strong team led by real estate partner, Steve Dougherty.

Morton Fraser has been appointed to a new panel to provide legal services in Scotland for a self-invested personal pension, Your Future SIPP, administered by Curtis Banks. The appointment also extends to the servicing of some legacy Curtis Bank’s products, to include those operated b

The independent review of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is a step in the right direction for compliance with modern human rights standards, according to the Law Society of Scotland. Commenting on the announcement made by the mental health minister Clare Haughey yesterday

The judicial retirement age should be raised to 74, the President of the Supreme Court has said. Lady Hale, 74, told peers that the judiciary should seek applicants for the High Court bench from lawyers in their 60s, who will no longer be concerned about reaching their maximum earning power.

Aberdeen FC has failed in a legal battle with a sherry maker over the name of its whisky. The club launched a blended whisky called Dons Dram in 2016 and applied to register the trademark.

A former senator who successfully introduced Ireland's ban on child smacking encouraged Scottish legislators to follow suit at a meeting at Holyrood this morning. Jillian van Turnhout, who introduced the bill which became the Children First Act 2015 during her time as an Independent Senator, wa

The Edinburgh Tax Network, in conjunction with Terra Firma Chambers, will present a seminar entitled “BPR: The Pawson Problem - Wholly or Mainly Holding Investments?” on Thursday 28th March 2019 at the Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, Edinburgh. The speaker will be Derek Francis,

Seven members of the Faculty of Advocates have helped students prepare for a major international mooting competition. The seven – Vice-Dean of Faculty Angela Grahame QC, Robert Howie QC, Kenneth Campbell QC, David Parratt QC, David Bartos, Roderick Campbell and Ross Anderson – acted as j

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has fined Vote Leave Limited £40,000 for sending out thousands of unsolicited text messages in the run up to the 2016 EU referendum. An ICO investigation found that Vote Leave sent 196,154 text messages promoting the aims of the Leave campaign with t