News

Evidence-led trials in the High Court of Justiciary rose by 10 per cent between 2017/18 and 2018/19, fuelled by an increased reporting of sexual offending cases. The fourth Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service statistical bulletin also reveals that Sheriff Court solemn business shows a seven per ce

Three Scottish law firms have become record-breaking fundraisers for an annual will-writing campaign. McClure Solicitors, which has branches in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverclyde; Rollos Law in Fife and Miller Hendry in Dundee, Perth and Crieff, raised a total of £47,634 between them

A man who was allegedly caught with cocaine on his nose during a traffic stop claimed that it "was not his", police said. Officers who pulled over the car in the early hours of Sunday morning noticed a "white powdery substance" on a passenger's nose.

A man found guilty of two charges of rape who claimed that the trial judge “distracted” the jury by giving an “inappropriate and unnecessary” direction on the issue of reasonable belief of consent has had an appeal against his convicted rejected. The Appeal Court of the

Controversial plans to extend the presumption against short sentences have been approved by a majority of Holyrood's Justice Committee. The change was pushed through by seven votes to two, with Tory MSPs opposing the move.

Ambitious targets to tackle bullying and drive diversity have been announced at a summit celebrating 100 years of women in law. In a speech the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, praised the steps taken by the legal profession to increase inclusivity over the past century, while calling on the professi

The latest statistics from Registers of Scotland’s Property Market Report 2018-19 show that the value of residential property sales in the financial year 2018-19 was £18.2 billion, an increase of 1.6 per cent when compared with 2017-18. The residential sales market has increased by 67 pe

Laura Edmunds looks at the case law on personal guarantees in contracts. The past, present and future walked into a bar. It was tense!

Hastings Legal has announced a merger with Berwickshire firm Doughtys WS. Doughtys WS practised in Ayton for over 150 years and in 2011 the firm moved to Eyemouth.

Glasgow-based Optimum Advocates is offering a summer placement for any interested law students. While stables were traditionally based in Edinburgh, the Mackinnon Stable, as Optimum was formally known, took the bold move in 2007 to establish the first and only stable in the west of Scotland, while r

A man who challenged his dismissal by an NHS trust for stalking and harassment, on the basis it had availed itself of private material including WhatsApp data, has had his application unanimously declared inadmissible by the European Court of Human Rights. The case concerned George Garamukanwa&rsquo

The Lord President, Lord Carloway is the keynote speaker at an annual legal conference on the voice of the child in adoption and fostering. Hearing the child in adoption and fostering will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Dundee on Friday 14 June 2019.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has installed public access defibrillator (PADs) in all of the SCTS buildings across Scotland. All of the PADs have been registered with the Scottish Ambulance Service and there have to date been three occasions when members of the public have been di

Dundee University has been ranked fourth for law in the Guardian University league tables 2020. Cambridge University topped the table, followed by Oxford and UCL.

Glasgow School of Art has failed to claim back £500,000 in tax after a court ruled that a door between two buildings could not be classified as a fire exit. The art school, whose world-famous Mackintosh Building has burned down twice in four years, had wrongly reclaimed VAT on the door.