News

Ken Dalling, principal of Dalling Solicitors in Stirling and a member of both the Council and the Board of the Law Society of Scotland, writes on today's three per cent increase in fees for legal aid lawyers. So here we are. At long last we have arrived at a day which, frankly, I had given up all ho

Gilson Gray and TCH Law were the first firms to use the new fully digital process for simple procedure cases yesterday morning. The full roll-out of the Civil Online service from yesterday allows parties to submit simple procedure cases, pay court fees, submit supporting documents and respond to any

Nicola Hogg, a solicitor accredited in child law by the Law Society of Scotland, sets out the detail of the new advance payment scheme for victims of historical child abuse. The Scottish Government announced details of its Advanced Scheme to compensate victims of abuse in care before December 2004,

Four programmes aimed at helping people leaving prison reintegrate with their communities are set to receive £3.4 million from the Scottish government. The mentoring services provide specialist one-to-one support and guidance to prison leavers, offering help to overcome the challenges many fac

The five political parties in the Scottish Parliament have all agreed to adopt a formal definition of Islamophobia in a bid to tackle prejudice. The move follows meetings yesterday with members of Holyrood’s Cross-Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia and Westminster’s All Party Parliamen

An exhibition in Glasgow is exploring through artwork whether important Scottish legal cases could have had different outcomes if the judge adopted a feminist perspective. The Scottish Feminist Judgments Project (SFJP) commissioned eight artists to produce work in response to a specific case or piec

Euan Smith, partner and corporate immigration specialist at Pinsent Masons, writes on a new Scottish-German initiative backed by the firm. The first Scottish-German Business Exchange Conference (SGBEC) was attended by high-profile business executives, civil servants and politicians and laid the foun

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has signed a 15-year lease for the last two suites in a Dundee property development. Northern Ireland investment company Lotus Property said the two 9,056 sq ft suites at West Port House development on Dundee's Marketgait will be fitted out over

Inksters Solicitors donated £200 to Social Bite after a consultant asked the law firm to donate her fee to good causes.

Misleading forensic evidence is one of the most significant factors leading to wrongful convictions in the United States, according to a recent report. The National Registry of Exonerations reported that more than 150 prisoners in the US were exonerated last year.

Three lawyers whose immigration law firm, Burlow & Spencer, earned over £17 million by providing unqualified advice have been convicted at the Old Bailey. Dan Dandes, Babber Jamil and Zia Bi of Birmingham-based Burlow & Spencer, which operated under the authority of Mr Dandes' firm DDR

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Turkey: Human rights honour for jailed lawyer

A farmer has been threatened with prison if he does not immediately remove over a dozen ewes and their lambs from his brother's field. However, the 29 cattle on the same site can stay for now, provided that he can prove ownership of them.

Relatives of a shipbuilder who died from an asbestos-related condition have been granted a jury trial in their action for damages against the deceased’s former employers. A judge in the Court of Session granted the pursuers’ motion to allow issues after rejecting the defenders’ cla

The Scottish government has confirmed it will bring forward legislation to provide for a second referendum on Scottish independence. The framework bill will set out the rules of principles for any referendum and will allow for the government to proceed to a vote on independence following the transfe