News

A California man wrongfully convicted of murder has been awarded $21 million as compensation for being imprisoned for 38 years, in what is believed to be the longest jail term overturned in the state's history. Craig Coley, 71, a Vietnam war veteran was jailed in 1978 for the killing of his ex-partn

A Kim Jong-un lookalike has been deported from Vietnam ahead of a visit this week from North Korea's leader, who is meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi. Howard X, a Hong Kong resident, staged his own summit with Trump impersonator Russell White last week.

A widow whose husband died after being choked by a pub bouncer is entitled to an insurance payout after appeal judges dismissed an appeal by insurers of the door steward’s former employers. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a decision of the Lord Ordinary that an insuran

Shepherd and Wedderburn’s corporate finance team has reported a bumper year for deals activity, with the value of transactions more than doubling to £8.65 billion. The team advised on 114 deals globally in the year to December 2018, up from 98 deals in 2017, boosted by a number of notabl

Dr Nick McKerrell questions whether it was in the public interest to reveal the name of a child convicted of rape and murder.  Open Justice seems to be a fundamental principle of our legal system. Walk into any court around the country and you can take a seat in the public gallery to witness al

The Scottish housing market saw sales breach the £18 billion barrier in 2018, according to a report from Aberdein Considine. Across Scotland as a whole, average prices, sale volumes and total market values all rose in the last three months of 2018. Overall, the value of property exchanging han

Planning and licensing specialist Theresa Hunt has been made up to partner at Burness Paull. Often involved in high-profile projects in the northeast, Ms Hunt is a specialist in planning applications and appeals, planning gain negotiations and S75 agreements. She also provides environmental con

A police force that rejected a potential recruit on the basis he is a white heterosexual male has been found guilty of discrimination by an employment tribunal. Matthew Furlong, 25, applied to join Cheshire Police in 2017 and was told at interview that it was "refreshing to meet someone as well prep

The Eurasian or European beaver will be added to the list of European Protected Species of Animals, protected under Scots law. This means that from 1 May 2019 shooting will only be allowed under licence, which will be managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). All licenses will be issued in accorda

Morton Fraser has been named as one of the Top 100 UK Companies in the Sunday Times 'Best Companies to Work For 2019' list. The firm is the only Scottish law firm in the UK-wide list, which aims to celebrate and showcase excellence in workplace engagement.

The philosophical question of what constitutes a sandwich has found its way into a legal context. An article for the Minnesota Law Review looks at a recent American case in which the definition of a sandwich was contested.

Adventurer Bear Grylls is facing a fine of up to €2,500 after he caught, killed, gutted and boiled a frog for a television show. Grylls, 44, was accused by officials in Bulgaria, where the show was filmed, of violating local laws protecting flora and fauna.

A woman who sued an airline after claiming to have suffered both physical and psychiatric injuries following a crash which occurred while she was travelling on a bus from an aircraft to an airport terminal building has settled her case out of court. Caroline Delaney was awarded £9,200 aft

Advances in technology used in automated vehicles could make it impossible to identify the cause of accidents involving them, the Faculty of Advocates has suggested. Research aims to produce self-driving vehicles which “think” for themselves, but their reasoning processes will likely be

The cost of Police Scotland's junked phone hacking kiosks is likely to rise again as the force considers taking legal action to prove it did not breach privacy laws. It spent £370,684 last April on 41 of its cyber kiosks, which let officers copy data from mobile phones, but the plans were shel