News

Responding to the evidence given by the Children’s Commissioner to the Equality & Human Rights Committee, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has pressed for the Scottish government to back his amendments to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least meet the new int

Digby Brown Solicitors has announced the appointment of two new associates. Rona Hayworth and Rachel Walker were recognised this month following a successful 2018 for the firm.

A consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist is to oversee the independent expert review of mental health and wellbeing support for young people in custody. Consultant forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Helen Smith will work closely with the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland and o

Amnesty International has applied to the Spanish courts for permission to observe the upcoming trial of twelve Catalan pro-independence politicians and activists.

The law has become fairer to women in the past three and a half decades, but "no-one can claim that the battle is over", the president of the UK Supreme Court has said. Speaking at an event to mark the Birmingham Law Society's 200th anniversary, Lady Hale reflected on the progress since she and Susa

An insured man who was surveilled by his insurance company to determine whether his claim for compensation was justified has had his application declared inadmissible by the European Court of Human Rights. Mehmedovic v Switzerland concerned the surveillance of Mr Mehmedovic and, indirectly

A young man who admitted driving without insurance swore at his mum in court after she revealed his previous conviction for speeding to the judge. Judge Peter Magill, sitting in Dungannon Magistrates' Court in Northern Ireland, doubled 19-year-old Nathan White's driving ban after his mother's interv

Graham Ogilvy considers one of Scotland’s less celebrated legal innovations – the Scold’s bridle or Branks. As a boy, the Scold’s Bridle exhibited in Dundee’s Albert Museum was an object of gruesome fascination. An accompanying illustration showed how unfortunate women

Scottish Legal News seeks to avoid party political matters, but the current Brexit crisis has such immense constitutional ramifications, cutting across party boundaries and affiliations, that we offer our readers the chance to have their voice heard. In the poll we are running today, we ask: Sh

Adrian Smith has been appointed to the newly-created commercial director role at Anderson Strathern. A law graduate from the University of Aberdeen, Mr Smith brings extensive business development experience in the Scottish market in addition to international credentials, including from the prop

Transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has appointed Jonny Williams as a partner and head of the firm's national financial services team. Mr Williams is a well-known figure in the financial services and wider business community in Edinburgh and will support the continuing growth of WBD's

Fiona Buchanan extols the benefits of mentoring and looks at how it has been implemented at Shepherd and Wedderburn. Shepherd and Wedderburn, as a collection of individuals and as a business, has put diversity and inclusivity at the heart its organisational culture and values. The business case for

Suzy Thomson, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin in Dundee, suggests five things lawyers should consider in managing trusts. Trusts are increasing in popularity as an investment vehicle. That’s good news for lawyers, who tend to deal with them on behalf of clients, but they inevitably c

Three children who alleged they were sexually abused in an orphanage in Bulgaria before being adopted in Italy suffered no violation of articles 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the ECHR in respect of their treatment

Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe, according to research by Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre. Sentencing and Immediate Custody in Wales: A Factfile provides a statistical comparison of sentencing and immediate custody figures in Wales and England.