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The quality of Marks & Clerk patent prosecution and litigation services has been recognised worldwide in the most recent analysis from IAM Patent 1000, a directory of intellectual property firms. The Marks & Clerk team in Scotland was ranked 'gold tier'. The team is noted for its commitment

A judge in Minneapolis has sentenced lawyer Paul Hansmeier to 14 years' imprisonment for a scheme which saw him upload pornographic material to file-sharing networks before threatening to sue people who downloaded them, Ars Technica reports. “It is almost incalculable how much your abuse of tr

Thousands of criminal cases are being reviewed after the family of a judge said he had been going to work drunk. The allegations were made in guardianship papers filed by the family of Judge William T. Marshall, 62, an elected judge in southern Ohio.

Prosecutors have successfully appealed against a sheriff’s decision to acquit a landlord accused of racially aggravated harassment after he called a tenant a “f*cking black bastard”. The sheriff acquitted the respondent because the Crown failed to lead any evidence to sho

New hate crime figures published today by the Crown Office show that racial crime remains the most commonly reported hate crime with 2,880 charges in 2018-19. Sexual orientation aggravated crime is the second most common type of hate crime with 1,176 charges reported in 2018-19, an increase of five

The Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee is starting its detailed scrutiny of plans to enhance protections for women and girls who have suffered or who are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). The committee will be hearing directly from communities and individuals

Thorntons has appointed Gurjit Pall as an associate in the immigration and visas team at its Edinburgh and new Glasgow office, adding further weight to its expertise in this area as Brexit uncertainly swells.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has been granted permission to intervene in a judicial review of the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA). Human rights group Liberty is taking judicial review proceedings against the law, also known as the Snoopers' Charter, on the basis that it provides for unlawf

A new advice service dedicated to working with companies to enhance their boardroom governance has been launched by Burness Paull LLP. The firm has assembled a trio of heavyweight consultants with vast experience in corporate business, both in legal and governance roles, to deliver the new offering.

Organisations operating in the UK are reporting data breaches in greater number than in many other parts of the EU and reported incidents have risen dramatically since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), writes Stuart Davey. A new report issued by Pinsent Masons, featu

Plans to recruit volunteers to work in digital forensics with a major police force have been criticised by experts as a "disaster waiting to happen". West Midlands Police has invited applications from volunteers, who would receive "hands on experience" at crime scenes and help analyse distressing an

Via Macnabs: Huge congratulations to the Macnabs team of Anne, Anita, Maureen, Jane, Arlene, Jamie, and Jamie's son Scott, who took part in the Cateran Yomp at the weekend and raised over £2500 to support soldiers, veterans and their families.

The latest novel from defence solicitor Willie Mcintyre hits shelves next month. Fixed Odds sees Robbie Munro defending George 'Genghis' McCann on a charge of burglary, and Oscar 'the Showman' Bowman, snooker champion, on betting fraud. Genghis has stolen – and lost – a priceless m

The Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) is advertising two vacancies for consumer representative members. The SCJC was established in May 2013 and replaced the previous Court of Session and Sheriff Court Rules Councils. In addition to preparing rules for the Scottish civil courts, it has a remit t

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Ecuador's highest court legalizes same-sex marriage