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Kate Dowdalls QC has been appointed as a commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission. In the post, which is for five years, Ms Dowdalls will work on projects in the area of family law, an area in which she has specialised throughout her career.

John McArthur calls for an overhaul of Britain's creaking inheritance tax regime. The problem with our existing tax system is that it’s now overly complicated and when even HMRC’s own system can’t work out the correct income tax liability that a taxpayer has to pay, that must raise

Lewis Richardson discusses a recent decision from the Sheriff Appeal Court in the case of Cabot Financial UK Ltd v Gardner and Ors, [2018] SAC (Civ) 12. The appeal related to debt recovery cases for assigned credit card debts. The three cases which formed the judgment in Cabot were raised under the

Following the extrajudicial settlement of the Heather Capital action in which part-time sheriff Peter Watson was named as one of the defenders, the Lord President, Lord Carloway has lifted the suspension imposed upon him in terms of section 34 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. Sheriff

The UK government has reinstated legal aid for unaccompanied and separated children in non-asylum immigration cases.Lucy Frazer, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, said the U-turn would be put into effect through an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencin

Spain's new government has announced it will launch a truth commission to investigate crimes against humanity committed under the regime of Francisco Franco, more than 40 years after he died. The criminal records of dissidents will be wiped while the organisations venerating the military dictator, i

A play based on the story of a runaway slave and the road to abolition of the practice in Britain has featured on BBC Radio 4. May Sumbwanyambe's The Trial of Joseph Knight is based on real historical events.

Multinational company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay a record $4.7 billion to 22 women who blamed their ovarian cancer on use of its talc-based products.A six-man, six-woman jury in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court in St Louis, Missouri heard six weeks of testimony

In the latest of our occasional series, Graham Ogilvy discovers a curious legal relic in Dunkeld. What would the Howard League make of it? The strange door into the foundations of Telford's famous bridge across the Tay in Dunkeld is painted an innocuous blue but the heavy iron locks l

Following the conclusion earlier this week of the five-year-long National Socialist Underground (NSU) trial in Munich, In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) from German-Turkish director Fatih Akin makes particularly timely viewing.

A man who was sentenced to two years and three months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to taking, possessing and sharing indecent images of children has had an appeal against the custodial term imposed rejected.However, the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary quashed a Se

Addleshaw Goddard has posted record global revenues of £242 million for 2017/2018, representing a growth of 23 per cent compared to the previous year. An £86 million profit marked the fourth consecutive year of profit growth for the legal firm which has three offices in Scotland –

At its statutory meeting on 10th July the Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland welcomed its new president. Douglas Thomson, 59, a solicitor advocate with McArthur Stanton in Dumbarton and member of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee is only the second president in

Digby Brown Solicitors is representing victims of listeria poisoning, who are raising civil actions against supermarkets. The firm is investigating cases from across the central belt after members of the public suffered illnesses after eating contaminated foods.

The licensed trade in Scotland is facing an almighty hangover caused by the legal requirement to renew personal licences which are required for pubs, clubs, hotels and restaurants, writes Audrey Ferrie. First introduced by the Scottish government in 2009, a named Premises Manager must hold a pe