News

Counsel from other jurisdictions must join the Scottish Bar if they wish to appear in Scotland’s supreme courts, judges have ruled, in refusing an application from an English barrister seeking rights of audience. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that the court’s “inherent power”

A Holyrood committee has said the buying of sex should not be criminalised under new human trafficking legislation being considered by the parliament. Campaigners have called for the practice to be made illegal as part of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill but MSPs have said the bill was no

Female police officers in Scotland have called for the same maternity rights as officers in England who get an extra five weeks of leave. Policewomen in Scotland get 13 weeks leave on full pay after having a child, whereas in England they are given 18 weeks.

Attempts to investigate reports of asylum seekers being denied food and living in poor conditions at a Scottish detention centre have been blocked by the Home Office. The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) requested a visit to Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in South Lanarkshire but was refus

Cycling accident campaigners have called for a presumption of liability against motorists to be introduced in civil cases after a freedom of information request revealed only a small number of drivers are reported to prosecutors following accidents with bicycles. Members of Cycle Law Scotland would

The lord advocate has enlisted the help of a geoforensics expert to find the remains of a girl who went missing in 1957. Frank Mulholland QC (pictured) has instructed soil expert Professor Lorna Dawson of the Hutton Institute in Aberdeen to assist with the search for the remains of Moira Anderson.

Eight of the 10 seats due to be filled on the Law Society of Scotland’s Council this year will see a contested election after 17 solicitors put themselves forward for the 2015 elections. This year’s elections sees the final reduction in the number of seats since Law Society members voted to redu

Shepherd and Wedderburn acted for the shareholders of Green Highland Renewables Limited in the sale of the company to Ancala Renewables, an infrastructure investment company. The sale provides Green Highland Renewables with additional capital to support the continued growth of the business.

Morton Fraser represented international investment group Rockspring Property Investment Managers in the £56m purchase of 1 Tanfield, a 190.000sq. ft. Edinburgh office building. Operating to a tight timescale, the Morton Fraser team provided full pre-acquisition property diligence and will manage th

The Scottish Legal Action Group's (SCOLAG) SCOLAG Legal Journal April issue provides a wide-ranging update covering bankruptcy legislation, new welfare rates and allowances, a criminal review update and the latest employment law and family law developments. Alan McIntosh looks at whether the Bankrup

The Law Society of Scotland's council has agreed to a two per cent increase in pay rates for trainees, from June 2015, bringing the recommended pay rate to £17,034 for first year trainees and £20,400 for second year trainees. It follows a three per cent rise in 2014, before which trainee rates had

A client of a Scottish legal firm who failed to pay the purchase prices for three houses but claimed that solicitors “acted without his authority” in concluding the missives for the properties is suing the lawyers for nearly £200,000 after he settled an action brought against him by the develop

The Scottish parliament's justice committee has today supported the general principles of a bill that aims to strengthen the criminal law against human trafficking and exploitation as well as ensuring that victims have access to appropriate support immediately. In its stage one report published toda

A pilot project to combat child grooming have been launched by Police Scotland and health and social care workers. The projects will look at how young people in care become ensnared by child abusers.

A couple have used high hedges legislation to force their neighbour to prune her 50ft trees which blocked out light from their garden.