News

Cold calling companies who make unsolicited phone calls to households and send nuisance texts will face fines of up to £500,000 following UK ministers’announcement the law will be changed to make it easier to prosecute cold callers. The new regulations will remove a clause that requires authoriti

This year's SLN Annual Review highlights the concern among defence solicitors and sheriffs over the lack of flexibility afforded to police and fiscals in the prosecution of alleged domestic abuse cases. Legal researcher Roishe Milne interviewed sheriffs and solicitors unearthing real concern that th

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled covert filming made in the public interest is justified. In a judgment with far-reaching implications for the use of concealed cameras, the court ruled that four Swiss journalists had the right to use covert cameras to obtain a story.

The Crown Office has decided a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) should be held into the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy but that the driver will not face prosecution. Six people died and another 10 were injured when the driver of the lorry fell unconscious and the vehicle crashed into pedestrians on Queen Str

The lord president, Lord Gill (pictured), has suspended a part-time sheriff as it emerged he is linked to a company being investigated over a controversial liquidation. Peter Watson last sat at Perth Sheriff Court on 13 February and was suspended by Lord Gill on February 16.

A Scottish local authority has been granted permanence orders in relation to three sibling children whose mother had a history of alcohol abuse, after a judge in the Court of Session ruled that it would be “better” for each of the three boys that an order be made than not. Lord Brailsford (pictu

In yesterday’s article on Joe Beltrami we mistakenly attributed the article entitled “Beltrami 12, Hangman 0” to the Herald. It in fact appeared in TheScotsman.

Pinsent Masons and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have been recognised as two of the top three Scottish employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff. The organisations' commitment to workplace diversity has been acknowledged by Stonewall, which also placed Pinsent Masons nin

The number of attacks on Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) personnel dropped during 2013-14. The total number of incidents where attacks occurred decreased from 81 in 2012-13 to 69 incidents in 2013-14.

Law students from the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow debated the question of whether assisted suicide should be legalised in Scotland in the University of Glasgow’s historic Debates Chambers. Edinburgh University’s Mason Institute hosted the second annual intramural student debate between

Catherine Guthrie (pictured) discusses the need to account for digital assets when making a will. It has recently been announced that Facebook is to introduce a “legacy contract”, allowing a friend or relative to access and update a person’s profile when they die. The idea is not without its c

This year's Scottish Legal News Annual Review devotes a section to Scottish lawyers working in the USA. The section is built around an essay by US judge Jed Rakoff and in it three Scottish lawyers tell of their experiences stateside.

MacRoberts has appointed John McGovern (pictured) partner. Mr McGovern heads a three-strong team appointed by the firm to further strengthen the intellectual property, technology & commercial (IPTC) practice group.

Commenting on the death of Scottish solicitor Joe Beltrami (pictured), Alistair Morris, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “Joe Beltrami was a towering figure in Scotland’s legal landscape and will be much missed by all those who knew him. “Joe became a household name as one of th

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) will not be held into the death of a six-week-old baby over seven years ago, the Crown Office has said. The decision came after discussions with the family of Alexis Matheson – with the Crown Office saying facts and learning points had previously been established in