News

McClure Naismith has appointed five new partners and one new associate based in the firm’s Scottish and London offices. The new partners are: Colin Brown and Robert Binning(real estate, Edinburgh); E-Ming Fong and Suzanne McGarrigle (dispute resolution, Edinburgh); Nils Reid(commercial and financi

Thorntons has announced a 13 per cent boost in turnover, as it lodges its accounts for the financial year to 31 May 2014. Thorntons has increased its turnover by almost £1.9 million to £16.27m over the last year, following careful strategic planning and investment.

84% of Scottish solicitors calling LawCare in 2014 have reported stress according to the latest figures from the helpline. LawCare, is a free and confidential support service for members of the legal profession.

At the Court of Session this morning, Lord Doherty sentenced Paul Mackenzie to 10 months imprisonment following a petition and complaint by Mackenzie Hall Ltd & PRA UK Holding PTY Limited in respect of his breach of interim interdict and breach of interdict. On sentencing, Lord Doherty made the

Prosecutors have successfully challenged a decision of a trial judge to uphold a defence submission of “no case to answer” in the case of a man accused of an attempted armed robbery at a bank. The Criminal Appeal Court allowed the appeal by the&nbs

A lawyer accused of having sex with an underage girl who claims she was also ordered to have sex with the Duke of York has rebutted the claims, calling them "salacious and scurrilous", and has requested his name be removed from the accusatory documents. Alan Dershowitz, 76, has said he can prove he

A man has avoided jail by using his trainers as bail bond in lieu of money. Judge Douglas Stoddart at a district court in Massachusetts accepted the deposit after he offered Jason Duval, who was charged with drug offences, the opportunity to “be creative”.

Following on from yesterday’s news that Inksters Solicitors has been ranked third in the UK for the quality of its Twitter account, the firm has now been shortlisted for the “most innovative use of social media” award at the 2015 Managing Partner Forum Awards for Management Excellence, in asso

Edinburgh Tax Network & TrustBar Seminar

The Law Society of Scotland’s new three-year equality strategy aims to improve equality in the legal profession and support solicitors as they progress through their careers. Published today, the new strategy builds on the work of the Society’s equality and diversity work over the past decade an

Research covering 5,000 law firms across the UK has found that 55 per cent of respondents see improving profitability as the biggest challenge of 2015, The Lawyer reports. In response to the question of the level of growth expected, 43 per cent of those questioned said they expected increases of bet

Perthshire property bosses are reflecting on ‘a year of stability’ in the local market, and predicting a similar theme to 2015. Recently collated statistics from Perthshire Solicitors Property Centre (PSPC) reveal that 2014 was a strong and steady year for the local market, and a year which perf

A planned new regulator of the UK’s oil and gas reserves could face conflicts of interest in its work and “robust” measures will be needed to eliminate the risk, according to the Faculty of Advocates. Proposals for setting up the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), with headquarters in Aberdeen, have

A number of new sheriffs have been appointed in Tayside, Central and Fife. Gillian Anne Wade QC (pictured right) and Simon Geoffrey Collins QC have been appointed as floating sheriffs of Tayside, Central and Fife.

Scottish ministers have been warned by lawyers to be careful over moves to make it incumbent on social care and medical staff to disclose medical blunders to patients. The Scottish government is proposing a statutory “duty of candour” but the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has war