News

A follow-up audit by the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC) into the quality of complaint handling at the Scottish Police Authorityhas found that the commissioner’s recommendations have been implemented and procedures improved. One of the key areas of concern highlighted within

A personal injuries claims management company has been issued with a monetary penalty by the ICO for making direct marketing calls to people without their consent. Between January 2013 and July 2014, the ICO and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered 801 concerns about the Bolton-based Di

Nominations open today for solicitors hoping to join the Law Society of Scotland’s decision making body. Becoming a member of the society’s council provides an opportunity to help represent and support solicitors in their area, as well as contribute to the work of the society and influence key d

The National Trust for Scotland’s Georgian Housein Edinburgh has become the first property to be registered on the Land Register of Scotland under new powers held by the keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). The recently introduced Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 allows the keeper

Searching, postal and document management services provider First Scottish have signed up to support the roll out of the Law Society’s new Smartcard. The new Smartcard, currently being delivered to all practising Scottish solicitors, acts as a professional ID recognised across Europe and provides

Scotland’s newest batch of solicitors were welcomed by the Law Society of Scotland in a recent ceremony.

A Polish woman faced with imprisonment in her homeland who claimed that a “serious medical condition” meant it would be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite her from Scotland has failed in appeal against a sheriff’s extradition order. The Criminal Appeal Court was “unable to fault the rea

Graeme McKinstry (left) and Peter Sharp Ayr based law firm The McKinstry Company has acquired the Girvan practice of Murray & Tait.

Douglas Roberts

John Scott QC A new independent advisory group, chaired by solicitor advocate John Scott QC, is to be established to examine the use of stop and search powers in Scotland.

New legislation comes into force today which introduces a new system of debt advice and debt management in the world. The Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces a suite of measures, including the "minimal asset process", which offers debt relief quickly and at less than half the c

The first new national Scottish taxes introduced by a Scottish parliament in more than 300 years are being collected from today. Scotland’s new tax authority, Revenue Scotland, is now accepting tax returns – making history as the first national administrator of solely Scottish taxes since 1707.

The Money Advice Service has announced the appointment of four new non-executive directors to their board including solicitor Mike Dailly, director of the Govan Law Centre in Glasgow. Along with Mr Dailly, Caroline Fawcett, Nicola Bruce have been appointed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

It’s a sad fact that as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, so do the techniques employed by criminals to commit fraudulent activity. Here, Paul McCluskey, head of professional practices at Bank of Scotland, examines different methods employed by fraudsters, and how best to combat them.

The number of recorded bird of prey crimes in Scotland has decreased from 23 in 2013 to 19 in 2014, according to the latest bird of prey crime maps. Species targeted included the red kite, buzzard, peregrine falcon (pictured), goshawk, golden eagle, hen harrier and tawny owl.