News

A total of 1,153 executions took place around the world in 2023 – excluding China – marking an increase of more than 30 per cent from 2022. It was the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International since 2015, when 1,634 people were known to have been executed. Despite this increase, t

CMS has announced the appointment of Sally Clark to its team in Scotland. Ms Clark joins the firm’s disputes resolution practice in the role of of counsel to support its UK and international client base.

Digby Brown Solicitors has appointed three new partners. Fern Mapp takes her position with the foreign & travel team in Edinburgh – she is renowned for helping people in complex and high-profile matters like international offshore incidents and the Clutha helicopter disaster.

Brodies LLP has added to its private client disputes practice with the appointment of Richard Pike as partner. Ranked Band 1 in Chambers High Net Worth Guide for Private Wealth Disputes, he has more than 17 years' experience in practice, specialising in private client disputes with English law and c

The impact of minimum unit pricing to be discussed at next month’s Licensing Conference. The rationale and retaliation to the policy of minimum unit pricing will be considered at CLT Scotland’s Licensing Conference which will take place online on 6 June.

Tracey Mulholland has been appointed as the new vice president of the Scottish Solicitors' Bar Association. Ms Mulholland, who is well known to the criminal bar for her hard work and tenacity as the current president of the Glasgow Bar Association, said: "I am delighted to be appointed as vice

Thorntons partner Scott Milne has been appointed as a deputy lieutenant for the County of Angus. This role is deputy to the Lord-Lieutenant of Angus, who is the representative of the Crown in Angus.

Balfour and Manson has expanded its presence in the north-east by merging with Alastair Hart & Co, Solicitors & Estate Agents (AH&Co). AH&Co has been run by Alastair Hart since the mid-1990s. He will join the merged practice as a consultant for a short period with the merger being co

Defence solicitors are to resume their boycott of summary domestic abuse cases from next month. The Scottish Solicitors' Bar Association announced that none of its members will accept instructions in summary prosecutions involving section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2022 – nor will

Yvonne Evans, a senior lecturer in law at University of Dundee, has been elected chair of the the Law Society of Scotland Board of Examiners, succeeding Richard Whitecross. The board oversees the assessment of lawyers re-qualifying into Scotland, as well as setting the Law Society professi

Three secondary schools will next month go head-to-head in the final of a public speaking contest. Pupils from Shawlands Academy, Glasgow, Trinity High School, Renfrew, and Dalziel High School in Motherwell will battle it out in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s national schools

The Law Society of Scotland has paid tribute to former Council member and in-house solicitor Janet Hood, who passed away last week. Law Society president Susan Murray said: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of former Law Society Council member Janet Hood.

Legislation establishing an Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has been approved by UK MPs in one of their final acts before the coming general election. The approval of the Victims and Prisoners Bill comes days after the Infected Blood Inquiry concluded that the infection of around 30,000

Israel is defying an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling ordering it to halt its military offensive in Rafah, the city in the southern Gaza Strip where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering. After considering an application from South Africa, the UN's top court on Friday ordered Isr

Pro-Palestinian protesters at New York University (NYU) are being ordered to watch an episode of The Simpsons as punishment. Lisa Gets an "A", a 1998 episode of the long-running cartoon sitcom, forms part of a course on "morality and ethics" which suspended students have been told they must complete