News

An English lawyer has sworn a courtroom oath on a river instead of a holy book in what is believed to be a legal first. Paul Powlesland, a barrister who founded and chairs the River Roding Trust, made the oath in order to serve as a juror in a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Holmes Mackillop has promoted Finlay Swan to associate solicitor. Mr Swan joined Holmes Mackillop as a trainee and qualified into the corporate team. Supporting the firm’s UK-wide practice, he specialises in corporate transactional work, particularly in the healthcare, manufacturing and financ

The Law Society of Scotland has granted extended rights of audience to nine solicitor advocates in a ceremony held at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The Court of the Lord Lyon has made three promotions. Sheriff George Way of Plean CStJ FRSA has been promoted to Rothesay Herald in Ordinary. 

A former councillor caught with child sex abuse images has been given a community payback order. A mobile phone belonging to Ewan Dillon was found to contain 58 indecent photographs of girls aged between five and 15.

A fund to help victims of crime is now open to applications for the fifth time. Organisations that support victims of crime will be able to bid for a share of more than £940,000 in the Victim Surcharge Fund to provide direct help to victims.

Aberdein Considine has appointed media relations specialist Katie Spence as its new PR & external affairs manager. Ms Spence, a former journalist with nearly 20 years’ experience in public sector, corporate and consumer PR, will work with Aberdein Considine’s marketing director Clare

Thousands of Yazidi survivors of atrocities by the Islamic State armed group (IS) remain missing, Amnesty International said ahead of the 10-year anniversary of IS’s attack on the Yazidi community in Iraq.

Themis Advocates has welcomed James Bishop to the clerking team as deputy clerk from 19th August. Practice manager, Kiera Johnston said that James is a "great addition to the clerking team and we are all looking forward to working with him".

A book detailing the history of Dunblane Cathedral’s stained-glass windows is to be published, partly thanks to the help of local law firm Bartys – a branch of Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP (WJM). WJM’s office in Dunblane has made a £200 contribution to the Society of

A headless body reported to police turned out to be a "very realistic" sex doll. The doll – which would have cost thousands of pounds – was discovered on a quiet beach in northern New Zealand by dog-walker Alice Cowdrey, RNZ News reports.

There are “systemic weaknesses” in the way juries make decisions – and these are likely to be contributing to the conviction of innocent people, failures to convict the guilty, and inequalities, new research warns. The current legal rules involving procedure and evidence are not co

The Irish government has said it may introduce legislation to facilitate its co-operation with the UK's Omagh bombing inquiry, which is now under way. Senator of the College of Justice Lord Turnbull yesterday presided over the inquiry's first public hearing at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh, which

Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned by the Post Office Offences Act can now apply to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, including those in Scotland. The scheme aims to ensure that postmasters receive redress without unnecessary bureaucracy.

The UK government is to abandon an appeal of the Northern Ireland High Court's finding that the previous government's controversial legacy law is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Labour government has already pledged to "repeal and replace" the Northern Ireland Troubles (Leg