News

Criminals have been prevented from fraudulently withdrawing around £29 million from bank accounts over the last five years, according to a report into serious organised crime in Scotland. The report by Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) updates on the success of the Bank

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, a former Scottish Office minister in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, has passed away at the age of 81. The second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, he represented Edinburgh West as an MP from 1974 until 1997, and subsequently served as a list MSP for th

Addleshaw Goddard has announced that Andrew Johnston has been elected managing partner in an uncontested election for a term of four years, taking effect from 1 May 2024. Mr Johnston joined Addleshaw Goddard in 2013, to lead the firm's M&A practice in the Middle East. He has been a board member

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is facing a special review of its 'A status' as a national human rights institution after LGBT+ groups raised concerns about its political independence. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) agreed to carry out the special

A report on land trends has brought fresh insights into rural land transactions in Scotland. New research has shown an upswing in the demand for farmland, with Aberdeenshire and Dumfriesshire emerging as prime locations and Argyll, Central, and Southwest Scotland being at the forefront of the demand

A question from a politician gave the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, pause for thought, and laughter, at Holyrood yesterday. The judge, along with Lord Ericht, was appearing before the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, which was taking evidence on the Regulation of Legal Servi

The student-run Law Clinic at the University of Strathclyde has been named a winner in the Herald’s Law Awards of Scotland, in recognition of its work in giving access to justice to communities in the Glasgow area.

Four out of every five London litigators are now engaged in cases where at least one party is supported by litigation funding, a survey has found. Furthermore, 90 per cent of litigators believe it is time to regulate the third-party finance sector.

Stuart Clubb, partner, solicitor advocate and joint head of the Scottish dispute resolution and litigation team at Shoosmiths in Edinburgh, will take over as chair of the Edinburgh Insolvency Discussion Group (EIDG) on 1 January 2024. Mr Clubb, who specialises in corporate restructuring and insolven

Proposed reforms that would give the Scottish government more powers over the courts have been described as “constitutionally inept” by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian. Underscoring the importance of the separation of powers, the judge told the Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Huma

Harper Macleod has advised the shareholders of Dalcross Group on its sale to Skytanking UK Ltd. The Dalcross Group provides ground handling, de-icing, lavatory and water services, transportation, fuel services, catering, cargo, baggage, and freight forwarding services at Aberdeen and Inverness airpo

Ledingham Chalmers’ turnover for 2022/23 was £13.4 million – its highest since becoming a limited liability partnership (LLP) in 2006. Group turnover, including subsidiary Ledingham Chalmers Financial, was £14.2m, compared with £13.6m in 2021/22. Pre-tax profit was slig

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has been awarded expenses in relation to action taken to secure files from a solicitor to investigate a complaint against him. The solicitor failed to produce the file until the day before the contempt of court hearing against him first called. The cou

The Scottish government’s proposals to reform freedom of information (FOI) are “weak, timid and far from what the public is calling for”, Scottish Labour MSP Katy Clark has said. Publishing its response to last year’s consultation yesterday, the Scottish government has ruled

Record numbers attended Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP’s annual renewables seminar this month, which put the spotlight on Scotland's trajectory towards achieving its onshore wind targets.