News

In December 2021, the Scottish government published its terms of reference for the Scottish Covid-19 inquiry, to be chaired by Scottish judge, Lady Poole. The overall aims of the inquiry are to investigate the strategic handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in a number of areas in order to establish the

Shoosmiths has opened an office in Brussels and recruited experienced lawyer Kiran Desai to meet growing client demand for European Union competition, regulatory and trade law advice. Dual-qualified in Belgium and in England and Wales, Mr Desai was previously the EU competition law leader at EY Law

Amnesty International has called on the Kazakhstani authorities to release journalists and activists who have been arbitrarily detained for their coverage of mass protests across the country over the past week, as the number of individuals arrested reaches close to 10,000. The human rights organisat

The Guardian has published an obituary of Professor Anthony Bradley QC. "For a country without a written constitution, the UK was fortunate in having the authoritative and industrious Anthony Bradley among its leading constitutional experts. His work, spanning seven decades, shone a clear light on t

A doctor fighting for the rights of children, a nun helping destitute women and a Zambian man looking to end marginalisation are all in the running for this year's Robert Burns Humanitarian Award (RBHA).

A Lord Ordinary has awarded expenses against the Secretary of State for the Home Department after it was determined that the First-tier Tribunal was wrong to conclude that no appeal could be made against a decision not to allow his wife’s adopted son into the UK. The petitioner, OA, had brough

A court has upheld the sacking of two police officers who ignored an ongoing robbery to continue playing Pokémon Go. Los Angeles police officers Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell were recorded dismissing a call to assist with the robbery while boasting of catching rare Pokémon in the mobi

Former Law Society of Scotland registrar, David Cullen, is to join Douglas Mill Consulting. "When I heard David was leaving LSS after 30 years of sterling service, I called him to congratulate him and to see what his plans were. Asking him to come on board was a no-brainer. He has years left in the

Lithuania has given a Guantanamo Bay detainee €100,000 in compensation after allowing the CIA to torture him at a site near the capital Vilnius. Abu Zubaydah's payout follows a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that the country had fallen foul of the European Convention

Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP’s Glasgow team will be moving to St Vincent Plaza, a Grade A office space in the heart of the city’s IFSD Central Business District. Managing partner, Fraser Gillies, believes the move will act as an ideal springboard for the new hybrid working model

Justice Secretary Keith Brown has said “credible and consistent” alternatives to custodial sentences are necessary in order to stem the number of people being imprisoned in Scotland. Speaking to the justice and social affairs magazine 1919 – which is entirely funded by the Sco

Global business leaders have concerns about decisions and omissions made by artificial intelligence (AI) systems despite their wide adoption in the private sector, a survey by Dentons has found. The vast majority (81 per cent) of businesses cited personal data protection as a significant concern, ye

There is a shortage of associates at London law firms, new figures show. Law firms advertised more than 2,300 jobs for associate-level positions between January and November last year, data from BCL Legal and Vacancysoft indicate. This was a 131 per cent increase on 2020.

A new association has been launched by the Faculty of Advocates to provide a supportive and accessible platform for newer members of the bar. Its first president, Antonia Welsh, explains the details. The junior bar association will focus on the needs of advocates called five years ago or less a

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee report into reforming the criminal justice sector is an important recognition of critical issues facing the sector and the urgency required for solutions, the Law Society of Scotland has said. Ken Dalling, president of the Law Society of Sco