News

A panel of experts has been appointed to consider applications for financial redress from survivors of historical child abuse in care. The 20-panel members bring a broad range of experience and expertise from education, social work and the legal, health and charity sectors.

Addleshaw Goddard’s corporate team has advised the shareholders of Tulloch Homes on its sale to AIM-listed housebuilder Springfield Properties. The deal will see Tulloch Homes acquired by Springfield Properties for a net consideration of £56.4m.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Cabinet Office £500,000 for disclosing postal addresses of the 2020 New Year Honours recipients online. The ICO found that the Cabinet Office failed to put appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to prevent the

A virtual version ‘pass the parcel’ has been launched by the Lawscot Foundation, the Law Society of Scotland’s social mobility charity. The virtual fundraising campaign is inviting everyone to participate, by asking participants to make a donation to the foundation then to ‘p

An Iraqi member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) has been found guilty of genocide in a German court in relation to the murder of Yazidis. The Yazidi minority group has been persecuted for centuries but particularly in recent years by IS, which regards Yazidis as "devil worshippers" for their uni

In a world first, New Zealand has legalised drug-checking after passing a law to allow a temporary pill testing service at festivals to continue and expand. In contrast, other countries' drug-checking services have operated in a legal grey zone.

A church has apologised to a woman who was kicked out of the congregation for bringing what they thought was cannabis – but was actually coriander. Regular churchgoer Ashley Antiverso said she brought coriander for her Mexican soup, but was not allowed to enter the church because other members

The High Court of Justiciary has upheld the decision of a preliminary hearing judge in respect of an application by a man charged with three counts of rape to reject the introduction of evidence concerning events following the sexual encounter described in the third charge, including legal proceedin

A new process to investigate prison deaths has been welcomed "in principle" by Justice Secretary Keith Brown. In November 2019, then Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf asked Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (HMCIPS) to review the response to deaths in pr

Derek Auchie, professor in dispute process law the University of Aberdeen, is the newest mediator to join Squaring Circles, a specialist mediation, negotiation and online dispute resolution business, and winner of the National Mediation Awards Newcomer of the Year Award 2020. With a career spanning

Morton Fraser has appointed three partners across its real estate, corporate and private client teams. Two have come from other firms, with Chris McLeish joining Morton Fraser’s real estate team from DWF and Andrew Walker joining the corporate team from Addleshaw Goddard. Marking ongoing inves

Stronachs LLP has appointed Stuart Murphy as its first chief operating officer (COO). Mr Murphy will be responsible for leading operational and financial management at the firm and will oversee Stronachs’ HR and IT teams across its Aberdeen and Inverness offices.

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association has organised a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on the St Andrew’s Day public holiday on 6 December. The occasion will mark a year since the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bar Associations took joint action and will coincide with a boycott of the holiday

A book in memory of the late Lord Kerr is being published this week.

Thorntons has been re-appointed to the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) framework agreement for legal services. The single lot framework covers five key areas of expertise – including commercial business, property & estates, HR, charity and international matters &n