News

Labour and the Conservatives must stop giving honours to their friends and allies, according to a senior group of politicians, judges and civil servants. Former Supreme Court justices Lord Sumption and Lord Neuberger as well as Dominic Grieve KC, former attorney general, are among the 34 signatories

Alex Hutcheon + Co Solicitors has appointed two new partners to the business. Peterhead-born Andrew Bruce, who joined the firm this month, brings with him more than 18 years’ knowledge and expertise in residential and commercial property across Aberdeenshire. With considerable experience also

The head of an English police force has been sacked for exaggerating his military credentials, including by wearing a Falklands War medal despite being a 15-year-old cadet during the conflict. Nick Adderley, the suspended chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, has been found guilty of gross mis

Despite improved transparency, a Holyrood committee has found that inconsistency, bureaucracy, and inflexibility are still creating challenges for small businesses and third sector organisations looking to participate in public procurement. A decade on from the introduction of the Procurement Reform

Anderson Strathern director and part-time sheriff Mark Thorley is soon to be embarking on a challenging walk across the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. It is around 540 miles and will take him an estimated 52 days.

A senior Vatican official is set to testify in the English High Court next month in a civil case brought by a London financier who alleges that his prison sentence in the Holy See was imposed following an unfair trial. In a rare departure from the Vatican's typical claims of diplomatic immunity, Arc

Former president of the Mental Health Tribunal in Scotland, Dr Joe Morrow, is due to receive an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It was announced at the college’s international congress in Edinburgh that Dr Morrow, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, will receive the fellow

Employee ownership in Scotland is has rapidly accelerated, with nearly 300 employee-owned businesses having a growing economic impact, according to Lindsays. Lawyers at the firm have been involved in more than 20 deals in recent years where the control of businesses of all kinds has transferred to e

There are more than 20 investigations underway into solicitors who worked for the Post Office in cases linked to the Horizon scandal, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has said. The SRA is investigating the conduct of Post Office or Royal Mail Group lawyers during the period in which subpost

A woman who dumped her boyfriend after he broke a promise to look after her dogs has failed in a legal bid to force him to pay compensation. The New Zealand Disputes Tribunal heard that the woman, CL, was expecting her then-boyfriend, HG, to collect her from her home, take her to an airport and then

Dr Amy Lawton, senior lecturer in tax law at Edinburgh Law School, has received a Fulbright Award to enable her to research at Villanova Law School. She has been selected from a strong applicant pool to explore the impact of legal representation in the tax court in both the US and the UK.

Edinburgh-based AI legal assistant platform Wordsmith has raised $5 million (around £3.94m). The seed funding was led by Index Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst and angel investors including Skyscanner founder Gareth Williams.

Legislation to amend the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Act, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2018, sets an objective that 50 per cent of a public board’s non-executive members should be women.

A man convicted of concealing a haul of unaccounted-for money in a van has been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds under proceeds of crime legislation. In March 2022, Andrew Early, 38, pled guilty along with a co-accused to hiding £30,020 in the vehicle.

Criminal barristers in Ireland are set to strike again next month following the government's failure to follow through on a promise to review fee levels. It follows last year's unprecedented one-day withdrawal of services on Tuesday 3 October, which forced government ministers to the negotiating tab