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Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her high-profile lawsuit against Donald Trump, has been jailed for his role in an attempted extortion scheme. Mr Avenatti was sentenced yesterday to two-and-a-half years in prison following his conviction by a New Y

A millionaire socialite is facing jail after admitting to a £1.1 million fraud over a pumpkin sculpture she never owned. German socialite Angela Gulbenkian agreed to sell the 81-kilogram pumpkin, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, to Hong Kong art collector Mathieu Ticolat.

A Glasgow summary sheriff has refused to authorise a consultant orthopaedic surgeon as a skilled witness in an action by a man involved in a car accident against the insurer of the vehicle that hit him. Ian McKay sought to certify a Mr David Donaldson, who examined him following the accident, i

New research carried out on behalf of the Scottish Sentencing Council has found a lack of awareness over the offences created by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and suggests the public should be engaged on the range and scope of sexual offences. The independently conducted research

Graphic videos depicting violence are negatively affecting the mental health of juries, the Lord Justice General, Lord Carloway has warned. In an intervention recommending careful consideration of the use of such evidence, the judge said lawyers should take “great care” when deciding if

Scotland's legal system does not comply with international environmental and human rights law, according to UN findings. Article 9 of the Aarhus Convention, which the UK ratified in 2005, requires that access to review procedure over environmental matters should be fair, equitable, timely, and not p

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has expressed concern over the treatment and care of vulnerable women with mental ill health in Cornton Vale prison. In a new report it highlights the lack of available beds in specific units in Scotland’s mental health facilities and raises critical

A new draft of the cabinet manual needs to be produced as soon as possible for it to remain useful, according to the House of Lords Constitution Committee. In a report published today, the committee has emphasised that as the cabinet manual is now a decade old, it needs to be updated or risk be

A law graduate has launched a ground-breaking new service that works with both survivors and perpetrators to tackle domestic abuse. Amy Macdonald and her aunt, Lynne Mackenzie, have together formed community interest company Rise Against Abuse CIC.

TLT has advised Biffa on its £10 million acquisition of Scotland's only post-consumer plastics recycling facility. Biffa is the UK's leading sustainable waste management business and the acquisition is in line with the group's strategy to quadruple its plastic recycling capacity by 2030.

Grants worth a total of £1.61 million have been allocated to community-based drugs organisations and support services providing access to treatment and residential rehabilitation. The local support fund – for groups with an annual income of under £1 million – issued 24 awards

The widow of a judge who has been cleared of child sexual abuse has said people who make unfounded allegations should be deprived of their anonymity. Lady Nourse, 77, was found not guilty of 17 charges made against her by a man who accused her of abusing him as a boy under 12 in the 1980s.

A dramatic police chase ended when the suspect pulled into a McDonald's drive-thru and attempted to order food. Police began to tail Johanna Gardell, 38, after she allegedly stole a pickup truck and struck a number of vehicles with it.

A joint appeal by three members of the same family who were injured in a road accident on holiday in Malta seeking a remit of their actions to the Court of Session has been refused by the Sheriff Appeal Court. Suzanne, Michael, and Kieran Henderson raised actions against&nbs

The Scotsman has published an obituary of Michael Gascoigne, who has passed away at the age of 72. "At 13 he was awarded a scholarship to Fettes College, Edinburgh, where he excelled in all aspects of school life. Studious and inquisitive by inclination, popular with his peers and teachers, and with