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BTO Solicitors LLP’s charity of the year, The House of Hope, hosted its first Gala Ball at Prestonfield House in Edinburgh last Friday. 

The Scottish government has announced its support for a proposed ban on greyhound racing. Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell has secured cross-party backing for his member’s bill. Ministers had previously said they were not “convinced” a ban was necessary and suggested a licensing sch

The Scottish Social Services Council recently appointed four new trainee solicitors.  Fitness to practise manager Iain Martin said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome new trainees to the organisation and I’m delighted that Michael, Kirstie, Ruth and Kacie are taking their firs

A solicitor jailed for financial crime has been ordered to hand over just £1 after a court heard he has nothing left of the £1 million he obtained illegally. Alistair Blackwood, 70, made £1,086,581 while working at a Paisley law firm, but prosecutors and defence lawyers told the Hi

Lawyers have set sail towards Gaza alongside a flotilla which is seeking to break Israel's blockade and bring humanitarian aid directly to starving Palestinians.

Anderson Strathern, has announced the appointment of five partners and seven directors. The new partners are Iain Baird, Scott Flannigan, Russell Laughland, Tim Macdonald and Laura Murray.

Successful silk applications have dropped to 39 per cent under the new Lord Justice General, Lord Pentland after years of very high rates under his predecessor. Twenty-eight applications for appointment to King's Counsel were made in the latest round: 23 from advocates and five from solicitor advoca

Hundreds of US military lawyers are set to be made into immigration judges as the Trump administration seeks to fast-track mass deportations. The Department of Defense (DOD) – which is set to be rebranded as the Department of War – is seeking to identify up to 600 attorneys to serve as t

The Law Society of Scotland has announced it will defer work on regulating new non-solicitor owned legal businesses for two years. It said this will allow it to focus on the "required significant changes" to improve the current complaints system for the benefit of consumers of legal services, and to

The Scottish Arbitration centre has launched Mediation Rules in advance of it providing an administered mediation service. The announcement was made during the Edinburgh International Arbitration Festival (ArbFest2025).

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has shared its updated code of practice for services, public functions and associations with the Minister for Women and Equalities for approval. As Britain’s independent equality regulator, it is the role of the EHRC to provide expert advice on h

The Scottish government aims to protect marine biodiversity and conserve the marine ecosystem. Under new rules, the Offshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Scotland) Order 2025, the use of specified fishing gear would be restricted across the whole of five protected areas and would be res

Services helping women affected by drugs and preventing substance use by young people are to benefit from more than £2 million funding. Minister for drugs policy Maree Todd announced the support during a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the National Records of Scotland latest statistics

A lawyer who shares his name with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is suing the social media platform for repeatedly deactivating his account. In eight years, Mark Steven Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer in Indianapolis, has seen his official Facebook page suspended five times and his personal profil

Our weekly round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Jimmy Lai risks dying in jail, legal team warns UN | The Times (paywall)