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Last week, I made my first virtual appearance in the Appeal Court to conduct an appeal against conviction and sentence. Unlike other courts, virtual appearances are nothing new – the appellants in sentence appeals having been appearing by way of video link since 2013 – however this was t

While the rest of the UK has struggled to contain rising levels of knife and gun crime, Scotland has dramatically reduced violent crime in the past 15 years. But how was it done? Panorama investigates.

Quill Legal in Edinburgh has raised the sum of £805 for Will Aid after taking part in the 2019 Will Aid fundraising scheme. Kay Blaikie, who is a sole practitioner, said: “At the end of June we received our 2019 Will Aid supporters’ certificate. It was the first time that we partic

A transgender woman has won a landmark employment discrimination case in China after being fired for taking leave for sex reassignment surgery. A court in Beijing ruled that e-commerce company Dangdang should reinstate her contract with full back pay, Chinese media group Caixin reports.

Criminal jurisdiction over nearly half of the state of Oklahoma has been thrown in doubt after the Supreme Court of the United States held that the territory belongs to Native Americans. The 5-4 majority ruling applies to territory given to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation but could also be extended to l

A man convicted of murdering a man in Turiff, Aberdeenshire, has had the punishment part of his sentence reduced on appeal to the High Court of Justiciary. Liam Hay, who was 20 years old at the time of the murder and at the time of sentencing,  argued that the sentence was excessive o

New rules have been approved by the Court of Session enabling two or more people with the same, similar, or related claims to raise court proceedings in a single action for the first time. This new approach will be particularly useful in cases where lower value claims are considered too costly for i

DWF is in the early stages of a consultation process on its UK business, which is understood to put between 15 and 18 positions at risk. The redundancies follow cuts made across the company's international outposts to deal with the economic effects of the pandemic.

Solicitor estate agents have accused the Scottish government of creating dangerous uncertainty in the housing market by announcing a proposed change to the property tax threshold without stating when it will be introduced. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LB

Compass Chambers has announced that Geoff Clarke QC and Steve Love QC have been appointed members of the Scottish Gymnastics Conduct in Sport Panel. They will sit on hearings in connection with the conduct, regulatory and appeals processes under the governance of Scottish Gymnastics and their Conduc

Dundee Law School has made three new appointments. Dr Tarik Olcay has joined the law school as a lecturer. Prior to this, he was lecturer in public law at Aston University.

The majority of lawyers feel their manager is not looking out for them, according to a new report. Authored by The MOSAIC Collective and based on a survey of legal professionals worldwide, the report details how they feel about their work.

The Scottish Tourism Alliance, the representative body for Scotland’s tourism businesses, has partnered with TLT to provide a new, free support line for its members as Scotland’s tourism industry gets geared up to reopen next week. The hotline allows STA members to speak directly to a sp

One of the world’s leading intellectual property guides has named Burness Paull as the leading IP litigation practice in Scotland. The IAM Patent 1000 is regarded as the definitive ‘go-to’ resource for those seeking to identify world-class, private practice patent expertise across

Last month, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission staff finished off a year of fundraising for Alzheimer Scotland. In total, they raised £7,014, smashing their original target.