News

Retired sheriff Kevin Drummond QC shares concerns arising from the redaction dispute that dominated the final days of the Holyrood committee on the handling of harassment complaints. As a lawyer I care not a whit what political conclusions our Parliament and its Committee of Inquiry reach, or have r

Mediation firm Core has named Gillespie Macandrew associate Sarah-Jane Macdonald as the winner of a presentation competition marking its 20th anniversary. Core invited young professionals to submit a short presentation on the topic: "What one change would make a real difference and increase the use

One of the most striking of legal fictions, that of the escaped tiger, has stuck with Jackie McRae, who encourages readers to declare Scott & Sons v Del Sel the greatest entry in Session Cases. Vote for your top three here. Every judgement tells a story. Law reports make those sto

MPs in New Zealand have backed a private member's bill to extend paid bereavement leave to mothers and their partners following a miscarriage or stillbirth. Ginny Andersen, a backbencher from the governing Labour party, said her bill would make New Zealand "only the second country in the world, as f

The latest director disqualifications are a reminder to every company in the construction sector of the importance of ensuring that staff understand what conduct will expose their firm to prosecution, writes Jamie Dunne. In the last few weeks, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has sec

Funeral pyres could make an unexpected return under legislation being considered in the US state of Maine. A bill before the state legislature would allow a non-profit with at least 20 acres of space to carry out open-air cremations.

A petition for judicial review of the legislative competence of parts of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 brought by a private company has been rejected by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. For Women Scotland Ltd contended that parts of the 2018 Act we

A Full Bench of the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary has determined that a nobile officium petition made by a complainer in a rape case after she was not notified of an application by the accused to lead evidence of their sexual history is competent under the doctrine.  The petition

Scotland's lowest-paid prosecutors could receive an £8,000 increase to their salary next year as part of a £5.6 million pay offer aimed at averting a strike in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The three-year pay offer follows a ballot for industrial action launched

The resilience fund set up to support legal practitioners during the Covid-19 pandemic is failing to deliver, Glasgow Bar Association (GBA) has warned. The association wrote to Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and Community Safety Secretary Ash Denham yesterday to echo criticisms from the Edinburgh Ba

The Scottish government has lost a high-profile court challenge against its Covid-19 regulations closing all churches for congregational worship and private prayer. Representatives of several churches argued before the Court of Session that the regulations represented disproportionate interference w

Planning lawyers Sarah Stewart, Kendra Richardson and George Sismey-Durrant have joined Brodies LLP. Ms Stewart joins Brodies as a senior associate and will be based in Aberdeen. With more than 14 years' experience, she specialises in planning issues for the housebuilding sector.

The Law Society of Scotland should regain its regulatory function for solicitors from the "grossly inefficient" Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), the Scottish Law Agents' Society (SLAS) has said. The SLCC, which is funded through a levy on practising lawyers, has proved controversial sinc

Two new part-time commissioners have been appointed to the Scottish Human Rights Commission, bringing with them experience and expertise in public health, inequalities, access to justice and human rights. Dr Anna Black and Dr Jacqueline Kinghan have been appointed for six-year terms, starting on 1 M

Terra Firma Chambers will host an Employment Law Webinar, live via Zoom at 11am on Thursday, 8th April. This event, the latest in TFC’s 2021 webinar series, will be chaired by Terra Firma Director David Logan who will speak about Post-Covid Economic Realities for Employers. Peter Grant-Hutchis