News

The UK government has come under pressure from a Westminster committee to set out how it will facilitate "unfettered" trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain under the Brexit deal. In a new report, the Northern Ireland affairs committee said the UK's proposals for implementation of the Nort

Terra Firma is pleased to announce the next in our “2020 Vision” series of webinars: 2020 Vision: Bringing Clarity to Professional Practice in the Time of COVID-19, will be broadcast on Zoom at 11am on Monday 20 July 2020. At this event, chaired by Stephen O’Rourke QC,&nb

A virtual open day to give an insight into life at the Scottish bar has drawn wide praise as “a fantastic experience”. The event was aimed primarily at senior school pupils and university students, to show them what a career at the Faculty of Advocates could be like.

Russian officials have been accused of using "invisible ink" on valuable contracts to facilitate corruption and kickbacks. A councillor in Moscow has uploaded a video to social media which appears to show the key financial details on a housing contract simply disappearing when the paper is held near

A convicted sex offender who was released from prison on licence has failed in his challenge of a condition in his release licence requiring him to inform his supervising officer of any friendships, associations, or intimate or domestic relationships that he enters into with anyone. The petitioner,

Dentons is to close its Aberdeen and Watford offices, with lawyers and staff set to work from home permanently. The firm told The Lawyer, however, that the closures will not result in any redundancies. The Edinburgh and Milton Keynes offices will be available to those staff now working from home per

Lawyers have raised concerns over the permanent implementation of video links for accused persons. A number of custody cases at Aberdeen Sheriff Court see accused persons appear via video link from Kittybrewster Police Station.

Levy & McRae has announced the appointment of Carol Gammie as an associate. Ms Gammie joins the firm after having worked as a legal consultant with the Office of the Prosecutor of the United Nations in The Hague. She is also a commissioner with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Murray Snell, part of the MacRoberts Group, has appointed Gail Clarke in its estates, forestry, agriculture & renewables team. With over 25 years’ experience, Ms Clarke advises landowners, farmers, developers, communities and commercial clients in respect of land and forestry acquisitions

Homebuyers will be able to take advantage of reduced rates of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) from this week, after Finance Secretary Kate Forbes responded to calls for a quick implementation of the change. The threshold at which LBTT begins to be paid will rise from £145,000 to &pou

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