News

Changes to Scotland’s lockdown restrictions were confirmed yesterday by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. While some outdoor activity restrictions will ease as of Friday, the public are still urged to stay at home as much as possible and maintain strict physical distancing when outdoors.

Increased funding of £1.5 million has been announced for support services working with victims of human trafficking. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf made the announcement as the annual progress report and statutory review of Scotland’s Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy was published.

A reduction to the practising certificate fee for 2020-21 has been approved by solicitors at the Law Society of Scotland’s first ever virtual annual general meeting (AGM). The proposed reduction to the cost of practising as a Scottish solicitor was put forward by the Law Society’s Counci

Ayla Iridag has been re-elected president of the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association following the virtual AGM held yesterday. Miss Iridag, an associate with Clyde & Co, has served on the committee for four years and also holds an executive position on the board of the European Young Bar Associa

Against a backdrop of challenges for criminal law practitioners, Sophie Russell of MTM Defence Lawyers considers the skills set that young lawyers need to develop as firms adapt to the changing nature of criminal law. Many of you may recall the careers fair at university, where a number of larger le

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act being enacted in England and Wales.  The Next 100 Years, the latest project from the team behind the First 100 Years, which is dedicated to achieving equality for women in law, is warning that the slow pace of progress is likely to further s

Patrick Penninckx, head of the information society department at the Council of Europe conducted a webinar entitled Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights this week. It was organised by the European Law Students Association (ELSA) as part of a series of webinars on law and technology. The spe

The third episode of the Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association (SYLA) podcast is now available. Episode three of Conversations with SYLA sees SYLA president Ayla Iridag speak to barrister Michael Polak of Church Court Chambers about his journey to law, world-famous cases and his compan

Two machete-wielding men who were hired to fulfil a bizarre sex fantasy broke into the wrong man's house after an unfortunate mix-up. The men were hired online by Australian man Kevin Costello to break into his home, tie him up in his underwear and touch him with a broom.

A blogger who sued the former leader of the Scottish Labour Party for defamation for calling him “homophobic” in response to a tweet he had made about a Scottish Conservative Party MSP has had his appeal refused. Stuart Campbell, who has run the Wings Over Scotland blog since 2011, chall

  Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace (RCCW) has announced the promotion of Amy Watson to partner, and Ruth Lussier to associate.

Legislation to ensure that the rights of children are at the heart of any family law case, and that their views are heard, has passed its first hurdle at Holyrood. Measures in the Children (Scotland) Bill include regulation of child contact centres to ensure every one is a safe place for c

A group of MPs has called on the UK government to establish an expert committee detailing legal guidance on fairly dealing with legal claims arising out of the pandemic. Led by Dr Philippa Whitford MP, the SNP's health spokesperson, the group is working with medical defence organisation MDDUS.

Philip Yelland, executive director of regulation at the Law Society of Scotland, has retired after 30 years at the professional body for Scottish solicitors. In the past three decades, he has seen major changes within the organisation and significant regulatory reform, including two new Scottish par

Carole Ewart comments on the much-derided move by the Scottish government to extend FOI response times in the midst of the pandemic – a move that has since been reversed. On April 1, politicians voted to change freedom of information (FOI) law in Scotland. Thankfully, seven weeks later, a unit