News

UK businesses have avoided using litigation to resolve commercial disputes during the Covid-19 pandemic, instead turning to negotiation and mediation, according to new research by EY. The research suggests that UK companies have heeded official guidance, released by the Cabinet Office in May 2020, w

Pace Rehabilitation, the UK’s largest independent private provider of amputee rehabilitation services, officially launched its first clinic in Scotland with an online webinar that attracted more than 100 delegates from the personal injury sector. Lawyers and advocates across Scotland heralded

Aberdeen University's Dr Justin Borg-Barthet has been appointed to the European Commission's Expert Group Against SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). The expert group, established as part of the EU’s European Democracy Action Plan, will advise the Commission on initia

Benjamin Bestgen this week encourages lawyers to consider the craft of writing. See his last jurisprudential primer here. George Orwell opined in 1946 that written English “is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble&

Plans to limit the number of tourists visiting the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony in Verona have been blocked by a court. The city's mayor proposed installing turnstiles at the tiny courtyard where tourists congregate to take photos of the balcony after heightened fears of overcrowding with Covid-1

A Crown appeal against the sentencing of a man convicted of assaulting his ex-wife has succeeded before the Criminal Division of the Sheriff Appeal Court, which has imposed a community payback order in place of the original sentence. John Donnelly originally received a sentence of admoniti

Following an investigation and criminal prosecution leading to the conviction of two parties, Crown counsel, on behalf of the Lord Advocate, have decided not to hold a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of Richard Dyson and Simon Midgley at Cameron House Hotel in December 2017. The multi-agency

New law firm Esson & Aberdein has taken on two new recruits. Paralegal Shari O’Hare and Lynn Nesbitt, a qualified surveyor and estate agency specialist, have joined the firm.

The publication yesterday of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) Interim Report on the derailment of a passenger train at Carmont, Aberdeenshire, last August offers more questions than answers, writes Lisa Gregory. Despite the huge advances we have seen in road safety, workplace safet

Margaret Taylor speaks to Julia McPartlin, president of the newly formed Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, on the crisis that has led to its formation. After years of pleading with the Scottish government to raise legal aid fees, by the end of last year Scotland’s criminal defence lawy

Dr Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lisa Mackenzie of MurrayBlackburnMackenzie cast a critical eye over the Yogyakarta principles. Launched last week, the Scottish Green Party manifesto sets out a commitment to "enshrining the Yogyakarta human rights principles into Scots law", as pa

Businesses that fail to provide for employees’ retirement are storing up a potential staffing crisis according to a new report on the challenges facing boards in dealing with pension liabilities. An ethical approach to investing in pensions and eradicating the gender pensions gap were among a

As it continues to grow its track record of contributions to Scotland’s renewables mission, the offshore wind sector is currently making all the right headlines, writes Kelly Hardman. Amid the positive news, however, anyone with knowledge of sustainable business success will tell you it p

US law firms are continuing to grow their bases in the UK, particularly London, in spite of Brexit, new figures suggest. The total number of lawyers working in the UK at firms headquartered in the US rose by 22 per cent over the four years from 2016 to 2020, while the number of partners rose by 19 p

Burges Salmon's application to join the values-led partnership between government and business in Scotland has been formally accepted. Burges Salmon has become a signatory to the Scottish Business Pledge, marking a commitment to helping to support fairness, equality, opportunity and innovation in Sc