News

Balfour and Manson, the first Scottish legal firm to name a woman as a partner, held an event for female lawyers following in her footsteps to mark International Women’s Day 2020. Ethel Houston was named as a partner back in 1949 and, more than 70 years later, Balfour and Manson has honoured h

The Crofting Law Group will be holding a conference in Edinburgh on 2 April 2020. The theme of the conference is crofting law reform. The Crofting Law Group 2020 Conference will be of considerable importance to all persons with an interest in crofting law, whether as lawyers, advisers, crofters or l

Campaigners have renewed calls for the UK government to bring the Widowed Parent's Allowance scheme in line with human rights laws a year and a half after a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Belfast solicitor Laura Banks acted for Siobhan McLaughlin in the case which led to a ruling that the legis

Alison Marshall discusses women’s rights and discrimination, problems with the gender pay gap and parental leave, changes in legislation and the road to gender equality. Recent years have seen us celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the UK. It’s now 50 years since

Scottish Legal News managing editor Graham Ogilvy is to speak to the University of Abertay Law Society on March 25. He said: “We are always pleased to talk to students about SLN, the media and the law in the digital age.

Rockstars Led Zeppelin have been vindicated in a US court after a ruling that the band did not steal part of Stairway to Heaven. A bench of 11 in San Francisco affirmed an English judgment from 2016 that found no proof that the 1971 hit was taken from the song Taurus, written by Randy Wolfe, of Los

A woman was arrested on suspicion of drug offences after handing over cash that smelled like cannabis. Stormy Lynn Parfait, 33, paid $5,000 in cash to cover bail for an inmate being held in a Louisiana prison on drug charges.

A man who developed a “life-long psychiatric injury” after being physically and sexually abused by monks while staying at a residential school nearly 40 years ago has been awarded more than £300,000 in damages. The All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court ruled that the

The Boys' Brigade has launched civil proceedings against a former Fife lawyer and football club chairman convicted of sexually abusing two boys more than 20 years ago, The Courier reports. Julian Danskin, 68, was jailed for 18 months in 1999 when he was found guilty of offences against two former me

As the UK starts to grapple with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Home Office has been quick off the mark to make a number of concessions aimed at assisting UK visa holders impacted by the spread of the virus and the associated disruption, writes Jamie Kerr. The first significant sign t

John Campbell QC has been announced as the new chairman of The Ross Development Trust, the charity working in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver The Quaich Project in West Princes Street Gardens. Mr Campbell, a trustee of the charity for two years, takes on the role as chair f

Jurors and others should continue to attend Scottish courts as usual during the Coronavirus outbreak if they are not displaying symptoms, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has said. Anyone who has received medical advice to self-isolate should not attend court or any SCTS buildings, a

Caroline Gillespie looks at proposals to change the laws of surrogacy. “The current law is out of date, unclear and not fit for purpose”. This was one of the conclusions reached last year in a joint consultation document by the Law Commission of England & Wales and the Scottish Law C

A member of the Faculty of Advocates marked International Women’s Day by launching a campaign seeking justice for thousands of people in Scotland who were convicted of witchcraft and executed. Claire Mitchell QC wants a legal pardon for those who fell victim of the Witchcraft Act 1563 and

The woman who was told "over and over" not to go to the bar, yet who ultimately became Scotland's first female judge, has spoken about her path to the bench. In the latest episode of the University of Glasgow Law Podcast, Lady Cosgrove speaks to senior lecturer Maria Fletcher.