News

Lesley Weber has been appointed to the Scottish Sentencing Council as its new victims expert member. Ms Weber, who is the head of effective practice at the Risk Management Authority (RMA), is a qualified social worker specialising in children and families, domestic abuse and violence against women a

Whether UK employers require staff to be vaccinated is a question that has been doing the rounds since the Pfizer vaccine became available. My experience is that clients start the discussion thinking that they might want to mandate, or very actively encourage employees to be vaccinated, but having h

The British Army was "unjustified" in shooting an unarmed and innocent Co Tyrone farmer in cold blood in 1974, the first legacy inquest held under the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland's five-year plan has concluded. Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan yesterday delivered her findings and verdict follow

The first session of the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) Ethics Conference was a success with over 130 people in attendance. Laila Kennedy, SYLA treasurer and trainee solicitor at Ledingham Chalmers LLP, said: "Members heard from three fantastic speakers – Stephen McLaren of Ledingh

The Amalgamated Briefing Paper on Restarting Solemn Trials has been updated.  Practitioners may wish to note that the written direction on corroboration has been updated. The following wording has been added at Part B(4):

An extremist hate group in the US has been threatened with legal action for using a logo that resembles the Johnnie Walker whisky “Striding Man” image. The Proud Boys were seen at a pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia with merchandise that displayed a logo similar to the striding man but

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) is to host an event for people seeking a criminal traineeship. The Scottish government recently announced grants which will part-fund up to 40 legal aid traineeships and this event will offer invaluable tips and advice about looking for a criminal train

City dwellers who relocate to rural France will not be able to complain about the sound of church bells or the smell of manure under a new law. A bill to restrict the ability of urban incomers to take court action over "a little nuisance" has now cleared both houses of the French parliament, The Tim

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has refused a man’s petition for his brother and sister-in-law to be removed as executors of his late father’s estate and the executry completed by an appointed judicial factor.  Grame Campbell, one of two sons of the late

Many Scots lawyers would like to see the salutation 'Dear Sirs' dropped from usage in favour of others that recognise that not all lawyers are men, a survey by Scottish Legal News has found.

D C Watson & Sons (Fenton Barns) Ltd, owner of storage premises known as the Turkeytorium, in East Lothian, have achieved dismissal of an action for damages at debate, following a fire at the premises. Clyde & Co's Gordon Keyden explains the details of the case. The pursuer, Philip Samson, l

Morton Fraser has launched a new payment model as part of its commercial litigation practice to enable businesses to pursue disputes without significant financial risk. Total annual losses to small businesses from legal problems are estimated at £40 billion, with over one million individuals i

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has backed the underlying intentions behind the Scottish government’s new Domestic Abuse Bill, but warned that serious practical concerns raised during the course of its scrutiny need to be addressed. Both legal bodies and the police signalled

A peer has predicted that the Chinese authorities will sack the British judges who sit on Hong Kong's highest court amid the withdrawal of a barrister who was prosecuting the region's leading pro-democracy activists. Lord Garnier QC, a former Conservative solicitor-general, told The Times that he th

Crofters in some of Scotland’s most remote and marginal communities are to benefit from grants to improve their housing or build new homes. The Croft House Grant scheme aims to retain and attract people to rural communities while allowing them to achieve the full potential of crofts and genera