News

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) has created created a survey to understand how COVID-19 has affected young lawyers and their careers. The aim for the survey is that the responses will allow SYLA to identify ways to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and shine a spotlight within the lega

Benjamin Bestgen takes a timeous look at freedom of expression. See his last primer, on marriage, here. Evelyn Hall, the author of The Life of Voltaire, famously acquainted us with a summary of Voltaire’s belief in freedom of speech: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to th

A dentist who extracted a patient's tooth while riding a hoverboard has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on various charges. Alaskan Seth Lookhart was caught on camera using the hoverboard while carrying out the procedure, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

A father whose application under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention was dismissed because the child’s habitual residence was held not to be in France has succeeded in appealing the decision in the English courts.  The father of the child, B, argued that the judge was wrong to

Ten new Queen’s Counsel have been appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the recommendation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The appointments take the number of practising QCs at the Scottish bar to 133.

The Scottish government has announced that legislation to introduce an opt-out system of organ and tissue donation will come into effect on 26 March 2021, despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the new system, individuals will be required to actively opt-out of donation if they wish t

Lawyers in Aberdeen have called for temporary courtrooms to be established to help tackle the increasing backlog of cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as sheriff and jury trials have still not resumed. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) recently announced plans to restart High

Paul Mason has joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in its real estate practice in Edinburgh. Mr Mason has over 15 years of experience advising household names, landlords, and tenants of retail, office and industrial premises on all areas of real estate law.

A new project will fill an access-to-justice gap and educate the public on the law while giving students hands-on legal experience in order to help boost their employability prospects. The Tayside and Perthshire Law Project (Tayper) is a pro bono organisation due to launch later this year that will

Paul Motion considers live streaming where the individual is innocent. On 15 July 2020 the UK Supreme Court gave judgement in Sutherland v HMA [2020] UKSC 32. Mr Sutherland was the subject of a “sting” by a “paedophile vigilante” group. He exchanged messages and photographs w

A pensioner is to appear in court next month accused of murdering a woman and her son more than 40 years ago. William Macdowell, 77, is accused of killing Renee Macrae, 36, and her three-year-old toddler Andrew in 1976.

Compass Chambers is delighted to announce the appointment of new silks, Amber Galbraith QC and Barry Smith QC. They have been appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the recommendation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, having been nominated by the Lord President.

A law student has successfully secured 1.5 times the value of a tenant's deposit after a local landlord failed to protect the deposit in a scheme. Ruth Dale, a member of the Aberdeen Law Project, represented her client in the First-tier Tribunal before going on to defeat the landlord's appeal a

Irish barrister Paul McGarry SC explores the opportunities for Irish lawyers following the UK's exit from the EU. The sabre-rattling by the UK government over the Northern Ireland Protocol has again brought the debate about the future arrangements between the EU and the UK into sharp focus. But no m

CMS has published its latest report in its General Counsel (GC) "Creating connections, bridging gaps" series, produced in partnership with the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA). The new report considers how GCs can build strategies to develop and succeed as a GC, especially amid the c