News

In the first in a series of jurisprudential primers for Scottish Legal News, Benjamin Bestgen reflects on philosophical thinking. When I studied philosophy, one of the typical remarks from well-meaning people with little knowledge of the subject were pointers to Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker a

A man arrested after a high-speed car chase allegedly told officers he was teaching his dog how to drive. Officers said they found a pit bull behind the wheel of the car when it eventually came to a halt, but the dog's 51-year-old owner was steering.

The Scottish government is attempting to give ministers the power to allow solemn trials to be conducted without juries and to "dismantle in one fell swoop more than 600 years of legal principle" in a move described as a "knee-jerk reaction" at best and something "far more sinister" at worst. The Sc

Scotland’s first purpose-built justice centre in Inverness opens today.

A proposal to make civil partnerships available to different sex couples will strengthen equality and advance human rights in Scotland, according to a Holyrood committee. The Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee has published its stage 1 report on the Civil Partnership (

The Lord President has appointed Robin Macpherson as temporary auditor of the Court of Session for 12 months from 1 April 2020. Mr Macpherson, an experienced litigator and solicitor advocate, will also become auditor of the All Scotland Personal Injury Court and the Sheriff Appeal Court, effective f

Gilson Gray has merged with Dundee property firm, Wallace and Co Property Management. The addition of Wallace and Co Property Management will see the transfer of local property experts Elaine Wallace, Pauline Traill and Derek Tyson to the Gilson Gray property services team.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) is liaising with the relevant organisations to determine whether the levy it imposes on lawyers can be reduced in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The SLCC published responses to its recent consultation on strategy, budget and operating plan, some of

Govan Law Centre is now running a free and confidential online advice service. In his Glasgow Evening Times column, GLC principal Mike Dailly said: "From today we will now provide free and confidential advice through WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and e-mail. We are also launching a free call-back tel

Balfour and Manson's Jamie Foulis has been accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in regulation of professional conduct law. He joins Elaine Motion, Fiona Muirs and Alastair Milne who are also all accredited in this field.

A new energy law firm has been established in Aberdeen. Lex Energy has been co-founded by lawyers Philip Argo, Elaine Benton and Calum Crighton.

The Council of Europe has launched an updated version of its free online “Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights”, a five-hour interactive training course aimed at legal professionals, public authorities, civil society and students. “Europe has the strongest system

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has briefed Scotland’s MSPs on the human rights implications of the Coronavirus Bill, which will be considered by the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 1 April. The commission said that while it recognises the positive obligations on government to take reaso

A new website has been launched to track the use of alternatives to traditional court hearings during the coronavirus pandemic. Legal technologist Professor Richard Susskind, who is president of the Society for Computers and Law, said remotecourts.org is "designed to help the global community of jus

Watermans Legal has announced it will be offering a discount to health workers throughout 2020. The demand for wills has soared in the past month after the global health crisis sparked a surge of people enquiring about getting their affairs in order.