News

Expectations for activity in the Scottish housing market are improving as more new buyer enquiries are reported by surveyors following lockdown closures. According to the June 2020 RICS Residential Market Survey, a net balance of +17 per cent of survey respondents in Scotland saw a rise in new buyer

Construction lawyer Lisa Dromgoole considers the parallels between Hearts and Partick Thistle’s legal battle with the SPFL and alternative dispute resolution in the building sector. It's not often that a construction lawyer has cause to consider the world of football, or not this construction

Westwater Advocates has started a new blog on its website. The first entry features a video of Janys Scott QC discussing Brexit transition provisions and family law.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has granted full sick pay to outsourced staff with COVID-19 symptoms, three months after the death of one of its cleaners. Outsourced cleaners who have already self-isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms will also receive a back payment from 1 April 2020.

The Edinburgh Tax Network, in conjunction with Mazars and Terra Firma Chambers, will present a webinar for those looking to plan their personal finances during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis on 16 July 2020 from 1pm to 2.30pm. With speakers, Kenny Stevenson (Financial P

Staff at Watermans in Edinburgh have raised more than £3,000 in vital funds for charity after generously volunteering their time and expertise to write people’s wills in exchange for donations. Solicitors at the firm offered their time throughout the month of November to take part in Wil

Satanists have threatened to sue a US state if it pushes ahead with plans to put the words "In God We Trust" on its flag. The state of Mississippi last month agreed to replace its 120-year-old flag because it features Confederate symbols.

Two Scottish football clubs have succeeded in their petition for the recovery of documents relevant to orders they sought in terms of the Companies Act 2006. Heart of Midlothian Football Club plc (Hearts) and The Partick Thistle Football Club Ltd (Partick Thistle), alleged that t

Ampersand has welcomed Euan Scott, Mark Boni and Nick McAndrew to the stable following their call to the bar. Mr Scott has significant experience across a wide range of civil litigation, with a particular focus on commercial dispute resolution (concentrating on commercial contract disputes, pro

The expected cut to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) being announced today by the Chancellor must be matched in Scotland to avoid a housing market collapse, according to property firm apropos. The firm believes that cutting the SDLT in England and Northern Ireland without a comparable reduction in land an

The appropriate 'case weighting system' for particular judicial systems is the subject of a new report from the Council of Europe. The working group on judicial time management of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) takes stock of the internal management system aimed at ass

Thousands of offenders, including those convicted of sexual or violent offences, were released from prison into homelessness in England and Wales last year, jeopardising their rehabilitation. Figures show that 11,435 people were released from prison into homelessness in 2018/19, and 4,742 homeless p

Dr John Macleod of Edinburgh Law School examines inaccuracy and the offside goals rule in light of a recent case in the Outer House. BAM TCP Atlantic Square Limited v BT plc [2020] CSOH 57 presents something approaching a full house of recent hot topics in conveyancing: interpretation of a deed of c

Macnabs has drafted hundreds of wills for clients and raised over £10,000 for charity this year after taking part in a will-writing campaign where lawyers generously give up their time for free to write wills for local people, in exchange for a donation to the charity. The Perthshire firm has

Guidance published this week by the Scottish Land Commission argues that wellbeing should be a central consideration when assessing the business case for developing vacant or derelict land. There are an estimated 11,000 hectares of such land nationally and much of it sits in areas with the greatest