News

Defence solicitor Ian Smart comments on the sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against Alex Salmond, encouraging all concerned to respect the presumption of innocence. I have tried to avoid commenting on the Salmond matter for the very good reason that I have no idea if there is a sub

Mackinnons, solicitors with offices in Aberdeen, Cults and Aboyne, has announced the appointment of Neil Torrance as a partner to the firm and of Sarah Newnham as an associate, with effect from 1st January 2019. Additionally, the business of Iain Smith Solicitors LLP, Queens Road, Aberdeen has

TLT has appointed Joanna Hamilton as legal director and Stephanie Hands as solicitor. Ms Hamilton joins TLT as a highly experienced real estate lawyer. Prior to joining TLT, she held roles at Shepherd & Wedderburn and before that, DWF.

A member of the Faculty of Advocates is playing a leading role in reforming the law to combat the scourge of puppy farming in Scotland. Scott Blair, of Terra Firma Chambers, will be among those taking part this month in Scottish government round-table discussions following a consultation on the Lice

An Irish-American lawyer and former White House adviser has said the Irish-American community could deploy its "political strength" to block a post-Brexit UK-US trade deal if a hard border returns to Ireland. Writing for BuzzFeed News, Brian O'Dwyer of New York law firm O'Dwyer & Bernstien said

A report on a consultation reviewing the civil court fees of solicitors has been published by the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) Costs and Funding Committee. The report summarises the responses received to the Consultation on the Review of Fees in the Scottish Civil Courts: Fees of

An SLN reader spotted this sign opposing domestic violence outside a lawyer’s office in the Andalusian city of Málaga, Spain. He said: “I walked past this lawyer’s office a few times and saw people stopping to have their photo taken with the sign.

A Belfast man has been jailed after kicking a taxi driver out of his car and telling him "it's my turn to drive". Michael Mallon, 27, subjected the taxi driver to verbal abuse after being told the cost of the fare, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

An Irish father-of-one who claimed that his estranged Scottish wife had unlawfully retained their daughter in Scotland after the child underwent emergency cancer treatment here has had an application for a court order for the toddler’s return to Ireland dismissed. A judge in the Court of Sessi

The public is being invited to help reform defamation law in Scotland. A new consultation on defamation – the damaging of an individual’s reputation through false communication – follows a report by the Scottish Law Commission which made 49 recommendations to modernise and simplify

Lord Neuberger, former president of the UK Supreme Court, has said there is a "powerful argument" that the Brexit process cannot be halted without legislation. The retired judge presided over the court's ruling two years ago that Parliament had to approve the triggering of article 50 of the Treaty o

The Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee has agreed to scrutinise the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This follows evidence taken from Scottish Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry on Thursday 10 January, who supports post-legislative scrut

Scottish Legal News attracted 614 new readers last year, finishing 2018 with 12,212 subscribers. Twitter followers increased by around the same number to finish the year at 9,310. But the largest increase came in traffic to our new mobile-friendly website with monthly individual user figures up by a

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has warned that “people are being packed into prisons like sardines” after a parliamentary question revealed that the occupancy rate of nine prisons was 100 per cent or higher last month. Barlinnie was operating at 139 per

Pictured (L-R): Robbie Francis, Loretta Maxfield, Colin Graham and Craig Nicol Thorntons Solicitors has appointed Loretta Maxfield and Robbie Francis as new partners in its Dundee office.