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An email with an "automatic" signature has the same legal effect as a signed document, the High Court has ruled in a dispute over the sale of a plot of land. The case, heard by Judge Pearce in Manchester, concerned a string of emails in which lawyers for two men involved in a property dispute d

On the 1st July, the Borderlands Growth Deal was officially signed and will see £394.5 million invested into projects that involve five councils in the Borders. Three of these councils are in England, and the two Scottish councils are Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders. The deal encour

Dentons is to defend the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over allegations the bank's staff falsified a customer’s loan documents, The Lawyer reports. The case, brought by Gary Wyatt, revolves around the duration of a £10.5m loan that Mr Wyatt's firm Grove Park Properties agreed with RBS in

Stephen Vallance discusses a law fair initiative that showcases the opportunities at high street firms.

British royal Meghan Markle has launched legal proceedings against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday alleging a breach of data protection laws. The matter relates to a private letter the Duchess of Sussex sent to her estranged father, which was published by the tabloid in February.

Anderson Strathern has marked a global first by becoming the first law firm to sign up for The World’s Big Sleep Out, launched in Edinburgh and across scores of international cities last month. The firm has committed to The World’s Big Sleep Out in conjunction with Meritas, the global ne

Solicitor W. James Smith has completed a 10k in aid of the Poverty Relief Project run by Glasgow Central Mosque.

The copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover used by the presiding judge in a landmark obscenity trial in the 1960s has been acquired by the University of Bristol. The annotated copy of the book was sold at auction to someone in the US last October but it was temporarily stopped from leaving the UK by the go

An auction selling off 25 supercars from the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president has accumulated €21.6 million. Swiss prosecutors seized the cars in 2016 when they initiated a corruption investigation against Obiang, likely heir of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled in Equato

A man accused of behaving in a “threatening and abusive manner” by shouting and swearing at his ex-wife has successfully challenged an attempt to prosecute him after a sheriff had previously deserted an identical complaint against the accused pro loco et tempore. The appellant appealed a

Scottish specialist criminal law firm MTM Defence Lawyers has announced the opening of a new London office to service its growing caseload from south of the border. The opening of the London office in Chancery Lane has been driven by increasing demand from London-based clients and law firms ref

Mixed-sex couples will be able to enter a civil partnership for the first time under new legislation introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government consulted on two options for civil partnership in Scotland in 2018: scrapping civil partnership or making it available to mixed-sex coup

A new report from the International Bar Association (IBA) Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee and the World Bank claims that improving legal aid services is as important for economic growth as providing functioning hospitals, schools and roads. The report, A Tool for Justice: A Cost Benefit An

Private client specialist George Stevenson has joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a consultant, bringing more than 40 years’ expertise across the spectrum of personal legal and tax matters to the firm and its clients. Mr Stevenson, who specialises in all aspects of estate and inheritance tax pl

Construction specialist Ross Taylor has joined Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP as partner. Mr Taylor, who has headed up Taylor Law in Dunfermline for the past 10 years, will be working as part of the firm’s construction team from today, specialising in contentious construction disputes.