News

The Scottish Legal Aid Board has confirmed that as at 1 June 2023 there were 975 lawyers on the Criminal Legal Aid Register, following a freedom of information request by the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA). Of those 975, however, 238 received no payment for criminal legal aid in the year

Gillian Donald has been appointed as a partner at Blackadders in Aberdeen. Ms Donald joins from Brodies LLP and has extensive experience working with clients in the north-east of Scotland.

Police have penalised a teenager for driving a "Booty Patrol" vehicle that looked too similar to a real law enforcement vehicle. Gabriel Luviano, 18, was pulled over in Florida while driving the truck, which says "Booty Patrol" along the side and back and "National Booty Behaviour Protection" on the

A law firm in Dunblane has pledged its support to nine charities by signing up to an annual will-writing campaign. Bartys, a branch of Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP (WJM), has been a part of the Will Aid scheme for 27 years, helping raise vital donations every November by writing basic wills

Cullen Kilshaw LLP Solicitors and Estate Agents is to merge with JD Clark & Allan, a long-established firm based in Duns in the Borders. The combined firm will continue to trade under the name of Cullen Kilshaw LLP.

A former sheriff has admitted to making sexual and racist remarks during an online call. Alastair Duff, 69, was director of the Judicial Institute of Scotland until he resigned suddenly in late 2021. He admitted making the remarks at his home in Edinburgh during a WebEx meeting in October 2021.

A new report suggests that almost all the world’s 125 leading law firms struggle to demonstrate the value they create for their wider stakeholders and fall short in meeting the responsible business expectations of clients.

Fair Work Secretary Neil Gray has welcomed figures showing the gender pay gap in Scotland has fallen to a record low. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings shows the gender pay gap in Scotland fell from three per cent in 2022 to 1.7 per cent in 2023 – the

Woman and girls will be better protected and victims’ needs prioritised as part of reforms to improve justice services and create safer communities, the Scottish government has announced. The Vision for Justice Delivery Plan published today also includes actions to address "long-standing chall

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called on the Scottish government to protect the justice budget and enhance community policing after new research found that less than half of violent assaults resulted in a criminal charge being reported to the Crown Office last year. Scottish Liberal Democrat re

More than four out of five expert witnesses want judges to be willing to give them anonymity in criminal or controversial cases. The finding comes from the 2023 Expert Witness Survey, from the Law Society Gazette, and concerns cases in which experts are instructed to give evidence in emotionally dif

Thorntons’ Sports Challenge Dinner handed over an incredible £29,000 to two local charities following the sell-out event at the Apex City Quay Hotel earlier this year. The two charities, The Archie Foundation and Children’s Aid, will split the money evenly to be used for a range of

A life prisoner is seeking more than £50,000 in damages after prison guards allegedly stole pornographic magazines from his mail. The man, 57-year-old John Alexander, is serving a life sentence in Michigan's Kinross Correctional Facility for second-degree fleeing from police.

The rent freeze introduced by the Scottish government is not unlawful, a senior judge has ruled after an appeal by private sector landlords. Landlords across Scotland had sought judicial review in the Court of Session. Their lawyers argued they had suffered discrimination as a result of “unlaw

Scotland's FOI watchdog has suggested it could take action against the Scottish government if WhatsApp messages sent during the pandemic have not been retained. Ministers have come under pressure after the UK Covid Inquiry found that they had failed to hand over any communications.