Lss

​A new report on pilot virtual custody court hearings has highlighted significant issues faced by solicitors and their clients. Five virtual custody courts have been piloted in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and Saltcoats, but a survey of Scottish solicitors has revealed issues with obtaini

Great client communications can help strengthen solicitor-client relationships and minimise complaints. That’s the idea behind this year’s Innovation Cup winning entry. The winner of this year’s competition is Emily Campbell, a trainee solicitor at BTO Solicitors. Ms Campbell impre

The Civil Justice Committee of the Law Society of Scotland has called on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) to urgently review a decision to refuse paper-based simple procedure actions. SCTS has confirmed to the Law Society that, except in exceptional circumstances, simp

Two pupils from Peebles High School have won the grand final of this year’s national Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament, organised by the Law Society of Scotland. Mhairi Kinahan and William Adams were crowned Scotland’s best young debaters after proposing the motion “This ho

The Law Society of Scotland has written to the six Scottish universities providing the diploma in professional legal practice to remind them of the importance of acting responsibly and considering likely demand for legal trainees next summer when setting course numbers as it emerged that there have

The creation of a new, unified tribunal empowered to look at a full range of remedies under mental health law would enable individuals’ cases to be dealt with in a prompt, holistic and person-centred way. The Law Society of Scotland has called for an approach that would promote robust protecti

The Law Society of Scotland has today launched a three-year action plan that aims to tackle stigma around mental health in the legal sector. The new action plan follows a survey of Scotland’s legal profession on their views of mental health in the workplace in 2019 and accompanies the survey&r

Perth-based solicitor Amanda Millar has taken up the Law Society of Scotland's presidential reins, while Stirling-based Ken Dalling becomes the new vice president. Ms Miller thanked her predecessor John Mulholland for rising to the challenges of the past year with collaborative care and enthusi

Brodies LLP has launched a training programme that aims to give all newly qualified solicitors across Scotland access to quality learning opportunities and to connect with industry peers. More than 120 newly qualified lawyers have already signed up to access the free 'Breakfast with Brodies' trainin

A reduction to the practising certificate fee for 2020-21 has been approved by solicitors at the Law Society of Scotland’s first ever virtual annual general meeting (AGM). The proposed reduction to the cost of practising as a Scottish solicitor was put forward by the Law Society’s Counci

Philip Yelland, executive director of regulation at the Law Society of Scotland, has retired after 30 years at the professional body for Scottish solicitors. In the past three decades, he has seen major changes within the organisation and significant regulatory reform, including two new Scottish par

Real-time video technology can now be used to allow notaries to authenticate the execution of a document remotely. Physical distancing measures to manage the coronavirus outbreak have caused difficulties for the signing of documents which need a notary to be present.

The results are in for the Law Society of Scotland Council elections, with a number of new members as well as familiar faces elected. The results, announced today, show one new member returned in one of the seats representing Aberdeen, Banff, Peterhead and Stonehaven sheriff court districts, as well

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) has launched its new podcast series: Conversations with SYLA.

Payment of half of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) levy has been deferred until December 1. The move comes after talks between the SLCC and the Law Society of Scotland over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the legal profession, clients and public.