Opinion

The UK government has introduced legislation designed to support small businesses following the end of restrictions on winding up petitions on 30 September, writes Joanne Gillies. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) introduced in June 2020 restricted creditors from serving s

Despite recent fashionable and temporary claims to the contrary, individuals are complex. David Black makes a plea in mitigation for the rightly reviled Henry Dundas. But what of Marie Stopes, eugenicist and Nazi sympathiser, who sent love poetry to the Führer himself? A blue plaque in Abe

Zoe McDonnell details new driving offences soon to find their way onto the statute book. It is highly likely that certain UK-wide driving laws will be changed in the near future. These changes include:

David Black considers the standard of moral perfection to which we hold figures from the past and the opportunity for self-aggrandisement it creates in the present. Glasgow University’s decision to remove the name of renowned geologist John Walter Gregory from one of its more mediocre campus b

The governments across the UK and local authorities should consider further reducing burdens, and extending supportive measures for the hospitality industry, to boost its fragile recovery from the pandemic, writes Audrey Ferrie. Many hospitality venues have been operating at reduced capacity, w

Businesses emerging from the Covid-induced cocoon of furlough payments used to retain their workforce since the pandemic struck are now facing the cold wind of scrutiny as HMRC gears up to claw back any cash that may have been handed over in error, writes Christine Rolland, forensic accounting

Ian Robinson tells budding immigration lawyers what he wishes he had known at the outset of his career. As a firm we work in every area of immigration, other than asylum. That means helping skilled people, entrepreneurs, families and others move to or stay in the UK, including pro bono support for v

Colin Miller discusses the recent crackdown on pharma companies for breaching competition law. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition watchdog, has recently issued record fines against a number of pharma companies for breaching competition law.

Adam Swayne looks at how to will cryptocurrency. Every year, millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency are lost forever because the owners of the currency failed to put a plan in place to leave it to loved ones. A 2020 study by the Cremation Institute indicated that 89 per cent of cryptocurrency ow

The research into fatal accident inquiries, (SLN, 15 September) for me, reads rather strangely. The researchers looked at approximately 200 cases of deaths in prison, but because in only 10 per cent of these was any recommendation made, they suggest that the system is flawed. It is not clear whether

We are now starting to see employment tribunals grappling with Covid-19 related workplace issues. Some of these involve claims from employees with less than two years' service seeking to argue that their dismissals were automatically unfair for health and safety reasons, writes Julie Keir. Automatic

Elaine Elder discusses the implications of the new policy adopted by Aberdeen City Council to tackle the local empty-housing crisis. Aberdeen City Council has adopted a new policy to tackle the local empty-housing crisis.

Time bar is a very complex area of law in Scotland relating to the period in which a claim for breach of duty can be pursued. The Scottish government has recently reformed the law and passed the Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 – but it is not yet in force. In the meantime, the recent dec

The Scottish Climate Emergency Legal Network (SCELN) has had success in its “Seventh Gas Campaign”, after the UK government recently pledged to bring forward amendments to the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA 2008) within the year in response to pressure from the group. SCELN was

Euan Pirie looks at a solution to price uncertainty for construction materials when tendering big contracts. Prices for construction materials have gone haywire in a perfect storm of conditions which have pushed demand up and supply down. So how do the parties to a construction contract deal wi