Opinion

Duncan Batchelor, Ralph Cox and Lyndsey Combe take a look at a recent IP case revolving around liability and the true party behind the litigation. The solvency or otherwise of the other party to a commercial dispute is a matter which can be of crucial importance when it comes to recovering cost

It was inevitable that the impact of the pandemic on the world’s economy would once again throw a spotlight on the revenue-raising potential of inheritance and gift taxes, writes Lindsay Bryce Mackay. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published

Sue Gilchrist considers the impact of the latest public health guidance on Scottish business.  Scottish business, just as much as our English counterparts, was switched on to review the UK government guidance issued on working safely during coronavirus in England.

We have a new justice secretary who, at least in one respect, bears a similarity to his predecessor: he has not made any public statement about the ill-fated prosecution of Whitehouse and Clark, the Rangers’ administrators. I wrote to Keith Brown on 19 May asking about a public inquiry and rec

Fiona McLeod provides a brief overview of the changes introduced by the Scottish Government's revised code of conduct for property factors. On 14 July 2021, the Scottish Government published a revised Code of Conduct for Property Factors setting out the minimum standards to which factors should adhe

Laura McKenna considers the importance for medical evidence to be accurate and relevant for employers considering the health of their employees. Whenever an employee's health is an issue, obtaining the right medical evidence is going to be crucial in ensuring a subsequent dismissal is both fair and

Susannah Donaldson considers the impact of the pandemic on gender pay gap figures reported by large construction businesses. The Covid-19 pandemic has somewhat skewed gender pay gap (GPG) figures reported by large construction businesses for the year 2020-21, with reductions in allowances, and

Steven Smart looks at historical and recent Court of Session cases on abuse and considers the 'difficult balancing act' needed to decide on these cases. Many well-publicised examples have brought to light the scale of historic child abuse. The Scottish Parliament sought to remove barriers to potenti

Andrew Scott takes a look at the value of search orders when enforcing intellectual property rights. Most companies are now aware of the value to their business of intellectual property (IP) and the various ways in which to protect those IP assets. However, protecting the asset is only half the stor

Stephen Farrell takes a look at whether sports governance bodies are doing enough to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion. As the countdown begins for the Tokyo Olympics 2021 it has been reported that FINA, the International Swimming Association, has made a decision that could have damaging

To mark the end of Pride Month, Beverley Addison, a senior solicitor in BTO’s family law team, takes us on a journey through the history of family law in Scotland for LGBTQ+ people. In the third and final part today, she looks at adoption as well as fertility law – before thinking about

Looking at the number of adverts on Scottish Legal News recently it would appear that as we come out of the pandemic (here’s hoping) that quite a lot of you are. Recruitment in my discipline of family law is not easy, and I know that’s also the case for many other private client-focussed

In 2019 a survey of Americans found that 55 per cent believe they will not receive their full social security benefits from the government, the US equivalent of the state pension. The primary reason for this belief is that there will not be enough money in the social security pot to pay out because

Jennifer Skeoch looks at indirect sex discrimination following the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision, Hughes v Progressive Support Limited. Over the past year or so, we have heard a lot about the far-reaching effects of the pandemic and recent research has suggested that working women, in p

To mark the end of Pride Month, Beverley Addison, a senior solicitor in BTO’s family law team, takes us on a journey through the history of family law in Scotland for LGBTQ+ people. See part one here. The road to equality in marriage has been another long struggle for LGBTQ+ people. This inequ