Opinion

There has been a huge rise in “authorised push payment” or “APP” fraud over recent years. The amounts involved in these scams can be significant, writes Gordon Deane. The High Court in England recently rejected a claim by a bank customer who fell victim to an APP fraud. A dis

Iain Young considers the year ahead in tax. One of the most hackneyed phrases found in articles written by lawyers is that in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. 

Should men be able to reject fatherhood without attracting legal obligations? Benjamin Bestgen considers this and other questions around abortion in this week's jurisprudential primer. See his last one here. Abortion remains the subject of one of the most contentious social debates of

Thomas Ross QC dissects the latest judgment in the fascinating EncroChat saga. In my last article on this topic I predicted widespread legal challenges to attempts by prosecutors to lead evidence obtained as part of the ‘Encro Hack’ – carried out by French police in May 2020. That

Elizabeth Bremner takes a look at what 2021 has in store for employment law. The pandemic dominated most aspects of our lives in 2020 and employment law was no exception. The introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and its subsequent variations was undoubtedly the most talked abo

Deborah Allan takes stock of the steps taken in pursuit of LGBTQ+ equality and inclusivity.  2020 has, without doubt, been one of the most testing experiences many of us have faced in our lifetimes. Unfortunately, the voices of the marginalised are often drowned out at a time when they need to

The Scottish Parliament's Committee on the Handling of Harassment Complaints is reaching the most crucial stage of its difficult task. On Tuesday Alex Salmond gives evidence. After hearing the evidence of that crucial witness the committee will turn its attention to the evidence of Nicola Sturgeon.

I read with great interest, the article by Benjamin Bestgen The Rights of the Dead. My comment is directed solely at ”disinheriting the family”. The system which we have in Scotland of legal rights has its supporters whose principal argument sees to be that it provides certainty, which,

In recent times, we have seen an increase in the number and scope of public inquiries. A day doesn’t go by when the headlines don’t include reference to one of the current inquiries: Grenfell, Infected Blood, Child Abuse. In 2020, we represented clients at a number of high profile public

Traditionally it has been understood that legal trainees learn best from experience in an office environment but with the advent of the pandemic, Shirley Phillips, director of people at Thorntons, believes that blended learning could enrich the education for trainee solicitors and will influence fut

The case of EE Ltd and H3G Ltd v Duncan and others came before the Lands Tribunal for Scotland in the summer to be heard as a conjoined application. The case considered how the Electronic Communications Code contained within the Digital Economy Act 2017 applied to leases running by tacit relocation

The Times reported last week on a bitter boundary dispute between two pensioners, each in their eighties, over a strip of land less than a metre wide. Apparently, the legal battle has cost them £500,000, contributed to the death of a spouse and caused stress-related illness. The parties h

Benjamin Bestgen this week explains that the extinction of rights upon death is more complicated a matter than it first seems. See his last jurisprudential primer here. Fans of old-school computer games might still remember Grim Fandango, where the player guides afterlife travel agent Manny Cal

Former sheriff Douglas J. Cusine asks where the responsibility lies in Scotland's malicious prosecution scandal, the greatest crisis in the history of the Crown Office. In his recent article, Douglas Mill, in a semi-jocular way, makes an extremely important point about what the Crown has accepted wa

Shepherd and Wedderburn trainee Emma Hendrie kicks off the firm's celebration of LGBT History Month with a look at the history of the month itself, an explanation of this year’s theme – Body, Mind, Spirit – and how you can show your support. LGBT History Month presents an