Opinion

Gillian Mawdsley looks at the inquest into the recent death of lawyer Vanessa Ford and what the profession should learn from the tragic case. Vanessa Ford's death on 23 September 2023 provides, if required, further evidence that legal professionals need to be supported regarding their mental health.

In recent weeks, the Isle of Man and Jersey have moved closer to enacting assisted dying laws. Scotland also proposed a bill for debate. The Netherlands, a country with almost three decades of practical and legal experience in this matter, allowed the assisted suicide of Zoraya ter Beek, a 29 y

Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week, with its theme being “Movement: moving more for our mental health”, writes Jodi Gordon. It has long been established that physical illness and injury can impact someone’s mental wellbeing. That link has only become clearer for me ove

David Morgan and Tom Richard reflect on the value of the water of life – whisky. With it being World Whisky Day, it’s worth reflecting on the importance of Scotch whisky, our national drink, to the Scottish economy. From large-scale global drinks producers to independent bottlers and Sco

The Housing (Scotland) Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 March sets out changes to rent controls, evictions and tenants’ rights, but it does not address a key issue in residential tenancies, write John Stirling and Conner McConnell. See part two here. Now that the private r

Following the FCA's recently published guidance on financial promotion through social media channels, Marianne Murnin and Steven Knox look at the intersection of financial services, social media, and influencer marketing, highlighting the regulatory and commercial considerations for firms navigating

Hamish Lean looks the tension between landlords' sporting rights and agricultural tenants' farming activities and new legislation aimed at balancing these interests and improving compensation for tenants affected by game-related damages. Most agricultural leases reserve the sporting rights over the

Scotland could turn its vision for ethical regulatory principles into a competitive advantage, writes ​Chris Elwell-Sutton. According to the International Monetary Fund’s latest report, AI could boost the UK’s uninspiring productivity by up to 1.5 per cent annually. Analysts estimate t

Andrew Constable discusses the merits of alternative dispute resolution. In a Scottish government paper published last month, Justice in an independent Scotland, the government explains its “vision of a just, safe, resilient Scotland”. The paper references another publication, The Vision

As Scotland considers legislation on 'ecocide', Dr Filippos Proedrou and Dr Maria Pournara highlight the shortcomings of a new EU law. The EU recently passed a law that criminalises actions “comparable to ecocide”. It’s a revolutionary legal development — the first law of its

Amid continuing concern over the poor quality of legislative draftsmanship in the UK, Liam Kerr, shadow cabinet secretary for education and skills, raises the issue of how Scotland's own Henry VIII clauses, framework bills, are used at Holyrood to circumvent legislative scrutiny. What does an incumb

Neil Macdonald takes a look at plans to introduce an offence of ecocide into Scots law. In November 2023, Monica Lennon MSP launched the public consultation on her proposed member’s bill to introduce ecocide law in Scotland. Although Scotland does have legislation intended to protect the natur

When asked about the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on influencer marketing, my first thought was to speak to an interested party. Seeing as I don't know any influencers personally, I decided to ask an AI chatbot, writes Steph Innes. "Write a short article on the legal issue

The Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced important changes in relation to the way expenses are dealt with in personal injury litigation, writes Sarah Ennis. An unsuccessful pursuer is no longer responsible for meeting their opponent’s expenses,

Following their initial introduction in Glasgow last June, Low Emission Zones (LEZs) are about to take root across all of Scotland’s key city centres. From later this week, we will see them go live in both Dundee and Aberdeen before being brought into effect in Edinburgh a month later, writes&