Opinion

Jodi Gordon calls for swift action on road safety to help tackle pollution and health problems. Last month, Green MP Caroline Lucas invited Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish school girl, to address Westminster ministers after inspiring the school climate strikes movement. She criticised the UK f

Iain Mitchell QC clears some of the confusion surrounding artificial intelligence ahead of the AI Beyond the Hype event in Edinburgh this month. In October, 2017, Saudi Arabia conferred citizenship on Sophia. The puzzling thing is that Sophia is a robot, even more human-looking than the archety

Val Surgenor takes a timeous look at cybersecurity in the context of smart devices. The use of smart devices or smart products by both consumers and industry is rapidly advancing and today use of such smart or internet-enabled products in the household is relatively common – think speakers and

With less than two months to respond to Graham Simpson MSP’s Proposed New-Build Homes (Buyer Protection) (Scotland) Bill, Harry C. Smith shares his views. There have been a number of attempts down the years to resolve any perceived imbalance in power between the housebuilder and the home buyin

Michael Sheridan reflects on the changes proposed by the Roberton Review and the urgent need for Scots lawyers to participate in the discussion on the future of legal regulation. This is a period of seismic change in the regulation of the legal profession. Whereas previously there was a long-standin

In the recent case of Jacqueline Shuttleton v Procurator Fiscal, Glasgow, the High Court of Justiciary clarified the its earlier dicta in Gubinas and Radavicius v HM Advocate in respect of the status of CCTV footage in criminal trials, writes David Cairns. The appellant was convicted of careless dri

In a landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal has unanimously agreed the Royal Opera House (ROH) Covent Garden failed to take reasonable steps to prevent injury to viola player Christopher Goldscheider during a 2012 rehearsal of the Wagner opera, Die Walkure. As a result of his injury, Mr Goldscheider

The Council of the EU this month gave final approval to the Copyright Directive – a highly controversial piece of legislation aimed at striking a fair balance between the profits made by internet platforms and the creatives whose content they make accessible to users. Although the rules are se

Scott Clair, solicitor at Balfour+Manson, explores how innovative processes can make dispute resolution quicker, easier and cheaper in the 21st century. ‘What is it going to cost? How long is it going to take?’ Almost every litigator will be familiar with hearing either or both questions

Ken Dalling, principal of Dalling Solicitors in Stirling and a member of both the Council and the Board of the Law Society of Scotland, writes on today's three per cent increase in fees for legal aid lawyers. So here we are. At long last we have arrived at a day which, frankly, I had given up all ho

Euan Smith, partner and corporate immigration specialist at Pinsent Masons, writes on a new Scottish-German initiative backed by the firm. The first Scottish-German Business Exchange Conference (SGBEC) was attended by high-profile business executives, civil servants and politicians and laid the foun

Jodi Gordon, partner at Road Traffic Accident Law (Scotland) LLP, makes the case for lengthy driving bans instead of prison sentences following road fatalities. Following the death of a loved one in a road traffic collision, how family members perceive justice to have been served varies dramatically

Laura Brennan, trainee solicitor at Govan Law Centre, explains the pitfalls of giving equity away to a quick home buy company in times of financial distress. Our recent Sheriff Appeal Court case of Santander -v- C emphasises the importance of homeowners seeking legal advice should their mortgage len

Given a number of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accusations against key suppliers to the construction sector, Jamie Dunne from Brodies has looked into the issue in more detail. The Competition and Markets Authority has recently accused six key suppliers to the construction sector of anti-c

James Lloyd, partner at Harper Macleod, writes on how people are being caught out by the requirement for homeowners to remortgage or sell their property at the end of a trust deed to realise the capital. Scotland offers several statutory debt consolidation and payment schemes for those who find them