Ssba

Defence solicitors have begun their first week of industrial action over domestic abuse cases after a collapse in talks with the Scottish government over reform to legal aid. They will also decline to act where an accused has no solicitor and cannot represent themselves – and will not take par

Tracey Mulholland has been appointed as the new vice president of the Scottish Solicitors' Bar Association. Ms Mulholland, who is well known to the criminal bar for her hard work and tenacity as the current president of the Glasgow Bar Association, said: "I am delighted to be appointed as vice

Holyrood's Criminal Justice Committee has failed to involve defence lawyers in its consideration of plans for juryless trials in rape cases. Writing on X, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association said that the committed had chose "not to invite" the body to give evidence on parts 5 and 6 of the Victi

The Scottish Legal Aid Board has confirmed that as at 1 June 2023 there were 975 lawyers on the Criminal Legal Aid Register, following a freedom of information request by the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA). Of those 975, however, 238 received no payment for criminal legal aid in the year

Advocates cannot act in the juryless trials pilot without the participation of solicitors, contrary to a rumour endorsed by politicians that betrays "complete ignorance" of the legal system, a senior lawyer has told Scottish Legal News. Vice-Dean of Faculty, Ronnie Renucci KC, said that, since

The legal aid package announced by the Scottish government is not a "product of agreement", contrary to ministers' suggestion that it is, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) has told SLN. Last week the government announced that solicitor groups had "agreed to an £11 million pac

The Scottish government has been sharply criticised over a "lack of engagement" with solicitors as the criminal justice system teeters on the brink of collapse. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA), which was formed in 2021 to represent and promote the interests of criminal defence solicit

Members of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) are invited to respond to a survey on their preferred option for the distribution of the remainder of the Scottish government's resilience fund. The government, which has paid out £2.3m of the £9.5m fund, has sought the opini

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association is hosting a CPD event free to its members. On Wednesday 30 June a distinguished panel will discuss "Trauma Awareness in the Criminal Justice System".

The number of remand prisoners has increased by more than a third over the course of the pandemic due to delays in criminal trials, Howard League Scotland has warned. It said the population was 1,293 in February 2020 but rose to 1,753 by April this year. This represents an increase of 35.5 per cent

Margaret Taylor speaks to Julia McPartlin, president of the newly formed Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, on the crisis that has led to its formation. After years of pleading with the Scottish government to raise legal aid fees, by the end of last year Scotland’s criminal defence lawy

A new organisation has been formed to defend the interests of criminal solicitors. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) made its debut on Twitter this week where it announced Julia McPartlin as president and Stuary Murray as vice president.