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The Law Society of Scotland has warned of significant risks for criminal justice after MSPs voted to approve untested changes to Scotland’s criminal court system. The final vote on the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill concluded this afternoon, with 71 MSPs backing the leg
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Thorntons has welcomed 19 new trainee solicitors.
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Ampersand Advocates has welcomed Chris Stephen to the stable. Mr Stephen was called to the Scottish bar in 2022 as a Lord Hope Scholar and is also qualified as a barrister in England & Wales. His practice focuses on administrative and public law (including public inquiries), international law, a
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Levy & McRae has announced that Cameron Irons is continuing his legal career with the firm as a qualified solicitor. Mr Irons has gained a wealth of experience across multiple practice areas, particularly within our specialist private crime team. In recent months he has been working on some of t
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Shepherd and Wedderburn has announced that corporate finance specialist Donald Smith has joined the firm as a partner in the corporate finance team. Mr Smith brings a wealth of corporate finance and boardroom expertise, including in M&A, private equity and equity capital markets matters across a
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Thorntons has appointed a new chief people officer to lead the development and implementation of its people policies. Helen Honeyman joins from Lothian Pension Fund (LPF), the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland. She has more than 20 years’ global experience in senior op
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Jones Whyte has welcomed nine new trainees to the firm, bringing the total trainee pool to 20. This year’s induction programme received further investment and provided insight into the firm’s culture, expectations, and high standards of client service. Sessions were delivered by a range
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MSPs on Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee have voiced their alarm at the extent of “legal aid deserts” in Scotland. The committee has been exploring civil legal assistance, commonly known as legal aid, in response to concerns raised about access to jus
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Defence solicitors in Dundee are stepping up industrial action after what they described as “fruitless” talks with the Scottish government over criminal legal aid funding. Members of the Dundee Bar Association (DBA) have voted to withdraw from a scheme operating at Dundee Sheriff Court t
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The number of solicitors registered to provide legal aid in Scotland has fallen by more than 12 per cent in just three years, according to new figures. As of 26 May, there were 1,122 solicitors registered to provide criminal and children’s legal aid, while 450 firms were registered for civil l
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A survey of Scottish legal aid solicitors has revealed further evidence of a deepening crisis in access to justice, with 41 per cent of respondents either planning to stop legal aid work within two years or unsure whether they will continue. The findings come from a Law Society of Scotland survey of
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Scotland’s criminal defence solicitors are to withdraw from a new flagship summary justice scheme in protest at the Scottish government’s failure to increase legal aid rates. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) has confirmed that its members will no longer participate in imple
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Tasglann nan Eilean, the archive service of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has embarked on a collaborative project with the University of Glasgow which will result in an important local archive collection being catalogued, preserved and made publicly accessible. The project, on the history of disarmamen
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Austen commemoration on the wall of Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London Credit: JRennocks, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Cameron Wong McDermott (lecturer in social change, University of Glasgow) and Nicole Marshall (GO Justice Centre manager) write about the university's collaboration with The Marie Trust. At the Glasgow Open Justice Centre (GO Justice), part of the University of Glasgow’s School of Law, w
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The University of Stirling has developed guidance to help health and social care providers design and deliver nature-based programmes for people with poor mental health and substance dependence. Experts in substance use at the university have created how-to guidance manuals for nature-based programm
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University of Edinburgh alumnus Ben Kemp is to deliver the Opening of the Academic Year Alumni Lecture at Edinburgh Law School next month. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception.
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A group of virtual celebrities has won a libel case brought against an internet user who insulted their digital avatars. South Korea has seen a boom in the popularity of so-called "virtual idols", whose real identities and appearances are unknown as they interact with the public purely through a dig
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Two men have been imprisoned in Zambia for attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country's president. Leonard Phiri and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde have been sentenced to two years' imprisonment after being found guilty of offences under the Witchcraft Act, the BBC reports.
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The Scottish island which hosts the World Stone Skimming Championships has been rocked by a cheating scandal. Easdale, one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, which has a permanent population of just over 60 people, welcomed more than 2,200 people from 27 countries to this year's event.
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A nightmare neighbour has been arrested and charged after allegedly tunnelling into an adjacent home following a dispute. Police in the Canadian city of Calgary said the bizarre incidents followed weeks of intensifying conflict between neighbours on two floors of an apartment building.
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Albania has appointed an AI chatbot as a government minister who it says will be "free of corruption". "Diella" – meaning "Sun" in Albanian – has been put in charge of public procurement, The Guardian reports.
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