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Outdated IT systems are hampering justice, a new report has revealed. Crown Office and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service staff told a survey that they are “drowning in emails” as they attempt to deal with technology that in some cases is more than two decades old.
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Holmes Mackillop has appointed a trio of solicitors across its commercial property, property and private client teams. Sean Fraser joins the firm’s property team as an associate with expertise in commercial property while Amy Pollock has been recruited as an associate with expertise in all asp
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Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP (WJM) has announced the promotion of Esme Macfarlane to partner. Ms Macfarlane said: "It’s exciting to have my hard work recognised by being promoted to partner and it’s a fitting reflection of the development of the renewables team at WJM over the ye
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MSHB has appointed April Campbell as partner, Melissa McNeill as solicitor, and Rebecca Quinn as trainee solicitor within its family department. Ms Campbell, an accredited specialist in family law, brings 24 years of experience in private practice. Her background as a litigator spans all levels, inc
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Balfour and Manson has added three new members of staff to its private client team in Aberdeen with the appointment of new senior associate Marcia Johnstone, executry paralegal Sarah Rennie and legal secretary Dawn Ashcroft. Ms Johnstone joins Balfour and Manson as a senior associate, working with G
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Morag Fraser has been appointed to the office of summary sheriff at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. She completed her degree and diploma in legal practice at Glasgow University in 1986 and is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a family law specialist and family law mediator.
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CMS has announced the promotion of Laura West to partner in its Infrastructure, Construction and Energy Disputes (ICE Disputes) practice. Ms West is dual-qualified in Scots and English law and is a Law Society-accredited specialist in construction law. She teaches construction law to postgraduate st
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Criminal lawyers south of the border are to withdraw from legal aid work over a pay dispute with ministers. The Law Society is to advise its members to consider withdrawing from legal aid work or scaling it back until the UK government provides a "meaningful response" to lawyers' demands.
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Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk is being taken to the High Court by lawyers who say legal aid fees are so low they cannot provide representation to thousands of people. The case revolves around access to legal aid for immigration and asylum lawyers and is being brought by Duncan Lewis solicitors.
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The Law Society of Scotland is to withdraw from discussions on the creation of a review mechanism for legal aid fees, stating it had "lost confidence" in the Scottish government project following a lack of progress in two years. The Legal Aid Remuneration Project and Research Analysis Group were set
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The number of criminal legal aid solicitors dropped from 1,459 in 2007 to 966, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) has said as it warned the system was heading for collapse. The Scottish government's public spend on legal aid has declined by 45 per cent, allowing for inflation, over the p
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The Scottish government’s 2024-25 budget continues its distorted and shortsighted approach to criminal justice, according to the Law Society of Scotland. The budget papers reveal an extra £22 million has been provided to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), while the f
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Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness of Strome, is making a return to the University of Dundee to deliver this year’s Margaret Harris Lecture on Friday 29 November. From 2003 to 2018, Professor Lady Black served as Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee, where
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As Pro Bono Week begins, shining the spotlight on the role of voluntary legal work is of utmost importance, writes Lauren Weetman. The pro bono effort of solicitors has a profound impact on both those seeking access to legal advice and the broader legal community alike. Efforts that shine particular
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Edinburgh Law School's Professor Stephen Neff is to deliver a lecture entitled The Art(s) of Moral Globalisation next month. Professor Neff is a graduate of Harvard University (in sociology) and of the University of Virginia School of Law. His primary research interest is the history of public
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Edinburgh Law School's W.A. Wilson Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Professor Helen Scott, regius professor of civil law, University of Cambridge next Thursday and is entitled ‘In Defence of Ignorance’. Recent accounts of the law of unjust enrichment (restitution) have emphasised th
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Dr Gavin Sullivan, reader in international human rights law at Edinburgh Law School, has been awarded almost £600,000 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for his academic project. The UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship scheme seeks to develop the next wave of world-class research and innovation l
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An American cyclist is taking legal action after being struck and injured by an ambulance, which took him to hospital and then sent him a bill for nearly $2,000. William Hoesch, 71, is seeking $997,000 (around €930,000 or £775,000) from Columbia River Fire & Rescue in Oregon in compen
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An octogenarian who was attacked with a machete after knocking on the wrong door by mistake managed to fend off his attacker with a pair of nunchucks. The would-be victim told police that he knocked on the door in Youngstown, Ohio and heard an irate man shout that he had the wrong apartment.
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An untrained law student enjoyed the rare opportunity to conduct a 60-person orchestra following a social media appeal. Ella Eroniemi, 22, responded to a post from Finnish national broadcaster Yle seeking a member of the public with no experience of conducting to try conducting the Radio Symphony Or
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Chinese government officials are reportedly cold-calling women to urge them to get pregnant. The bizarre scheme forms part of the Chinese government's efforts to reverse a decline in the country's birth rate, the South China Morning Post reports.
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A rare copyright exemption has been granted by US authorities to allow McDonald's restaurants to repair their notoriously unreliable McFlurry machines. Franchise owners have complained that the machines have a "digital lock" preventing third-party repairs from being carried out.
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