This year’s devils began their advocacy training at the Faculty of Advocates earlier this month. The 31 aspiring advocates have started their five-week, classroom-based foundation course at the Mackenzie Building in Edinburgh – the first phase of their nine-month devilling training.
Appointments
See all articlesBrodies LLP has bolstered its dispute resolution and risk practice with the appointment of new partner Graeme MacLeod. Mr MacLeod brings more than 20 years’ experience in commercial disputes and professional negligence. With expertise in managing high-value, complex litigations, he specialises
Just Employment Law has welcomed Maria Akunna (solicitor) and Azza Hassan (trainee solicitor) to its growing team. Having recently completed her traineeship, Ms Akunna joins the team as a specialist employment lawyer to businesses, delivering practical, commercially sound advice to empower her clien
Talented colleagues have been recognised at Aberdein Considine this autumn, with 15 employees working from Aberdeen to Newcastle upon Tyne elevated in the firm’s latest round of promotions. Two Glasgow-based private client lawyers, Fiona O’Donnell and Rebecca White, have been promoted to
Matheson Lawson has announced the appointments of Lauren Jackson and Rebecca Quinn. The hires follow the recent appointment of Donna Carson as director and head of commercial property.
Lanarkshire law firm Ness Gallagher Solicitors has appointed solicitor Ailie Lothian and opened a new office in Lanark. Ms Lothian brings a wealth of experience to the role, with particular expertise in family law, conveyancing, wills and powers of attorney, guardianships, compromise agreements and
Solicitor Moira Sibbald has been appointed as the new chair of Places for People's board. Ms Sibbald joined the PfP Scotland board in February 2021 and brings a wealth of experience across multiple sectors to her new leadership role.
Universities
See all articlesThe University of Aberdeen has honoured one of Scotland's last surviving D-Day veterans with an honorary degree. Jim Glennie, who turned 100 this year, was presented with a Master of the University (MUniv) at a special ceremony at King’s College Chapel.
The University of Glasgow’s Annual James Wood Lecture will take place on Thursday 30 October. Supreme Court justice Lady Rose will speak on the topic of 'Constitutional Rights with a Privy Council Twist'.
Glasgow Caledonian University has introduced The Sir Geoff Palmer Memorial Prize, honouring the life and legacy of the tireless anti-racism campaigner, advocate and educator. Awarded annually, the prize recognises the best socio-legal essay by a final-year student in the Social Justice, Equality, Di
Legal academics from University of Aberdeen have published a briefing exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by digital assets within Scots law. In recent decades, digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based assets, have become increasingly prevalent and compl
The post-Brexit Conservative government rolled back the frontiers of liberal democracy, research led by the University of Stirling has argued. The research paper, Democratic backsliding and public administration: the experience of the UK, was published in the journal Policy Studies.
Legal Aid
See all articlesMSPs 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
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
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
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
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
And Finally
See all articlesAn AI-generated candidate has been proposed for mayor of Tirana in the Albanian capital's upcoming election. The launch of TirANA (Tirana Algorithmic Neural Assistant) follows the Albanian government's appointment in September of an AI chatbot as a government minister.
Chinese officials have seized tens of thousands of maps for supposedly mislabelling Taiwan. Around 60,000 maps were seized by customs officers in China's eastern province of Shandong, according to the BBC.
A tourist who stole a large chunk of an ancient Greek column in the 1960s has returned it more than half a century later. Greece's Ministry of Culture yesterday announced the repatriation of the fragment of a limestone Ionic capital from the Leonidaion, which accommodated athletes during the ancient
Northern Ireland's top community radio station for the LGBT+ community says it has been left "truly baffled" after a regulator ruled that it does not broadcast enough LGBT+ content. Ofcom found that Juice FM Belfast is more like a "general service broadcasting a very limited amount of specialist pro
A lawyer who hurled his shoe at India's chief justice – and missed – was removed from court and suspended from practice. Rakesh Kishore took offence after Chief Justice BR Gavai dismissed a petition demanding the restoration of a seven-foot statue of the Hindu deity Vishnu as "purely pub