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Independent advisers will be able to launch investigations into alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code under new powers being given to them by First Minister John Swinney. Currently, investigations can only begin following a referral from the first minister. But the Scottish Ministerial Code will
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Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP (WJM) has announced a string of promotions. In the Glasgow office, promotees include Carol Baxter, Angus Rutherford and Thomas Fairbairn, who have become solicitors in the private client, commercial property and corporate sectors respectively.
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Raeburn Christie Clark and Wallace has welcomed Katie Henderson and Alix Buchan as its new 2024 trainee solicitors. Ms Henderson previously worked with the firm as an administrative assistant, having graduated from the University of Aberdeen with an LLB with English Law. She has carried out a number
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Arnot Manderson Advocates has welcomed the news that stable members Marie H. Clark and Laura Thomson have been appointed King’s Counsel. This brings the number of senior counsel in the stable to 10. Marie H. Clark called to the bar in 1996 and enjoys an enviable civil litigation practice with
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Desmond Cheyne, Colin Edward and Scott McAlpine have been elevated to the rank and dignity of King’s Counsel. Mr Cheyne called to the bar in 1986. He has a wide-ranging practice but is best known for his expertise in financial provision on divorce, cases involving children and criminal cases i
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Ampersand’s James McConnell KC and Usman Tariq KC have taken silk. Mr McConnell has a practice that mainly focusses on clinical negligence. He is also frequently instructed in inquiries with a medical element. He acts for pursuers and defenders in roughly equal proportions. He is Band 1 ranked
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Compass Chambers has announced the appointments of new silks Craig Murray KC and David Nicolson KC. Mr Murray has busy personal injury practices in both Scotland and England. He is also regularly instructed in medical negligence actions and commercial disputes and he recently returned to practice fo
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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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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
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Strathclyde Law School is to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year with a diamond anniversary ball in October. The special event will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Argyle Street, Glasgow on Friday 18 October 2024.
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Thu 19 September 202417:30 - 20:00 Join Edinburgh Law School staff, current students, and alumni to hear from distinguished University of Edinburgh alumna Dame Eleanor Laing (LLB, 1982).
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Edinburgh Law School’s Global Justice Academy (GJA) is now a part of the Open Council of Europe Academic Networks (OCEAN). OCEAN unites universities and research institutions from the Council of Europe’s 46 members states, all focused on the shared goal of human rights, democracy, and th
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The Scottish Sentencing Council has published a new report examining how victims of domestic abuse view sentencing in Scotland. The research, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University, provides insights into the experiences and perspectives of victims. Researchers interviewed 24 women across Scotla
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Aberdeen University's Professor Anatole Boute will present his book Energy Dependence and Supply Security: Energy Law in the New Geopolitical Reality on Thursday. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine administered an unprecedented shock to the European and global energy markets, triggering emergency int
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A thief has apologised for stealing a 20kg statue of a gorilla and then texting his friend: "LOL I stole a gorilla, so what?" Australian man Matthew Newbould, 33, said he spontaneously made the "very silly" decision to steal the beloved ornament — named Garry — from the garden of a retir
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Convicted fraudster Anna Delvey, whose $200,000 scam was dramatised by Netflix as Inventing Anna, is to be a celebrity contestant on a televised US dancing competition. Delvey, whose real name is Anna Sorokin, will wear an ankle monitor during her appearance on Dancing with the Stars, the US version
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Sweden's self-declared "Queen of Trash" is facing the country's biggest-ever environmental crime prosecution. Bella Nilsson, chief executive of now-defunct waste management business NMT Think Pink, is accused along with 11 others of dumping or burying 200,000 tonnes of waste between 2015 and 2020, t
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A local council in South Korea is offering cash incentives to young people who strike up a relationship following a local matchmaking event. Busan's Saha district office is offering 1 million won (around €675 or £570) to any couples that form after a mass blind-dating event to be hosted b
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A cannabis business has been sanctioned for handing out free ice cream. While cannabis can now be bought and sold for recreational use in Ohio, one dealer has been slapped with a fine of $150,000 – around £115,000 – for handing out free sweet treats as well.
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