Amnesty International has warned Scottish ministers they must be transparent about a review of human rights due diligence processes for awarding public grants to arms companies. Amnesty previously called the process in place at Scottish Enterprise inadequate after it emerged that not one company has
Appointments
See all articlesAt the recent annual conference of the International Academy of Mediators (IAM) John Sturrock KC was elected to the board of governors of the IAM. The board consists of members from around the globe, including Singapore, India, Hong Kong, England, the US, Canada, Kenya, Israel and France. 
Scullion LAW has welcomed Darren Fleming to its road traffic and criminal law team. Kris Buchanan, head of the team said: “Darren brings to the team a wealth of knowledge and experience from the High Court, having acted as junior counsel to some of the country’s leading KCs, and in so
Aberdein Considine has appointed Marianne McJannett as a partner in the firm’s Glasgow office. Ms McJannett, who qualified as a solicitor in 2012, joins Aberdein Considine from Bellwether Green, where she was head of employment.
Livingstone Brown has announced the promotion of both Robbie Brodie and Stephen Smith to legal director. Mr Brodie has been with the firm since 2017 and has played a key role in growing the firm’s personal injury department. Mr Smith joined the firm in 2020 and heads the firm’s employmen
Lindsays has appointed Ken Dinneen as its head of finance. He succeeds Jim Kinloch, who is retiring after seven years with the firm, and brings with him decades of experience of working in legal services, most recently as finance director of Balfour and Manson.
Burness Paull has appointed Nicola Scott as a partner in its energy team. Ms Scott advises clients in the renewables sector on real estate matters having spent her career working in both private practice and in house with a ‘big six’ energy company. Her experience includes acting for cli
Legal Aid
See all articlesScotland’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
Solicitors employed on the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s emergency helpline have backed strike action over changes to shift patterns, The Scotsman reports. Sixteen solicitors working on the Solicitor Contact Line voted for industrial action following complaints that management had imposed 12-hour
Colin Lancaster, chief executive of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, details proposals delivered at Holyrood to improve the legal aid system. SLAB is one of a number of organisations to give evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice (EHRCJ) Committee at its inquiry into the current civ
Hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales have had their personal data stolen in a cyber-attack. The Ministry of Justice today announced that hackers had "accessed and downloaded a significant amount of personal data from those who applied for legal aid through our digital s
Calls for the establishment of a civil legal assistance office and a university law clinic in the Forth Valley will not be enough to solve the region's "legal aid desert", Scottish Legal News has been told. Earlier this week, a new report from Stirling District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) raised co
Universities
See all articlesOne of the world’s foremost experts in forensic investigation will deliver a public lecture at the University of Dundee later this month exploring how science and technology are used in criminal investigations. Dr Sheila Willis, former director general of Forensic Science Ireland, will deliver
Public law faces a puzzle prompted by the rise in populism and political polarisation in recent times: on the one hand, the values of public law including the rule of law, fundamental rights protections, the separation of powers and democratic government generally celebrate and provide structures to
An Edinburgh Law School team has won multiple prizes at the 2025 Day of Crisis Competition in the Netherlands.
How willing would you be to hand over your mobile phone to the police if they asked to examine its contents? Why are many suspicious of facial recognition technology, yet happy to use this to unlock their digital devices? These are themes that University of Dundee and Open University experts are hel
Dr Titilayo Adebola, senior lecturer and director of Aberdeen University's Centre for Commercial Law, delivered the keynote address at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications 2025. The symposium was jointly organised by WIPO a
And Finally
See all articlesA man who changed his name to Lucifer Of-Darkness had his assault charge called at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday the 13th. Of-Darkness, 41, is accused of punching a man at Edinburgh Waverley station. Formerly Berkani Nahim, Of-Darkness allegedly caused severe injury to Christopher Jamieson
An American police force has come under fire after inviting officers to join the SWAT unit if they are "jonesing to fire less lethal rounds at fleeing suspects". Oregon State Police tried unsuccessfully to prevent the release of the internal recruitment email to The Oregonian, arguing that it reveal
A local newspaper has successfully defended a lawsuit brought by a father who complained that it had failed to cover his son's high school basketball games. Vermont man Robert Lafayette sued the Burlington Free Press and two of its journalists, alleging that its coverage of high school sports was no
A Twix advert has been banned in the UK for encouraging dangerous driving. The minute-long advert shows a race between two cars, one of which tumbles down a cliff and lands upside down on the other, becoming joined sunroof to sunroof.
A senior corporate lawyer has come forward to claim a mysterious pile of cash seemingly abandoned near rubbish bins. Thai lawyer Thaweewat Sengkaew turned up at a police station to claim ownership of the 12 million baht in cash (around £272,300).