A new initiative to expedite the resolution of summary cases will short-change defence lawyers, without extra pay. The Summary Case Management pilot, which begins today, seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary hearings at summary level, which contributed to over 400,000 witness citations last year

English solicitors could be given more advocacy rights under UK government plans to break the barristers' strike, according to reports. The Daily Mail quotes a government source as saying ministers "are looking to give more solicitors higher rights of audience to broaden the work they can do, increa

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly for an indefinite strike in a major escalation of their campaign for higher legal aid pay. After a two-week ballot by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in which 2,273 people voted — significantly more than either of the two pr

Legal affairs minister Ash Regan has made what she claims is a “substantial and credible offer” of support to legal aid practitioners amid a bizarre claim that Scotland has "finest legal aid system in the world". A "robust" package of support was set out by Ms Regan in a letter to the se

Students and graduates will have the opportunity to put prospective employers in the dock as the University of Dundee hosts its annual Legal Recruitment Fair. Dozens of the country’s leading law firms will attend the university’s Bonar Hall on Wednesday 5 October, where the next generati

A global law firm’s opportunity to find out about prospective careers in the world of immigration is open for Scottish applications. Fragomen’s UK Immigration School is aimed at senior school pupils, university students and graduates.

Newly-qualified commercial and corporate lawyers now enjoy salaries up to four times higher than their criminal counterparts, research by the legal recruitment and search consultancy Tenhaven, has revealed.

Adnan Syed, whose imprisonment for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee was the focus of the record-breaking podcast Serial, has been freed from prison after his conviction was vacated. A judge in Baltimore, Maryland highlighted issues in the disclosure of exculpatory evidence to Mr Syed

A man challenging his fine for indecent exposure was denied entry to a courthouse after turning up naked. Alejandro Colmar, a Spanish nudist, was prevented by security guards from entering the courthouse in Valencia on Tuesday, EFE reports.

Pop star Shakira must face trial on tax fraud charges that could see her jailed for eight years, a Spanish court has ruled. A court in Barcelona said the singer – made famous in Europe by her record-breaking hit Hips Don’t Lie – should face trial for six alleged tax crimes, the BBC

A village has come under the global spotlight after adopting a new "digital detox" from 7pm to 8.30pm every evening. A siren marks the beginning of the detox period in Mohityanche Vadgaon, a small village in India's western Maharashtra state, during which all people are asked to set aside their mobi

A seal which evaded capture by concerned authorities for several days has finally been taken into custody after turning himself in at a police station. "Shoebert", who became a minor celebrity in a town near Boston after turning up in the local Shoe Pond and defying rescue attempts, unexpectedl