The Scottish Law Commission has published a new report recommending repeal of the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act 1949. If a tenant of a “shop” is unable to obtain renewal of the lease from the landlord, they may instead apply for renewal to the court under the 1949 Act. A “shop&rd
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Appointments
See all articlesGilson Gray has appointed experienced solicitor Sandra Teall as a new legal director for its conveyancing division in Dundee. Ms Teall was previously a solicitor at the Chamber Practice, specialising in commercial and residential conveyancing, equity release and remortgages, as well as offering priv
Brodies LLP has announced the election of a new chair, with partner Iain Rutherford to take on the role from 1 May 2025. Mr Rutherford will succeed Christine O'Neill KC, who steps down as chair on completion of her fourth, three-year term. Regarded as one of Scotland's leading litigators and an expe
Professor Gillian Black has been reappointed as a commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission. Professor Black has held a ministerial appointment as commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission since 22 April 2020.
Florence Fisher has joined d and h as senior associate, where she will offer family law and guardianship services to clients in Caithness. The firm described Ms Fisher as an experienced solicitor specialising in family law and adults with incapacity, and said she brings a wealth of knowledge and exp
The Law Society of Scotland has granted extended rights of audience to 11 new solicitor advocates at a ceremony held at the Court of Session. In the first ceremony of its kind in 2025, Law Society president Susan Murray invited Lady Haldane to administer the Declaration of Allegiance to the solicito
DWF has announced 15 promotions across its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. This includes a promotion to director for Caroline Coyle and Danny McClymont. Insurance lawyers Maggie Keir, Harriet Tooley and Rachel Heathcote were promoted to senior associate alongside tax and private capital lawyer, Zita
Legal Aid
See all articlesA woman who was assaulted by her husband was unable to secure civil legal aid for her divorce, despite contacting more than 116 law firms. The mother-of-two from the Highlands qualified for legal aid due to being on universal credit but said no firms were willing or able to take on her case. Some re
Scotland's legal aid crisis looks like it could be "unsolvable" as more than a third of legal aid lawyers are set to retire in the next decade. There are currently 911 solicitors registered for legal aid – down from 1,084 in 2020, a drop of 16 per cent.
Tony Lenehan KC remains the top earner of legal aid fees, new figures from the Scottish Legal Aid Board show. In 2023-24, Mr Lenehan's fees were £450,000, an increase of £50,000 on the previous year.
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.
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.
Universities
See all articlesProfessor Conor Gearty is to speak at St Andrews University later this month about his most recent book. In the decades following the 9/11 attacks, complex webs of anti-terrorism laws have come into play across the world promising to protect ordinary citizens from bombings, hijackings and other form
Edinburgh Law School has announced the passing of Dr Parker Hood. Dr Hood had served as a lecturer in commercial law at Edinburgh Law School since 1994, before which he studied there. From 2013, he was the director of the LLM in Commercial Law.
Dundee Law School has announced the passing of Fiona Raitt. Professor Raitt was co-founder of Dundee law firm Wilson & Raitt and worked there for 10 years before taking up the post of director of the diploma in professional legal practice at Dundee Law School in 1993.
Dundee University is set to shut down its forensic science research hub, putting 24 jobs at risk as the institution grapples with a £30 million budget shortfall, The Courier reports. Staff at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science were informed of the decision by centre director P
Freshers at Oxford University gathered on campus last weekend to compete in a mooting event organised by the Oxford Commercial Chancery Law Society (OCCLS). The moot, held at Magdalen College in Oxford, was sponsored by the Faculty of Advocates. The participating students were judged by Dr Jordan En
And Finally
See all articlesGoogle has been fined by a Russian court for hosting YouTube videos which instruct Russian soldiers in Ukraine on how to surrender. The fine of 3.8 million rubles (around €40,000 or £33,000) was imposed by Tagansky District Court in Moscow on Monday, according to Russia's state-owned TASS
Mexico will sue Google if it continues to label the entire Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America", the country's president has warned. One of Donald Trump's first acts on his return to the White House was to sign an executive order purporting to rename the body of water.
An alleged drug dealer was busted on Valentine's Day by Peru's most-loved rodent.
A woman accused by a shopkeeper of squeezing a bag of buns has been charged with criminal damage in Japan. The 40-year-old woman insisted that she had "only checked the firmness" of the buns by "pressing lightly with my hand", the BBC reports.
A judge has reversed the £32.5 million sale of a London mansion whose owner failed to disclose it was infested with moths. New owners and residents Iya Patarkatsishvili and Yevhen Hunyak said they began to encounter dozens of moths every day, including on their towels and toothbrushes and in t