Search: Peter Watson

The son of a Church of Scotland minister who first attended the General Assembly 45 years ago has been appointed its new procurator. Jonathan Brodie KC, of Arnot Manderson Advocates, said he is "deeply grateful" to be given the opportunity to take on the role which entails providing legal advic

Shoosmiths has officially opened its new office in Edinburgh, part of the £350 million mixed-use development at 1 Haymarket Square, with a jazz and cocktail reception attended by over 150 staff and guests. The Edinburgh-based office represents the first occupancy in Haymarket Square, with Shoo

A commercial judge in the High Court of England and Wales has resolved a preliminary issue in a pizza chain’s £260 million claim seeking payment from business interruption insurance following Covid closures in favour of its insurers. The PizzaExpress group, insured by Liberty Mutual Insu

A Lord Ordinary has ruled that a policy of the City of Edinburgh Council creating restrictions on the granting of short-term lets in tenement buildings is unlawful at common law after a petition for judicial review was brought by a number of providers of short-term accommodation in the city. Petitio

Two lawyers and a law firm who cited fake court cases generated by ChatGPT have been fined $5,000 (around €4,600 or £3,900). Judge P. Kevin Castel, in Manhattan, said there was nothing "inherently improper" about using AI to help write a legal filing, but lawyers have a responsibility to

Blackadders LLP has welcomed a new group of 10 trainees to the firm. The latest cohort of eager legal minds have set out on their careers with inductions across the full-service firm’s units including four seats in each of separate departments within the private client and business service gro

A provider of payment protection insurance that had complaints against it accepted by the Financial Ombudsman Service on the basis that several shopping catalogue retailers had been acting as its agents in mis-selling the policies has lost an appeal against a refusal of a judicial review petition by

Blackadders LLP has completed the purchase of 37 chemist shops for clients across Scotland from Lloyds Pharmacy in deals worth a total of more than £35 million. Lloyds has been carrying out a divestment programme in Scotland this year and 18 Blackadders’ clients have taken the opportunit

Lindsay Jack, director of student experience at the Edinburgh Law School, has received the principal’s medal. The medals are one of the ways in which the university recognises professional services, academic staff, or students who have made outstanding contributions to the University and wider

A Jedburgh sheriff has ruled that a homemade will by a woman that was signed only at the front of the document could not be cured by the court of defects that removed its testamentary effect. Pursuers Christopher Knapman and Patrick Wadeson sought to cure defects of execution in the purported will o

A collection of essays entitled The Ian Willock Collection on Law and Justice in the Twenty First Century has been published in memory of Professor Ian Willock. The collection is edited by Eamon Keane of the University of Glasgow and Peter Robson and features an array of contributions on themes as v

A sheriff has granted a petition for a couple to be appointed as executors dative to a deceased by virtue of a power of attorney granted in their favour by his wife, the executrix nominate of the estate. The will of the late Robert Thompson appointed his wife Jean as executor nominate. Mrs Thompson

Nina Taylor has been named as the new chair of Lindsays. The partner in family law will succeed Peter Tweedie, who is retiring both as chairman and a partner from March 31, although he will remain with the firm in a consultancy role.

The High Court of Justiciary has refused two appeals against conviction by a pair who were convicted of the attempted murder of a man in an Edinburgh newsagent after they argued they had not been given a fair trial. Lewis Spence and Connor Steele were each given an extended sentence with a custodial

Police Scotland has been urged to join more than a dozen UK police forces in issuing an apology for historic discrimination against LGBT+ people. Northumbria Police chief constable Vanessa Jardine has become the 16th UK police chief to issue a formal apology to the LGBT+ community in response to a c