Former pensions lawyer Elizabeth Gordon has been appointed to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Council. Mrs Gordon is one of four new members of the Council, which is responsible for deciding if an ad has broken the advertising rules and therefore needs to be amended or withdrawn. The Counc
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
Melissa Rutherford, a criminal defence solicitor and specialist in trauma-informed practice, is to address the next meeting of Disabling Barriers Scotland. The group, founded by Tom McGovern and Fraser Mackay, is open to support from all who have an interest in making the Scottish legal sector more
Dear Editor, In what is said to be the former First Minister’s first intervention on a policy issue, she is reported as saying that the backlash by lawyers against plans for juryless trials for rape cases is a sign that Scottish politics is polarised. I may be alone in failing to understand wh
The Law Society of Scotland has signed up to an international declaration on protecting the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession. The move follows the organisation’s warnings about new proposals to reform regulation of legal services, which could see unprecedented direct inte
Fiona Cameron, banking partner in Shoosmiths’ Glasgow office, examines the significance of the recently passed Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill and outlines why it’s likely to be welcomed by Scotland’s banking practitioners and lenders. To the frustration of Scottish banking l
Plans to hold young offenders under the age of 18 in secure care rather than young offender institutes (YOIs) will require additional resources, a Holyrood committee has warned. There are significantly higher costs associated with holding young people in secure care rather than YOIs, the criminal ju
Proposed legislation to update and strengthen charity law has passed its first parliamentary stage. MSPs have voted to support the general principles of the Charities (Regulation and Administration) Bill which aims to improve accountability and transparency of charities and increases the powers of t
Shonagh Brown and Pamela Gilmour discuss the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill, recently passed by the Scottish Parliament, and how it aims to modernise and simplify the law of moveable transactions. Scots law has not traditionally been recognised for its dynamic or innovative nature, but newly-
Women in Law Scotland is looking for views on its future ahead of a relaunch. The group, established in 2015, is a network aimed at Scots solicitors, advocates, paralegals and others, to promote gender equality in Scottish legal profession.
Dhana McIver has been appointed by Balfour and Manson as its first disability officer. Ms McIver, who is profoundly deaf and wears hearing aids in both ears, is a trainee solicitor who has had a wide-ranging career in the law, having worked for six years as an executry paralegal and 11 years with th
Lawyers in Glasgow and Edinburgh have voted to boycott the proposed juryless trials pilot in rape cases. Members of the Edinburgh Bar Association voted overwhelmingly to boycott the measure contained in the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill should they come to fruition.
Dear Editor, Douglas Cusine writes that there is “no evidence” that jurors subscribe to rape myths. He states that the “only way one could get ‘evidence’ would be to sit in during a jury’s deliberations, or interview jurors afterwards” and rightly points out
The introduction of the 2018 Domestic Abuse Act has been an important step but more action is needed in implementing it and tackling domestic abuse, the Criminal Justice Committee has said. As part of post-legislative scrutiny, the committee has been reviewing the impact of the Act and how effective
CMS has announced the promotion of Siobhan Kahmann to partner level. The Brussels-based competition and regulatory law specialist, who works across the Scottish marketplace, is among several new global partner promotions announced by the firm this year.
Andrew Stevenson considers the price we will pay by adopting virtual courts. Support within the UK for the principles of maintaining a system where justice is administered locally or in public was evaporating even before Covid-19; in the decade to 2020, more than half the Magistrates Court
