As the year comes to a close with Christmas all but cancelled, it is hard to imagine that any good has come from Covid-19. For Morton Fraser partner David Hossack, however, one positive to come out of the coronavirus pandemic is that it has helped to highlight the role mediation can play in the reso
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
The Scottish government has launched a consultation seeking views on potential improvements to the legal complaints system, within the current legislative framework of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007. The government said there is a compelling case for the consideration of amen
In our final edition of SLN before we take a much-needed break, we detail just some of the many stories of the difficult year that was 2020. In January lawyers gathered at the Signet Library in Edinburgh to hear from Philippe Sands QC on the plight of the Chagos Islanders and Britain's refusal to al
The Dean of Faculty threatened to withdraw from the Scottish government's legal team in its defence against Alex Salmond unless they brought an end to the case, new documents show. Roddy Dunlop QC said he would not continue 11 days before the government conceded that its investigation of the former
Children, families and friends have had around 18,000 ‘virtual visits’ with prisoners in Scotland in the six months since secure online conferencing was rolled-out across the country. The introduction of virtual visits, alongside the provision of mobile telephone handsets with appropriat
MBM Commercial has bolstered the firm’s dispute resolution practice with the appointment of Tim Edward. He joins the firm as a partner and will work closely along side Cat MacLean, head of MBM’s dispute resolution group. Mr Edward was previously a partner at Dentons and head of its comme
A building contractor that was hired to construct an extension at a school in Ayrshire has succeeded in an action to enforce an adjudicator’s award following a dispute with the local authority. The pursuer, D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd, was contracted by the defender, East Ayrshire Co
A legal messenger known as the world’s most loyal employee, having worked at the same firm for 84 years, has passed away. John Burns was 98 and had said he would retire in the weeks before his death. He had continued delivering legal documents around the Court of Session for TC Young Wilson Te
The Law Society of Scotland has raised issues over solicitors' ability to perform their jobs properly in courts with the courts service. Amanda Millar, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said practitioners had expressed concern with the current arrangements and "their ability to play a full a
Take-home Naloxone will be given to people at high risk of accidental overdoses in a move designed to reduce the number of drug deaths, the Scottish government has said. This will include those who have been resuscitated by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) following an accidental overdose.
The Scottish government has been urged to do more to prevent an increase in adverts which seek sex in lieu of rent. According to surveys by Shelter and ComRes, as many as 30,000 women were propositioned with ‘sex for rent’ offers across the UK since the start of the lockdown last Ma
Solicitors in West Lothian will move to adjourn future trial diets as concern over the safety of courts in Scotland grows. The Faculty of West Lothian Solicitors has endorsed the response of the Glasgow Bar Association to the Lord President, Lord Carloway, who this week said failure to comply with c
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the average property selling price in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was £269,542, up 8.1 per cent compared to last year, according to the latest data released by ESPC.
As a result of the increasing spread of the new variant of Covid-19 across Scotland, the Lord President, Lord Carloway has announced that during the lockdown period the criminal courts will focus on the most serious trials and the majority of summary trials in the Sheriff Court and Justice of t
The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) will host a conference on ethics over three virtual sessions in the coming weeks. The Ethics Conference will be held on Tuesday 19 January, Tuesday 26 January and Thursday 4 February.