Opinion

“This heat is just unbearable.” “It’s roasting!” “I wish we could just be at home by the (paddling) pool.” These are just some of the things we have been hearing in workplaces around the UK this week, writes Marianne McJannett. Periods of extreme heat are be

Commercial disputes occasionally turn on points which appear technical in form but have potentially significant financial consequences. One such issue concerns the distinction between delivery of an executed agreement and delivery of the principal signed document itself, writes Ahsan Mustafa. The qu

Last week, I attended a showing at the EICC of a deeply shocking film entitled People’s Emergency Briefing. We have become accustomed recently to focusing on AI and national security as real and imminent threats to our future. This film, presented by Chris Packham, reminds us that the biggest

Practitioners will be all too familiar with the Law Society of Scotland’s ‘Standards of Conduct’, especially when it comes to the obligations owed to clients so as not to bring yourself and, indeed, the wider profession into disrepute, writes Thomas Mitchell. However, in my own fir

Businesses face a broader risk of prosecution from this month after new powers removed the restriction to economic crimes, exposing organisations to potential liability for a wide range of offences committed by senior managers, writes Sally Clark. In April, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 received r

In April this year, the High Court of England and Wales handed down a(nother) decision relating to the now notorious “Joe Donor”: Re N (Paternity: Unregulated Sperm Donor), write Professor Gillian Black and Robert Gilmour. The question for the court was whether, under English law, a stra

One of the more persistent misconceptions in court proceedings is that a witness's evidence can be undermined simply by producing another affidavit criticising that witness. In practice, matters are rarely so straightforward, writes Ahsan Mustafa. Courts do not resolve disputes by counting affidavit

Derek Nash believes the property developers – as well as book fans – can take inspiration from the transformation of the ‘birthplace of Harry Potter’. The rebirth of The Elephant House in Edinburgh has been a tale of tenacity and ingenuity. The efforts which led to its openin

Delay in contact and residence cases is one of the most cited causes of frustration, irritation and anguish at Shared Parenting Scotland group meetings, and in calls to the daily helpline. Fathers, mothers, and grandparents watch relationships with children wither and sometimes die as months pass be

The Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Act 2026 received royal assent in April this year and will apply to contracts entered into once it comes into force. Although the legislation is rooted in long-standing legal principles, its real significance for businesses lies in how it makes those

Few expressions in criminal justice attract as much scrutiny as this one, and in recent days it has moved to the centre of controversial public debate, writes Cameron Irons. In the wake of widespread reporting on former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s police interview, two words have been dis

Jamie Marshall puts forward the case that tokenised funds represent a historic opportunity for Scotland's fund management sector to cement its position as a global leader in financial innovation, but warns that the window to act is closing and decisive industry adoption is essential to not lose grou

The UK government has, over the past year, taken a notably more deliberate approach to mobilising private capital and philanthropy for social good, writes Mark McKeown. From a Scottish perspective, however, it exposes a familiar fault line in UK policy. Devolution means that, in its current form, th

As renewable energy development density increases, developers are increasingly forced to rely on the same access routes to reach their sites, write Jennifer Young and Carys Magee. Given the nature of renewable energy projects, and with rural areas accounting for approximately 98 per cent of Scotland

In its regular horizon scanning for securities litigation trends, Brodies has identified three recent events that combine to increase the risk of securities litigation. With the market volatility seen so far this year, shareholders may look towards the companies who issued their shares to recover an