News

A lawyer who had already been suspended for stealing wine has been disbarred after preying on a client during her divorce. Rodger W. Moore was suspended in 2015 for stealing three bottles of wine and olive oil in an incident in 2012.

A man found guilty of murder who claimed that the trial judge’s decision to refuse to allow part of a 999 call to be played in court, during which recording a voice could be heard saying words to the effect that one of his co-accused “did it”, has had an appeal against his convicti

Greater oversight of how the police take, store, use and dispose of data such as fingerprints, DNA samples and facial images, will be created under proposals published at Holyrood. The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Bill aims to help improve how biometric data is handled by police, ensuring it is

John Mulholland has become the new president of the Law Society of Scotland after taking over from Alison Atack at today's meeting of the Law Society of Scotland's decision-making Council, while Perth-based solicitor, Amanda Millar, became the new vice president. Mr Mulholland said: “It’

New figures published today by the Home Office show that only 31,400 EU citizens have applied for settled status in Scotland, out of about 200,000 EU citizens resident north of the border. Across the UK, fewer than 300,000 EU citizens – under 10 per cent of those believed to be currently resid

The immigration detention centre at Heathrow Airport has come under fire from an independent watchdog for holding people for "inhumane" periods. A new report from the centre's Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) notes that some detainees have been held for up to four-and-a-half years before being rel

Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC FRSE has been awarded honorary membership by the Law Society of Scotland. Alison Atack, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “I am delighted to award Dame Elish honorary membership of the Law Society of Scotland in our 70th anniversary year. She has had a

The Scotch Whisky Association’s legal team has been awarded the best Not For Profit Organisation Team of the Year at the World Trademark Review Awards in Boston.

Agreements between businesses and individuals occur on a daily basis, but what does it take to make them legally binding? Peter Begbie explains. A written contract is a common – and often most advisable – way of legally formalising an agreement. However, it is also possible to establish

Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, indicated yesterday that he is "minded to quash" the search warrants linked to the raids on the homes and office of two Northern Ireland journalists. Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey brought judicial review proceedings to th

Six in 10 people in England and Wales believe the legal system is not designed for ordinary people, new research has found. The research was conducted to mark the launch of the Legal Access Challenge – a new prize run by Nesta Challenges in partnership with the Solicitors Regulation Authority&

A leading Scottish mental health charity has benefited from funds raised on its behalf by staff in the Edinburgh office of Shoosmiths. The latest fun initiatives to support the Scottish Association of Mental Health (SAMH) saw over thirty Shoosmiths’ staff enjoying a social quiz night held in t

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Brazil: Supreme Court Votes to Make Homophobia a Crime

A vet has been suspended from the register for six months after stealing a newborn puppy and telling its rightful owners that it died. Zahra Rafiq, 29, delivered a litter of six French bulldogs but told owner Safinah Mhagrh, 29, that five had been delivered and one had died, The Times reports.

A businessman who challenged a Scottish judge’s decision to grant a decree ordering him to conform to a Hong Kong High Court ruling that he make a payout to a former associate has had his appeal dismissed. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld the decision of the Lord Ordina