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Police are forced to attend Scottish courts dozens of times each month to deal with a range of 999 calls, new figures have shown. Between 2016 and 2018, the force received 2,228 emergency calls from sheriff courts across the country.

A think tank has called for a pilot scheme in Scottish prisons to offer each prisoner a landline phone in their cell. At present, Scottish prisoners can only access a telephone at certain times and often in communal settings. In England, conversely, a number of prisons have landline phones in c

A man has admitted stealing a dozen budgies from a woman's home before offering to help her look for the pets – while a couple of them sat on his shoulder. Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that Mohammed Rahman, 37, broke into accountant Anne Ferguson's flat with a hammer last April.

A pursuer’s offer cannot be lodged and given effect to in the Inner House of the Court of Session, appeal judges have ruled. The First Division held that, while the chapter 34A of the Rules of the Court of Session did not expressly exclude pursuers’ offers, the language of the rules

Scotland's law officers today marked the 30th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing. The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, attended a commemoration at Dryfesdale Cemetery in his capacity as head of the system of prosecution in Scotland, and as the representative of the Scottish government.

Scots wanting to get divorced, realise their dream of starting their own business or prepare for the future in 2019 are being urged to use a solicitor to help things go smoothly. The call comes as new research carried out by ComRes on behalf of the Law Society of Scotland shows that 41 per cent of S

Scots lawyers are being asked to help inform a new documentary on parole. Red Sky Productions has been granted unprecedented access to the Parole Board for Scotland in producing its documentary for Channel 4.

Brexit and the twists and turns flowing from two historic court rulings will be put under the spotlight at a special Faculty of Advocates event. Brexit: Lessons from the Courts is a joint presentation by the Faculty and the European Circuit, a voluntary organisation of advocates, barristers and cour

This month brought another interesting development in the ongoing saga of employment status for gig economy workers, writes Meghan Jenkins. Last Wednesday the English High Court rejected a judicial review challenge in the case of R (on the application of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britai

Morton Fraser has begun a new podcast series that explores mediation in Scotland. In the first episode of the Stuck in the Middle series, the firm chats with Graham Boyack, director of Scottish Mediation about the role mediation plays in resolving conflict and the various ways in which mediation can

A third of vintage Scotch whiskies have found to be fake. The Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), based in East Kilbride, carried out carbon dating on 55 bottles, discovering that 21 were not what they claimed to be on the label.

A little boy in Fife won’t stand out from the crowd this Christmas but will be able to boast to pals that Santa brought him a bike, too – thanks to the generosity of members of the Faculty of Advocates and staff. The boy is one of many youngsters - and parents – to be given some fe

The Court of Appeal has ruled that Uber drivers should be considered workers, with the right to a guaranteed minimum wage and holiday pay, in a major blow to the gig economy company. The court upheld the previous Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal rulings that Uber had unlawfull

Scottish Legal News' extremely popular 'And finally...' slot enjoyed another year of bizarre and funny stories. Listed below are the 10 our readers enjoyed most. And finally… str**k off