News

Couples in England and Wales will be able to go through "no-fault" divorces faster under new government proposals. New legislation representing the biggest overhaul of divorce laws in the jurisdiction in 50 years will be presented to MPs "as soon as parliamentary time allows".

Professor Tobias Lock of Maynooth University Department of Law has been appointed constitutional advisor to a Scottish Parliament committee. The one-year appointment will see him support the work of the Parliament's Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee in all constitutional matter

Offenders with mental health conditions and disorders could be given more lenient sentences under proposed guidance published in a consultation from the Sentencing Council. When the guidance is published in its final form judges and magistrates in England and Wales will have a process to follow when

Prison authorities in Russia have reinstated yoga classes for inmates after insisting they would not somehow turn them gay. The classes, introduced last year, were briefly suspended after the country's prosecutor-general launched an investigation into claims by an influential religious scholar that

Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing have asked police to stop their deployment of cyber-kiosks or ‘digital triage devices’ until there is greater clarity on the legal framework for their use in a new report out today. Cyber-kiosks are laptop-sized

The UK government has proposed the creation of an independent regulator as part of a series of measures to ensure social media companies and tech firms keep their users safe, including possible liability for individual members of senior management. The measures are set out in the Online Harms White

Harper Macleod has promoted five lawyers to partner across the country. The promotions of Andrew Upton in dispute resolution, Collette Miller and Jill Fryer in public sector & social housing, and employment team members Scott Milligan and Lorna Davis take the firm's total number of par

Following BTO Solicitors LLP’s recent appointment of a new chairman and chief operating officer, the firm has announced a number of senior promotions. Two associates have been promoted to partner, fifteen have stepped up to senior associate level and a further two senior solicitors have b

Brodies LLP has appointed two new partners in its Aberdeen office. Elaine Farquharson-Black, a recognised leader in the planning arena, will add further strength to Brodies’ housebuilding and planning teams. She joins Brodies from Burness Paull where she was formerly head of both its planning

Shepherd and Wedderburn has appointed partner and private client specialist Gillian Campbell to lead its offering to private individuals and families, business owners and entrepreneurs in the north of Scotland. Ms Campbell, who is based in the firm’s Aberdeen office, is a highly regarded priva

Gildeas has acquired Fulton’s Solicitors and Estate Agents. The existing Gildeas conveyancing practice will merge with Fulton’s, which will continue trading as a separate entity from its two customer-facing units in Mount Florida and Clarkston.

Morton Fraser has appointed Stephen Clark as senior associate to its corporate law team. Mr Clark brings 12 years’ experience in corporate law to Morton Fraser and is dual-qualified in English and Scots law. Practising across a range of corporate law disciplines with a particular focus on equi

Murgitroyd Group PLC, a European patent and trade mark attorney practice, has announced the appointment of Willie MacDiarmid to the board of the company as non-executive director and deputy chairman with effect from 1 April 2019. He takes on the latter role from Edward Murgitroyd who became CEO of M

The UK government has abandoned plans to define extremism in law after being told it would criminalise legitimate political and religious activity. Lord Anderson of Ipswich, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said previous attempts to deal with dangerous ideology before it leads t

A girl who told judges she lied about allegations that resulted in her grandfather being convicted and jailed for sexually abusing her has had her plea for him to be released rejected. The man, 68, must continue to serve his 12-year sentence even though the girl, known as M, said she lied at trial,