News

The Law Society of Scotland has reported that the majority of trainees admitted to the profession last year were women – of whom there were 307, compared to 178 men – as well as a continued increase in the number of traineeships available for aspiring solicitors.

Bill Drummond Bill Drummond, managing partner of Brodies LLP, has been unanimously re-elected by his partners for a seventh consecutive three-year term. Mr Drummond, who is one of the UK’s longest-serving managing partners, was first elected in 1998 and has been with the firm for 35 years.

Michael Matheson The Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has rebuffed calls for the abolition of the Scottish “not proven” verdict until there is a case for reform.

HBJ Gateley has added another two new partners after reporting strong growth and a seven-strong senior hiring round at the end of last year.

Ken Milliken Large-scale fraud declined in Scotland last year according to the latest figures.

Aileen McLeod Land reform minister Aileen McLeod will today move 49 amendments to the Land Reform Bill, which she said would ensure the proposals are “far-reaching and best-deliver for the people of Scotland”.

Jamie Kerr An immigration lawyer has warned that proposed changes to the visa rules for skilled workers will stunt Scotland’s economic growth and lead to longer term damage to Scotland’s competitiveness on the international stage.

Paul Motion Paul Motion discusses the pitfalls associated with mitigating cyber-attacks on businesses. So, 2015 was the year of the cyber-attack, with TalkTalk, Ellen Conlin Hair & Beauty and supermarket group Morrisons all experiencing the devastating impact. The Ellen Conlin attack highlights

Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle Thursday 21 January at 5 pm in the Martin Hall, New College, Mound Place Edinburgh

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence who claims that the Scottish Prison Service have failed to provide him with the opportunity to show that he no longer poses a risk to the public has had an application for permission to seek judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused

A key power in the Terrorism Act 2000 is incompatible with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights if used "in respect of journalistic information or material", judges in the Court of Appeal have ruled. The court was considering whether the detention of David Miranda, partner of former

Solicitors regulated by the Law Society of Scotland will not have to duplicate work to meet requirements set by a new code of conduct for letting agents. The new code of practice, to be introduced in accordance with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, will see Scottish ministers establish and maintain

The Scottish government should be required to publish a post-legislative report on each act of Parliament three to five years after implementation, a parliamentary committee has said. And Holyrood committees should normally have a maximum of seven members to ensure focused and effective scrutiny of

The House of Lords will resume its scrutiny of the Scotland Bill on powers to be devolved to Holyrood. Currently at the committee stage, peers are due to make a closer examination of the bill.

Tom Mullen A conference to mark 30 years of the specialised judicial review procedure held jointly by Strathclyde and Glasgow University law schools took place on 26th January 2015.