News

Four of Shoosmiths’ Kiltwalk participants, including Jen Paton (mini kilt) and Andrew Foyle (kilt) at the Kiltwalk Edinburgh finish. On Sunday 13 fit and hardy lawyers from Shoosmiths' office in Edinburgh donned their hiking boots and kilts to join thousands of others for the annual Edinburgh

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has instructed a complete reinvestigation of the 2004 murder of Alistair Wilson in Nairn. A new team of prosecutors from the Crown Office and a new team of officers from Police Scotland will work on the full cold-case investigation.

Concerns have been raised regarding the inquiry into a £1 billion banking fraud case at HBOS, after it was revealed that evidence is still being received in its eighth year. Former high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs, who was appointed in 2017 to investigate Lloyds Banking Group's alleged cover-

An unruly passenger whose behaviour forced his plane to divert has been ordered to repay the airline for the additional fuel costs. In an unusual move, a court in Perth, Australia ruled that the 33-year-old man should pay $8,630 AUD (around €5,200 or £4,400) to the airline to cover fuel c

More than a million calls to Police Scotland’s 101 crime hotline have been ignored over the past two years, new figures show. The number is used as an alternative to 999 for the public to report crimes including antisocial behaviour, assaults and vandalism.

Public inquiries should be given a clear deadline in their terms of reference to avoid unnecessary and excessive costs, a House of Lords committee has recommended. The Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee has today published a report urging a major overhaul of the way public inquiries are set up and

On 7 September 2024 the profession lost one of its true originals and, for those of us that knew and worked with him, a very special colleague and friend. Richard Alexander Barrie – or “RAB” – died peacefully at home after having carried himself with indefatigable courage sin

The annual Red Mass to mark the beginning of the new legal year in Scotland takes place on Sunday 22 September at noon. The mass will be celebrated in St Mary’s R.C. Cathedral, Broughton Street, Edinburgh, and the principal celebrant will be the Most Reverend Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andr

The Scottish Young Lawyers' Association (SYLA) has re-elected Patricia Taylor for a second term as its president. SYLA has created a number of new positions on its committee, at both executive and non-executive level. It now has a social media manager, supporting roles for secretary and treasurer an

Advocate General for Scotland Catherine Smith KC has welcomed a new panel of standing junior counsel to deal with UK government work arising in the Scottish courts. The appointments, which have been approved by her, are as follows:

A woman who used a voice-changing application to sound like a man during a stalking campaign has been jailed for two years and four months. Adele Rennie, from Kilmarnock, pretended to be a male pharmacist when she matched with her victim on the dating platform Tinder in August 2023.

Short-term let (STL) operators in Edinburgh will now be able to apply for planning permission before their licences are determined following a successful legal challenge.

The Conveyancing Information Executive (CIE) has announced the membership of Millar & Bryce as an associate member. Richard Hepburn, managing director of Millar & Bryce, said: “Millar & Bryce has been a cornerstone of the Scottish property industry providing search and property rep

The Law Society of England and Wales could pay Council members for the first time under proposals to be debated at its AGM next month. The move is being considered in response to the removal in March 2023 of a tax break which allowed Council members to claim an annual expense allowance (AEA) worth a

The policing minister of England and Wales had her handbag stolen at a conference of senior police officers this week. Dame Diana Johnson delivered a speech at the annual Police Superintendents’ Conference on Tuesday detailing how the UK government plans to improve neighbourhood policing.