News

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that men who have had sexual relations with other men may justifiably be prevented from donating blood where it is established such men are at a high risk of contracting severe infectious diseases and, to ensure compatibility with the principle of non-di

Paul Wheelhouse Legal highs are the cause of an increasing number of drug deaths according to the latest statistics.

Stuart Malcolm Shoosmiths has advised laser developer and manufacturer M Squared Lasers on an agreement to develop new technologies with the University of St Andrews.

Police Scotland have revealed that a pilot scheme that gives women the right to know if their partner has a history of violence has provided information to six women since it launched last year.

The General Court of the European Union as cancelled two community trademarks registered by Louis Vuitton because the square pattern is not distinctive enough. The French fashion house has been arguing since 2009 that its dark brown and beige square pattern, registered in 1998, and its black and gre

The parents of missing child Madeleine McCann have been awarded €500,000 in damages after a Portuguese detective accused them of being complicit in their daughter's abduction. Gonçalo Amaral, who led the search for the three-year-old in 2007, was on trial at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon over c

The Home Secretary has successfully challenged a Scottish judge’s decision that her refusal of a Pakistani national’s application for leave to remain in the UK was unlawful. The Lord Ordinary held that a rejection letter by the Secretary of State failed to consider whether refusal of leave to re

A man who threatened a sheriff in her presence that he would find and kill her has been sentenced to over three years in prison. At Airdrie Sheriff Court today, Sheriff Richard Clark sentenced Thomas Rundell to three years and two months imprisonment after the accused pled guilty to threatening to k

A man found guilty of exchanging sexually explicit mobile phone messages with a 13-year-old girl and having in his possession thousands of indecent images of children on his computers has failed in an appeal against conviction but successfully challenged the sentence imposed. The Criminal Appeal Cou

A 42-year old businessman who ran a multi-million pound VAT fraud scheme has been ordered to pay £240,000 to prosecutors. Shahid Ramzan's lawyers agreed he evaded VAT payments of £5,661,839 between October 2002 and July 2004, with the High Court in Edinburgh ordering him to pay £240,000 within si

Church of Scotland officials have warned ministers may be taken to court if they refuse to wed gay couples. The church's general assembly will next month consider a report by the legal questions committee (LQC) of the organisation which warns the church may be “vulnerable to legal challenge” as

House prices rose 13.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014-15, while the volume of sales dropped by 4.7 per cent compared to the same period last year according to official statistics published today by Registers of Scotland (RoS). The average house price in Scotland from January to March was £1

Nearly half of motorists who ignore traffic laws have said they do so on purpose because they either do not believe in the laws or do not think they will be caught. Seven in ten respondents to a survey said they had seen other drivers eating or drinking, using their phones or tailgating.

Margaret Burgess

DLA Piper has advised Heart of Midlothian football club on a significant partnership with Save the Children. Led by Graeme Henry, partner and head of the restructuring team in Scotland, DLA Piper helped structure the deal which will see Hearts FC become the first ever club in the UK to carry the nam