News

British scientists from the Royal Society and Royal Society of Edinburgh are to teach the senior judiciary how to handle scientific evidence in court. Supported by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the scheme will launch with a “primer document” on DNA analysis

A US jury is to decide next month whether Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page stole the opening chords used in their 1971 classic Stairway to Heaven from another song. US district judge Gary Klausner, in Los Angeles, said in a decision that the 1967 instrumental Taurus, by the band Spirit,

The Law Society of Scotland has warned that despite moves to protect client communications with solicitors, the UK government’s Investigatory Powers Bill could still fall short. Tim Musson, convener of the Law Society of Scotland privacy law committee, said: “Protecting the privacy of a client�

Michael Matheson The Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson, has said suspected criminals could be electronically tagged instead of being held on remand, The Sunday Post reports.

Caroline Ramsay Pinsent Masons has announced the promotion of 18 individuals – three in Scotland – to its partnership.

Iain Nisbet Cairn Legal has announced that Iain Nisbet is joining the firm as a consultant solicitor.

A police unit has admitted 13 breaches of spying laws. Police Scotland’s counter corruption unit (CCU), which illegally snooped on journalistic sources, has been found to have authorised its own spying, instead of obtaining judicial approval.

Aberdeen City Council has abandoned its threat of legal action against Police Scotland following the merger of two local divisions. The council had considered seeking a judicial review of the decision to merge the two units for the north east of Scotland.

Richard Foley Pinsent Masons has been named Law Firm of the Year 2016 at the Legal Business awards. It follows a judging process comprised of general counsel from some of the UK’s largest corporates.

James Wolffe QC

Adam Tomkins A Conservative election candidate and legal academic has called for a new UK government department for the constitution.

A Catholic monk was jailed today for seven years for physically and sexually abusing a number of boys in his care at an East Lothian school between January 1971 and July 1985. At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Uist sentenced Michael Murphy to seven years imprisonment after he was found guilty of

A parliamentary draughtsman has warned that the length of new bills and the number of clauses they include is becoming so great that Parliament is unable to scrutinise them properly. In a new report entitled Dangerous Trends in Modern Legislation... and how to reverse them, published by the Centre f

Kath Murray Scrapping the SNP's 1,000 extra officers policy will open the way for properly resourcing the single force writes Kath Murray.

A celebrity whose alleged “extramarital activities” are the subject of a gagging order under English law has been named in the US, calling into question the point of privacy injunctions in the age of social media. The man, whose identity was revealed in a US publication, is said to have been inv