News

The UK government has admitted that monitoring of privileged conversations between lawyers and their clients over the past five years by MI5, MI6 and other intelligence agencies is unlawful. The news follows the recent court ruling that the mass interception and sharing of personal intelligence data

A group of young lawyers from the Netherlands enjoyed a visit to the Faculty of Advocates and Parliament House, but found they were in for a shock. Library staff had made the guests feel at home by putting on a display of Dutch law books from the Faculty’s collection, and Parliament Hall filled th

The jury’s decision at a mock trial will be in the hands of visitors attending the Health & Safety Scotland event held at the SECC in Glasgow on 22nd and 23rd April. As part of the event’s free educational programme, organised by the British Safety Council, A Mock Trial: A Construction Indus

James Wolffe, QC, seated, with Ewan Aitken of Edinburgh Cyrenians

A new document has outlined how legal firms, the wider Scottish business community and consumers could benefit from the creation of a one-stop digital land and property information database in Scotland. The paper by Unifi Scotland will be the subject of a major conference on 10th March, where senior

John Macmillan

The use of electronic cigarettes will be banned in Scottish hospitals in Scotland in the coming weeks. New laws mean NHS boards must ensure their premises are smoke-free by April.

A date has been announced for the establishment of the new Scottish Sentencing Council (SSC). The Scottish government has confirmed that the SSC will be established by October this year with a view to having a first meeting in November.

An oil company is suing the Scottish Government over claims its property is being contaminated by “hazardous chemicals” released from land used for the M74 extension. Esso Petroleum wants the Scottish Ministers to take action to prevent further escapes and is seeking damages for the cost of moni

A seriously injured girl whose contributory negligence in a car accident was assessed at 70 per cent in a decision of an Extra Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session and whose share of damages was calculated accordingly has won an appeal against the assessment by a majority of 3-2 in th

DNA tests in family courts will be provided across England from later this year, justice minister Simon Hughes (pictured) has announced. This follows two pilot schemes in Taunton and Bristol which were set up following anecdotal evidence that courtroom arguments led to delays in divorce cases, parti

The Law Society of Scotland has published new equality standards for the legal profession along with a guide on carrying out an equal pay audit.The new standards and guide for law firms and other organisations employing solicitors follows publication of the Law Society’s third three-year equality

Fraud in Scotland increased by 67 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year at the same time that fraud levels were falling across the UK according to the latest BDO FraudTrack which examines all reported fraud cases over £50,000 in the UK. The total value increased by £4,074,500 from £6,055

Paul Jennings (left) and John Perry