News

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Chinese authorities still persecute dissidents’ families years after their release | Voice of America

Better-looking lawyers are more likely to win their cases, according to a new study. Research undertaken at the University of Illinois gathered data on more than 1,000 US court cases and obtained photos and courtroom videos of the attorney involved.

Katia Sher and Emma Kolbuc have won this year's Internal Mooting Competition at the University of Dundee. Throughout the competition, organised annually by the university's Mooting Society, participants tackle a range of complex legal issues, including topics such as duty of care and medic

Bookings are now being taken for the Faculty of Advocates’ 16th annual World Intellectual Property Day Conference. The popular lunchtime hybrid event will take place in the Mackenzie Building in Edinburgh and online later this month. The theme for this year is ‘Intellectual Property and

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said that the spike in hate crime reports in the first week of new legislation coming into force shows "how vital tackling hate crime is", despite the fact that only 3.5 per cent of reports had been recorded. Police Scotland has received 7,152 online hate

A new Scottish Pubs Code will enable eligible tied pub tenants to sell a guest beer from brands that have small production levels or switch to a market rate lease under which they could purchase products from any supplier. Ministers will lay secondary legislation in the Parliament next week which, i

Italy's advertising regulator has banned a TV ad showing nuns receiving crisps instead of wafers at communion.

Former chairman of Blackadders Solicitors and Lord Dean of Guild of the Guildry Incorporation of Dundee, Scott Williamson WS, has died after being taken ill at home, aged 69. The only son of the late Hugh and Florence Williamson, Mr Williamson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1955 and spent his ea

An advocate has been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional misconduct. Lorenzo Alonzi represented defendant Daniel McFarlane at a trial in 2022.

Edinburgh Law School remains in the QS World University Rankings’ top 25 law schools for the fifth consecutive year. The rankings placed the law school at 20th in the world and it remains ranked 6th in the UK and 1st in Scotland.

Scottish Legal News is sad to report the death of Sheriff Brian Kearney, at the age of 88, on 28 March. Sheriff Kearney was apprenticed at the firm of McLay Murray and Spens, in 1960, before joining Biggart Lumsden where he specialised in employers' reparation, becoming a partner there in 1965.

Mackinnons hosted a ‘Lunch with the Legends’ to celebrate (almost) 40 years since the release of groundbreaking Last of the Hunters documentary, featuring three legends – and top skippers – of the Scottish fishing industry: Andrew Bremner, Willie Tait and Terry Taylor.

The Faculty of Advocates’ mini-devilling scheme has been praised again this year, with participating students saying they would definitely recommend it to others. This is the second year a full 10-week programme has been available to students studying towards the diploma. It aims to encourage

The European Court of Human Rights has published a factsheet on past and pending cases concerning climate change. The document has been published following the Strasbourg court's landmark rulings yesterday on three climate cases. The applicants were successful in one of the cases, and unsuccessful i

Thorntons has announced the appointment of seven newly qualified solicitors, all of whom have completed the firm's two-year traineeship programme. Sean Lieder and Hannah Smethurst have joined the firm’s corporate team in Edinburgh, and Walter Buckman has joined the corporate team in Glasgow.