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A judge in the Outer House has ruled that the Scottish government acted illegally in granting licences for scallop dredging in a case brought by environmental campaigners last month. Open Seas, a group concerned about the damaging impacts of the fishing method on Scotland’s seabed, accused min

The Sheriff Appeal Court has refused an appeal by a patient of an Ayrshire dentist who was removed from the Dentists Register against a sheriff’s decision that he was not responsible for an acute stress disorder suffered by the patient as a result of learning of a small chance he had contracte

A lawyer who claimed he was suffering from “sexsomnia” when he molested two schoolchildren and raped their older sister has been convicted of sexual abuse. Andrew Lingard had denied the historical offences, claiming that he had a condition that makes sufferers unaware of what they do whi

Two lawyers and a law firm who cited fake court cases generated by ChatGPT have been fined $5,000 (around €4,600 or £3,900). Judge P. Kevin Castel, in Manhattan, said there was nothing "inherently improper" about using AI to help write a legal filing, but lawyers have a responsibility to

The widespread adoption of remote working has increased cyber security risks for law firms, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned. NCSC — part of GCHQ — yesterday published its latest Cyber Threat to the Legal Sector report to highlight the potential threats to legal

The feminisation of the Scottish legal profession continues, with almost 57 per cent of solicitors being female compared to 55 per cent two years ago. The Law Society of Scotland has published its latest diversity data, collected as part of the annual practising certificate (PC) renewal process to o

Miller Samuel Hill Brown licensing consultant Peter Lawson has been awarded a CBE in the first Birthday Honours list made by King Charles III. The King's Birthday Honours mark the extraordinary contributions and service of people across the UK. The Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Russian security forces search home of lawyer representing activist who died in prison | Meduza

New laws to change how imprisonment is used in Scotland, while ensuring victims are at the heart of the justice system, have been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The reforms will establish one new bail test and set into law the circumstances in which courts should remand someone in custody or gra

Academics at Abertay University are working with Police Scotland on a research project that aims to help frontline officers improve how they interact with LGBT and care-experienced young people. Led by Professor Jim Moir of Abertay’s School of Business, Law and Social Sciences, the project inv

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a fatal accident inquiry into the death of 69-year-old Robert Chalmers. Mr Chalmers died on 4 April 2022 at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh after being transferred there from HMP E

A Pakistani national who had an application for naturalisation as a British citizen refused because she had unknowingly remained in the UK after her leave had been curtailed has had her petition challenging the decision refused. Petitioner Azia Ameen, who had been granted indefinite leave to remain

Winnie Ewing, the former SNP MP and an emblem of the Scottish independence movement, has passed away at the age of 93. Born and raised in Glasgow, she studied law at Glasgow University and qualified as a solicitor, running her own firm.

Half of the prison officers in England and Wales do not feel safe at the prisons they work in, a large-scale survey of prison staff by the cross-party parliamentary Justice Committee has revealed. Over 80 per cent of the prison officers surveyed say that staff morale is not good, and a large majorit

A 53-year-old Edinburgh site manager has been fined £3,600 after bulldozing a badger sett. Bryan Gilfillan from Restalrig was sentenced at Livingston Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to a breach of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 when he contracted workers to bulldoze earth over a badger