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An Edinburgh sheriff has determined that an adult did not have the capacity to revoke a power of attorney granted in 2014 in favour of a new one in 2021 after an application was made by the Public Guardian challenging the second grant. Fiona Brown, the Public Guardian, applied under the Adults with

Darth Vader felt the light side of the law when a Chilean judge reduced his sentence from a lifetime frozen in carbonite to just 30 years. The Star Wars villain appeared in the dock in Chile's second city, Valparaíso, for a mock trial staged by real judges and lawyers as part of Chile's Herit

Students Fiza Ali and Zara Tahir representing Glasgow Caledonian University were successful in the final of the inaugural Sheriff Principal's Mooting Competition, hosted by the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. The competition was between the providers of legal education in Glasgow and open t

Joanne Grimmond, a respected and well-established legal figure in the Scottish residential property sector, joined Thorntons earlier this month as a partner. Formerly a partner and head of Perth with Blackadders, she has nearly 20 years of experience in the Scottish residential property sector.

Lindsays has completed its largest merger to date by integrating with Miller Hendry, which comprises seven partners and some 50 staff, bringing total partners to nearly 50 and staff to 300. Managing partner Alasdair Cummings said: “We are incredibly proud that Lindsays is now a firm of four ci

CMS has announced the addition of two senior associates and transactional real estate specialists, Charlotte Miller and Keith Barber, to its data centre division. Based in Glasgow, the team is set to further fortify its UK and European operations, advising data centre clients with a focus

A Scottish Parliament committee has launched a public consultation to seek views on new Scottish bankruptcy laws.  The Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill will, among other provisions, create a “mental health moratorium”, meaning enforcement action against someone with serious mental

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal against a sheriff’s decision that a person accused of possessing indecent photographs of children did not require access to legal advice before responding to a police request to supply a password for an electronic device during a premises sear

A new treaty on international co-operation to investigate and prosecute the most serious international crimes has been adopted after two weeks of intensive negotiations. The Ljubljana-Hague Convention is the first major treaty in the field of international criminal law since the Rome Statute which e

A dozen people who were convicted of witchcraft in the 17th century, most of whom were subsequently executed, have been exonerated in the US state of Connecticut. A resolution recognising the convictions and executions as a "miscarriage of justice" was approved by the Connecticut State Senate in a 3

An experienced lawyer who was misled by ChatGPT has apologised after citing several non-existent cases invented by the AI-powered tool in a legal filing. US attorney Steven A. Schwartz, who has practised in New York for three decades, said he was "unaware of the possibility that [ChatGPT's] content

The leaders of the bars of the UK and Ireland have affirmed their support for the cab-rank rule ahead of a conference in Belfast. In a statement, the leadership of the Four Bars said: "The rule means that barristers cannot discriminate between clients, and that they must take on any case provided th

A council has been criticised for chopping down a number of "stunning" palm trees to discourage people from having sex underneath them. Plymouth City Council left a row of stumps along the famous Hoe because council officials were "regularly having to clean up sex and drug paraphernalia" in the area

Morton Fraser has appointed four new partners across its litigation and private client divisions. Nicola Edgar and Emma Wood began their legal careers at Morton Fraser as trainee lawyers. Ms Edgar is a personal injury specialist and becomes a partner within the litigation division, whilst Ms Wood be

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Rights attorney Yu Wensheng, wife Xu Yan ‘could be at risk of torture’ after arrest | Radio Free Asia