News

Lawyers and litigants involved in so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in England and Wales should be made to pay into a defence fund to protect freedom of speech, a Westminster committee has said. The House of Lords select committee on communications and digital said t

Twitter is facing a court battle with the company that manages the King's public estate after allegedly failing to pay rent on its London office. The new lawsuit filed by the Crown Estate comes just weeks after the owner of Twitter's California HQ filed a similar complaint over unpaid rent.

The cost-of-doing-business crisis remains the overriding concern for Scottish firms according to the latest Addleshaw Goddard Scottish Business Monitor report, which showed a glimmer of hope with overall business sentiment returning to positive territory after slipping into the red last year. Produc

Plexus Law has announced the appointment of Bobby Murray to the casualty & personal injury team. Mr Murray, who brings 10 years’ experience in Scottish casualty litigation, will join as an associate partner in the Edinburgh office.

Law firms and accountants that fail to do enough to prevent fraud are the target of the UK government's Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. The government intends to introduce a new offence in the bill, when it makes its way to the Lords, that will be based on similar offences for briber

Private client lawyer Lisa Law has joined Ledingham Chalmers as partner in Inverness. She is one of only 10 solicitors accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in incapacity and mental disability law — and the only one based in the Highlands.

Three solicitors at McCash & Hunter have been promoted to partner. Fiona McNaughton, Samantha Lamond and Kenneth McKay have all begun 2023 in their new roles.

Pinsent Masons has appointed Edinburgh-based solicitor advocate Jim Cormack KC as head of its risk advisory services (RAS) group. Mr Cormack succeeds Glasgow-based Laura Cameron, who on taking on the role seven years ago was Pinsent Masons’ first female group head and first female board member

Aberdein Considine has strengthened its lender services practice group (LSPG) with the appointment of a new partner. Zarvin Vandrewala has been appointed a partner in the firm’s banking litigation team and he will be working with clients across the UK.

The Inner House of the Court of Session has upheld an appeal by a group of companies that acquired loans and securities from the Clydesdale Bank in 2015 against a sheriff’s decision that part of the deed of assignation under which it received the rights was invalid. Promontoria (Chestnut) Ltd

A woman who called a friend for help during a drunk driving arrest landed them both in hot water after police suspected she was drunk driving as well. The first woman, who was pulled over on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, "called a friend for help during the stop", police said.

Proposed bail legislation has come in for criticism by the Crown Office. The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill aims to ensure the use of remand is a last resort and would require courts to refuse bail to an accused person in the interests of public safety only or if their release ahead o

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has set out the Scottish government’s opposition to the UK government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. In a letter to UK Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake MP, Mr Swinney says the bill will further undermine and wea

New legislation to prevent the chasing and killing of wild mammals for sport has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government’s Hunting with Dogs Bill will close loopholes in existing laws that have allowed the practice of illegal hunting to continue. A new two dog limit for

Places are still available for Terra Firma Chambers’ Licensing Seminar which will be held at The Mackenzie Building, Edinburgh on Monday 30 January 2023.