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As 2022 drew to a close, Allan McDougall Solicitors bid farewell to David Nicol, who retired from the firm at the end of December. Having joined the firm in 1984, he became a partner within a couple of years. After 32 years in this role, he stepped down from it in 2017 but remained with the firm in

Six bands from the Scottish legal profession are to battle it out to be crowned Lex Factor Champion 2023 later this year.

The sheriff who held shares in Rangers FC and who granted numerous warrants as part of the botched police investigation into the club is to retire, The Times reports. David Grier, 61, a consultant with the financial firm Duff & Phelps, had lodged a formal complaint against Sheriff Lindsay Wood w

Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport have been jointly selected by the Scottish and UK governments to become Scotland’s first Green Freeports. Following an assessment and selection process, the two winning bids will be supported by up to £52 million in sta

Solicitors and estate agents Laurie and Company have opened a new branch in Aboyne following the closure of law firm Campbell Connon. Laurie and Company has three partners and 17 staff and a head office in Aberdeen, where managing partner Linda Fyffe is based. It also has a branch in Ballater run by

TLT has appointed two new senior hires to its commercial services group in Edinburgh. Dr Julie Nixon joins TLT as managing associate. A former life scientist who has completed a PhD in molecular biology and genetics at institutions including Harvard University and the University of Edinburgh, she ha

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Iranian lawyer charged after reporting client was tortured | RFE/RL

Slaughter and May has made its ‘Bring your Dog to Work Day’ permanent following a trial last summer. The firm allowed lawyers and staff to bring their dogs to work last year to alleviate stress.

A legal services contract which sets out no cost details except for an hourly rate does not meet EU rules on drafting contracts in "plain, intelligible language", the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In a ruling handed down yesterday, the CJEU said a contract must allow the c

James Milliken of Northern Ireland law firm Carson McDowell reports that we are beginning to see artificial intelligence take on complex tasks such as assisting lawyers with drafting contracts. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an ever-increasing role in our everyday lives. It is used in Face ID an

Westwater Advocates' Ian Sharpe has succeeded in in the Sheriff Appeal Court case of East Lothian Council v YL and WBL and ML and RL. This was an appeal against the making of an ancillary order in respect of contact in a permanence order without authority to adopt at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 28 Ma

Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, reviews another difficult year for human rights. I look back on 2022 with a mixture of admiration for those brave human rights defenders who have refused to be silenced, and dismay at the weasel words of politicians and corporate lead

Researchers are to study police files of domestic abuse murders in Scotland in a bid to prevent future deaths. Academics from Glasgow Caledonian University will analyse cases to identify patterns of behaviour and highlight safeguarding opportunities.

A fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two men at a Scottish hotel has concluded with a recommendation that the Scottish government consider introducing a requirement for historic buildings converted into hotels to have active fire suppression systems installed. Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson

The first casualty of the gender recognition regime is freedom of speech, writes barrister Naomi Cunningham. Section 29(2)(d) of the Scotland Act 1998 provides that an Act of the Scottish Parliament is not law so far is it is incompatible with any of the Convention rights. The UK government may not