News

A former advocate has been convicted of historical sexual abuse against four children. John Watt QC, 72, was extradited to Scotland from the US to face trial over allegations of abuse of three girls and a boy in Edinburgh over a 14-year period in the 1970s and '80s.

Revenue at Pinsent Masons increased by just under six per cent to £531.1m while profit per equity partner rose by just over 16 per cent to £739,000 from £636,000, the firm's latest financial results show. In addition to commercial results, the firm measures itself against other met

A petition by a prisoner with Asperger’s syndrome challenging a decision not to allow him to progress from closed conditions to community release has been determined by a Lord Ordinary to be academic. Neil Robertson challenged a decision made on 8 November 2019 by a risk management team assess

Gilson Gray has struck a deal with legal and professional services specialist Knights to acquire Lincoln-based Home Property Lawyers (HPL) Ltd. HPL is a residential conveyancing specialist with 65 staff, all of whom have been retained as part of the deal, including current head of HPL, Gary Tyman.

The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC does "not have the necessary degree of confidence" that the Scottish government's latest independence bill would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, it has been revealed. The bill had been referred to the Supreme Court on the question of

Human rights organisation JUSTICE has been granted permission to intervene in a UK Supreme Court case concerning the introduction of safe access zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, which was approved by MLAs in March, has been referred t

Clerk of Faculty, Richard Pugh, details how the Faculty of Advocates encourages those aspiring to a career at the bar. The Faculty of Advocates recently admitted 28 new members, the second-largest ever annual intake. This follows another large intake in 2020, when 24 new advocates were admitted.

A motion by a supplier of farming equipment to have a claim against it dismissed by reason of prescription has been refused by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session.  The firm of C&L Mair Ltd, the pursuer, had contracted with Mike Dewis Farm Systems Ltd for the supply and insta

Lady Hale, the former president of the UK Supreme Court, has warned of the "risks and dangers" posed by the Bill of Rights in a speech delivered in Belfast. The retired judge was invited to give the keynote address at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's (NIHRC) annual human rights le

Pinsent Masons has expanded into Luxembourg after having recruited a significant number of former Wildgen partners and their teams. Launched with an initial focus on the financial services sector, the firm’s seventh office in continental Europe provides significant benefit to Pinsent Masons&rs

A pair of prominent hoteliers have been rebuked by a judge over their "completely mad" battle over a worthless purple suitcase. Judith Andersson and Diane Ward have incurred costs of over £60,000 in the court battle over the suitcase, which contains family photographs with "no monetary value".

Balfour and Manson has promoted three lawyers to senior associate. James Hyams, Carolyn Jackson, and Peter Littlefair took up their new positions – in the private client, clinical negligence, and personal injury teams respectively – on 1 July.Mr Hyams started his traineeship with the fir

Burges Salmon has expanded its office footprint in Edinburgh.Having completed a deal with the Law Society of Scotland, the firm, which launched in Scotland in May 2019, has acquired 3,000 sq ft of additional space in Atria One on Morrison Street. The new space comprises a range of agile work areas,

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has called on the Scottish government to set out a timescale for removing components from its security systems produced by a firm linked to repression of Uighurs in China. His comments come as a group of 67 MPs and lords have called on the UK gover

Gibson Kerr has made a a raft of appointments. Nadine Martin has been made a partner; her practice encompasses all areas of family and child law, including separation, divorce, financial provision, residence and contact disputes and relocation of children. She appears regularly in the sheriff courts