News

Macdonald Henderson has advised Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited, a growing Scotch whisky producer, on the conversion of Distil plc’s £3 million convertible loan note into equity, resulting in Distil acquiring a 10.5 per cent shareholding and board representation. The transaction form

StubHub UK must refund more than 50,000 customers and pay a fine close to £900,000 after concealing costs. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that StubHub UK did not show fans the total price upfront when purchasing tickets – as required by law. 

There was a small reduction in the proportion of people reconvicted within 12 months compared with the 2021-2022 cohort, new figures from Scotland’s chief statistician show.  Of all the offenders released from custody or given a non-custodial sentence in 2022-2023, 26.1 per cent were reco

Govan Law Centre (GLC) welcomed guests and partner agencies to the launch of its pilot Family Rights Project in Glasgow this week.

In the latest episode of the University of Aberdeen’s School of Law Podcast, Neil Weightman speaks with Dr Rossana Ducato and Professor Dinusha Mendis about deepfakes, synthetic media, and the legal challenges created by rapidly developing AI technologies. What are deepfakes, and why are they

Peter Murrell has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison after admitting embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP while serving as its chief executive. Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, stole £400,315.65 over a 12-year period. The

A Supreme Court justice and a leading academic have independently raised the alarm over a sharp fall in civil appeals reaching the Inner House of the Court of Session, warning that the long-term development of Scots law is at risk. Lord Doherty, delivering the Lord Rodger Memorial Lecture in Glasgow

A man who threw a shoe at a prosecutor after being remanded in custody has been jailed for 30 months. Stuart Young, 21, struck procurator fiscal depute Tammy Hislop on the head during a hearing at Airdrie Sheriff Court on 2 March 2026.

Police recorded 315,357 crimes in Scotland in 2025-26, a five per cent increase on the previous year and the highest total in more than a decade, with sexual offences reaching their highest level since comparable records began in 1971, new figures from the chief statistician show. Non-sexual crimes

An AI-powered law firm has secured its first courtroom victory, in what is believed to be a world first for a regulated legal practice operating through artificial intelligence. Garfield AI, which became the first AI law firm authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in May 2025, successfull

Proposed reforms to how the Faculty of Advocates handles disciplinary complaints will not be in place until at least late 2026 – nearly three years after the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) first demanded action – with every element of the new system dependent on rules that s

A small town in Quebec has become the first municipality in Canada to formally recognise trees as living beings with rights of their own. The council of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, west of Montreal, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring that trees are entitled to protection, including rights to life, n

A US police department has retired a security robot less than a year after deploying it in a public parking garage after it failed to make any arrests or issue a single citation. Police in Dublin, Ohio, introduced the Knightscope K5 robot, known as “DubBot”, to patrol the Rock Cress Park

A council worker who embezzled thousands of pounds in public funds earmarked to support vulnerable people has been sentenced. Nadine McAleney, 34, stole £27,000 from East Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) between April 2019 and November 2020.

First Minister John Swinney has called for a new approach to reduce deaths and harms from drugs and alcohol. It comes as a new Alcohol and Drugs Fund, which will provide £36.9 million to frontline services and organisations working with people affected by alcohol and drugs, is launched.