News

A virtual version ‘pass the parcel’ has been launched by the Lawscot Foundation, the Law Society of Scotland’s social mobility charity. The virtual fundraising campaign is inviting everyone to participate, by asking participants to make a donation to the foundation then to ‘p

An Iraqi member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) has been found guilty of genocide in a German court in relation to the murder of Yazidis. The Yazidi minority group has been persecuted for centuries but particularly in recent years by IS, which regards Yazidis as "devil worshippers" for their uni

In a world first, New Zealand has legalised drug-checking after passing a law to allow a temporary pill testing service at festivals to continue and expand. In contrast, other countries' drug-checking services have operated in a legal grey zone.

A church has apologised to a woman who was kicked out of the congregation for bringing what they thought was cannabis – but was actually coriander. Regular churchgoer Ashley Antiverso said she brought coriander for her Mexican soup, but was not allowed to enter the church because other members

The High Court of Justiciary has upheld the decision of a preliminary hearing judge in respect of an application by a man charged with three counts of rape to reject the introduction of evidence concerning events following the sexual encounter described in the third charge, including legal proceedin

A new process to investigate prison deaths has been welcomed "in principle" by Justice Secretary Keith Brown. In November 2019, then Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf asked Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (HMCIPS) to review the response to deaths in pr

Derek Auchie, professor in dispute process law the University of Aberdeen, is the newest mediator to join Squaring Circles, a specialist mediation, negotiation and online dispute resolution business, and winner of the National Mediation Awards Newcomer of the Year Award 2020. With a career spanning

Morton Fraser has appointed three partners across its real estate, corporate and private client teams. Two have come from other firms, with Chris McLeish joining Morton Fraser’s real estate team from DWF and Andrew Walker joining the corporate team from Addleshaw Goddard. Marking ongoing inves

Stronachs LLP has appointed Stuart Murphy as its first chief operating officer (COO). Mr Murphy will be responsible for leading operational and financial management at the firm and will oversee Stronachs’ HR and IT teams across its Aberdeen and Inverness offices.

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association has organised a protest outside the Scottish Parliament on the St Andrew’s Day public holiday on 6 December. The occasion will mark a year since the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bar Associations took joint action and will coincide with a boycott of the holiday

A book in memory of the late Lord Kerr is being published this week.

Thorntons has been re-appointed to the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) framework agreement for legal services. The single lot framework covers five key areas of expertise – including commercial business, property & estates, HR, charity and international matters &n

Macdonald Henderson has advised the shareholders of specialist polymer supply business Hardie Polymers on an MBO of the company, led by Izy Ferguson and Bartosz Komanski, and backed by the team at Nevis Capital. Former owner, Fergus Hardie, remains as a shareholder and director but will take a step

A 53-year-old gamekeeper has been fined for killing an owl and a goshawk. Peter Givens, a gamekeeper from Stow in Galashiels, was fined £300 after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 1(1)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 at Selkirk Sheriff Court yesterday.

More than £11 million has been awarded to two drugs projects to enable them to expand their residential rehabilitation service as part of a commitment to increase the number of beds in Scotland by 50 per cent to 650 by 2026. River Garden Auchincruive in South Ayrshire will use the funding over