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Scotland's new justice secretary has said he will not shy away from reforms that would raise the conviction rate in sex cases. Keith Brown said controversial plans for specialist sex crime courts without juries and the abolition of the not proven verdict, whose existence enables more acquittals acco

We have a new justice secretary who, at least in one respect, bears a similarity to his predecessor: he has not made any public statement about the ill-fated prosecution of Whitehouse and Clark, the Rangers’ administrators. I wrote to Keith Brown on 19 May asking about a public inquiry and rec

Donna Brennan has joined BTO Solicitors legal director in its Raeburn Hope office in Helensburgh. In her new role, Ms Brennan will manage the firm's wills, estates and succession planning team and in conjunction with her colleagues in Glasgow and Edinburgh, she will continue the expansion of th

Fiona McLeod provides a brief overview of the changes introduced by the Scottish Government's revised code of conduct for property factors. On 14 July 2021, the Scottish Government published a revised Code of Conduct for Property Factors setting out the minimum standards to which factors should adhe

The number of sheriff solemn cases concluded last month exceeded pre-Covid levels, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) figures show. There were 459 sheriff solemn cases concluded in June, which is 107 per cent of the average pre-Covid level.

Global legal business DWF has reported a 21 per cent rise in gross profit to £171.8 million in its full-year results for 2020/21. The group reported net revenue growth of 14 per cent (eight per cent organic) to £338.1 million at a gross margin of 50.8 per cent, while net revenue per part

Burness Paull has become the first Scottish law firm to become a signatory to the Terra Carta sustainable markets initiative supported by The Prince of Wales. Launched in January 2021, the Terra Carta (rather than the well-formed 'Terrestris Carta') provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move

Israel has threatened ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's with "serious repercussions, legal and otherwise" after it said it would no longer sell its products in illegal settlements. In a statement on Monday, the ice cream company said it now believed it was "inconsistent with our values" for i

The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC has recused herself from further involvement in the Rangers litigation. A number of individuals have been prosecuted, some maliciously, in respect of the acquisition and administration of Rangers Football Club.

Willie Rennie MSP has today said that the launch of a fraud probe into SNP donations shows the need for an independent director of public prosecutions, separate from the Lord Advocate’s role as the Scottish government’s chief law officer.  Last week, Police Scotland confirmed that i

A former Belgian judge was denied an effective remedy to challenge a judicial body's decision in breach of her rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. The case concerned a former judge of the High Judicial Council (CSJ) who was suspended from her duties on the grounds that she

There are now more than 100 confirmed Covid cases at HMP Perth. As of yesterday, there were 645 individuals self-isolating across four Scottish Prison Service (SPS) establishments. A significant number of individuals are self-isolating due to potential contact with a confirmed case.

The High Court of Justiciary has approved a new sentencing guideline developed by the Scottish Sentencing Council aimed at increasing public knowledge and understanding of the sentencing process in Scotland. The sentencing process guideline sets out an eight-step guide that courts should follow

Shared Parenting Scotland has called for a "new vision" to breathe life into the Scottish government's proposed overhaul of child contact centres. The government has launched a consultation on changes to the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, proposing an overhaul of child contact centres, focusing on th

Laura McKenna considers the importance for medical evidence to be accurate and relevant for employers considering the health of their employees. Whenever an employee's health is an issue, obtaining the right medical evidence is going to be crucial in ensuring a subsequent dismissal is both fair and