News

A former monk who admitted two charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices against boys more than 40 years ago has been sentenced. Denis Alexander was a teacher at a Highland boarding school when the offences took place. His victims were between 12 and 14 years old.

DLA Piper's revenue for its offices outside of the US remained at just over £1 billion over 2020/21 while profits rose to £614m. The latest accounts from the firm show that revenue for its international LLP declined from £1.07bn to £1.05bn.

The Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association (SEMLA) and NatWest Group are hosting a virtual event called "Less talk, more action: what are we doing to improve ethnic diversity in the legal profession?". The keynote speaker is Ash Denham MSP, who is responsible for the legal profession. The ev

The renewed attention brought to mental health law by the Scottish government’s ongoing review under John Scott QC renders David W Cobb’s new book particularly timely. Published this month, A Practical Guide to the Sheriff Court and Protecting Vulnerable Adults in Scotland not only provi

A woman has admitted providing cannabis brownies to her friends – who then panicked and called an ambulance. Elena Ravizza, 24, is due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to possession of the Class B drug at Dundee Sheriff Court.

The English Court of Appeal has allowed part of an appeal by the broadcaster and broadband provider Sky after it had the use of its trade marks restricted following an infringement action against a cloud storage business with a similar name founded by former Microsoft employees. Sky Ltd and other me

Former diplomat Craig Murray has failed to obtain permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and will be jailed. He was convicted after breaching a court order by writing blog posts about the trial of Alex Salmond.

Scotland's courts are sitting on an estimated backlog of  48,993 cases, figures from the Scottish government show. Overall, there are 42,451 outstanding trials and a further 6,542 cases deemed likely to come to trial. The backlog is double that of pre-pandemic levels. There were 18,355 outstand

Calls have been made for HMP Greenock to be replaced as soon as possible after a leaking roof forced the closure of 40 cells. The prison was built in 1907 and operates at only 75 per cent capacity because of the poor condition of its buildings. A replacement, however, is still a decade away, Wendy S

For over a year now, we have seen how coronavirus has had a vast impact on the construction industry - from disturbances to both the supply and production of materials needed for projects, to the suspension and closure of sites during lockdowns. A reliable and organised supply chain is crucial for t

Solicitor Chiara Pieri tells Scottish Legal News about her career journey – from working as a paralegal to qualifying as a solicitor and becoming president of the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association. In 2014 Chiara Pieri graduated from Glasgow University with an LLB with Italian – a

Thousands of Polish judges and prosecutors have signed an appeal urging authorities to follow recent rulings by an EU court to disband the country's disciplinary chamber for judges. At least 3,500 judges and prosecutors signed the appeal after Poland's authorities refused to abide by a ruling of the

Clyde & Co’s global turnover rose to nearly £640m over 2020/21, while profits climbed seven per cent to £153.5m. The average profit per equity partner meanwhile jumped by 7.5 per cent: from £665,000 to £715,000.

Advocate Robert Sutherland, of Terra Firma Chambers, is undertaking three fundraising challenges between July 2021 and March 2022 to raise money for Children 1st, which provides essential support and help for abused and vulnerable children in Scotland.

Lindt has secured a court victory in its attempt to obtain trademark protection for its chocolate golden Easter bunny. The German Federal Court of Justice ruled in the Swiss company's favour in its case against German firm Confiserie Heilemann, maker of a different chocolate bunny.