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The first jury trial in Scotland since lockdown ran smoothly this week and made use of digital technology to support a remote jury. The case held at the High Court in Edinburgh followed a new format adhering to physical distancing guidelines and returned a verdict of not proven.

A proposed commission to look at the relationship between the courts and Parliament has apparently been shelved by the UK government. Plans for the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission were outlined in the Conservative manifesto in the aftermath of last year's prorogation litigation, w

The Preliminary Hearings Bench Book, authored by Lord Matthews and Lord Beckett, has been published. The Bench Book aims to ensure a consistent and effective approach to case management and, although primarily designed for the judiciary, also has the profession in mind.

Headhunters are calling on Scotland's legal sector to avoid repeating poor HR decisions made during the financial crisis in order to survive and thrive in a post-COVID-19 economy. In its eighth and latest annual salary guide, written prior to the pandemic, Core-Asset Consulting were already hig

As a sports-mad youngster with an obsession for TV show Ally McBeal, Jodi Gordon’s main ambition when she was growing up was to find a job that would allow her to combine her love for both. After studying at the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh and beginning her career at personal injury

A Scot working as a US lawyer has described her journey from Edinburgh Law School to a top American firm. Speaking to GlobalLawyersConnect, Eilidh Reid recounts a journey that began with an exchange year at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law before an LLM at Duke University and ult

LawCare has appointed a new chair to its board of trustees. Andrew Caplen replaces outgoing chair Bronwen Still as of this month. Mr Caplen is a solicitor, notary public and a former president of the Law Society of England and Wales. He has written and spoken widely on a range of justice and legal i

The Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association (SEMLA) has announced an opportunity for two of its student members, in conjunction with Shell International Limited, part of the multinational energy company. Between Tuesday 18 and Friday 21 August 2020, Shell's in-house legal team, Shell Leg

Terra Firma is pleased to announce the next in its 2020 Vision series of webinars: 2020 Vision: Bringing Clarity to Executries and Taxes, will be broadcast on Zoom at 11am on Wednesday 29 July 2020. At this event Roddy MacLeod and Fergus Colquhoun will present a talk en

A webinar from Balfour and Manson on 30 July will look at the biggest challenges faced by small businesses as they try to get back on their feet in the midst of the pandemic. Robert Holland will look at employment issues, Stephanie Zak and Hugh Angus will discuss commercial property and related

Police are on the hunt for a thief who stole an enormous, metre-long dildo called "Moby" from a sex shop. The dildo weighs nearly 20 kilograms and retails for around £1,000 ($1,250), HuffPost reports.

A sheriff has dismissed an undefended petition raised against a limited company by a pursuer represented by a solicitor without a practising certificate as incompetent and has informed the Lord Advocate of the case. The pursuer, known as FF, sought payment of £10,572.57 from a company, kn

Lord Sumption has admitted that he stopped obeying the coronavirus regulations when they began "reaching levels of absurdity". Speaking to legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg QC (hon.), the former Supreme Court justice said he did not accept that there was a "moral obligation to comply with the law".

New counter-espionage legislation to boost MI5 powers and create a new register of foreign agents is reportedly set to be introduced in the UK following the Russia report. The report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC), published yesterday, suggested that the intelligenc

The Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, is to give an online seminar on the subject of sections 274/275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on 30 July at 4.15pm. The seminar, hosted by the Society of Solicitor Advocates (SSA), is free to all. The number of places is, however, limited and pri