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Keith Brown MSP is Scotland's new justice secretary, having replaced Humza Yousaf who has been promoted to health secretary. Mr Brown, who is depute leader of the SNP, was economy, jobs and fair work secretary between 2016 and 2018.

A group of business and legal bodies representing Scotland, Europe and the US have urged caution towards the introduction of US-style ‘opt-out’ class action lawsuits in Scottish courts. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce, European Justice Forum, BritishAmerican Business and the US Chamber

DLA Piper has appointed Stuart Murdoch as partner in its Edinburgh litigation & regulatory practice, specialising in financial services disputes and regulatory matters. He joins from Burness Paull, where he was also a partner. He is one of only eight lawyers in the Scottish market recommended fo

Glasgow legal practice Lynch & Co. has been acquired by Elaine MacDonald, a former associate at Austin Lafferty Ltd. The new firm, MacDonald Lynch, has three former employees and a consultant from the original office. Colin Carr will also join the new operation.

Convictions for violent crime in Scotland have increased by more than a fifth, with rises in attempted murder, serious assault and robbery. Scottish government figures indicate a 21 per cent year-on-year increase in convictions for non-sexual violent crime, with the total figure standing at 2,142 in

The UK government has reportedly told the European Commission that it has unilaterally breached the Northern Ireland Protocol because of circumstances beyond its control. In a 20-page letter in response to EU legal proceedings, the UK has suggested that it will rely on force majeure to explain its i

Figures from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service show that 463 sheriff solemn cases were concluded last month, which is eight per cent higher than the pre-Covid average. The figures show that during April 2021:

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has announced its new charity partners in Edinburgh, including Simpsons Special Care Babies, the Edinburgh Food Project and Fresh Start. The firm will be supporting all three charities through fundraising, volunteering and raising awareness.

Rival honey manufacturers have become embroiled in an international dispute over who can call their products "manuka honey". The New Zealand Manuka Honey Appellation Society is trying to convince the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) that manuka honey can only come from New Zealand.

The Supreme Court has refused an appeal by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs against a decision of the English Court of Appeal not to require a top UK divorce lawyer to pay back over £475,000 in taxes that were avoided via a scheme. HMRC claimed that the respondent, Raymon

Defence lawyers around the country downed their gowns yesterday in protest against the Scottish government's refusal to promptly disburse payments from its resilience fund. The Scottish government has only paid out £2.3 million of the £9m fund and less than a third of firms that applied

Clyde & Co has announced the promotions of Alison Tyler and Ann Bonomy to legal directors in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively as part of its 2021 promotions round. Ms Tyler qualified with the firm in 2011. She is part of the firm's catastrophic and large loss team and specialises in defending

The Supreme Court is to begin hosting interactive, guided virtual tours for the public.

Mike Dailly, solicitor advocate at Govan Law Centre, has called on the Scottish government to extend the Covid eviction ban in his latest Glasgow Times column. Mr Dailly said there is a "common misconception" that eviction protections last until September.

Back in March 2020, when the world turned upside down, whilst we started panic buying toilet roll, washing our hands singing Happy Birthday, doing Zoom pub quizzes and our daily Joe Wicks workouts, another strange phenomenon materialised: Spaces for People. The Scottish government and Sustrans initi