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Simon Allison looks at common issues for employers during the coronavirus outbreak such as whether an employer can lay off staff and what happens if they are forced to close their premises. Lay-off/short time working clauseIn the unlikely event that your employees have a “lay off” or sho

Ampersand Advocates' Timothy Young has been appointed deputy editor of Session Cases, the Scottish Council of Law Reporting has announced. Mr Young called to the bar in 2013 and has developed a busy practice in commercial and public law. He is regularly instructed in the Court of Session and Sheriff

Scottish Legal News staff are working from home just like many firms of lawyers now are and we are pleased to share this photo from Scullion Law, with the firm encouraging people to make their workspace as positive, comfortable and upbeat as possible.

No new trials will commence in the Crown Court unless they are expected to last three days or less, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, has announced. He said: "We must make every effort to maintain a functioning court system in support of the administration of justice and rule of law."

In collaboration with 19 firms from its international Preferred Firm Network, Burges Salmon has published an interactive report on the regulatory treatment of cryptoassets in jurisdictions throughout the UK and EU. The report, Cryptoassets: A UK and European perspective on the regulation of cryptoas

Hashem Abedi, 22, the younger brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, has been found guilty of murdering 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017. Murder carries an automatic life sentence with offenders having to serve a minimum prison term before they can apply to the Paro

Hundreds of textbooks have been made freely available online by Cambridge University Press (CUP) until the end of May this year.

A will hastily written on a McDonald's napkin has been formally accepted by a judge. Philip Langan, who recently passed away at the age of 80, wrote the will while sitting in a McDonald's restaurant because he thought he was having a heart attack, a court found.

Emergency legislation on the coronavirus outbreak and the government's budget is to pass through the House of Commons without a vote on Thursday. The bill will be "nodded through", without opposition MPs calling for a vote.

A man convicted of assaulting his partner has failed in an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to impose a non-harassment order. The appellant argued that the order was “not necessary” because the complainer was not was vulnerable and she did not want the protection, but the S

No new criminal jury trials will be commenced in Scotland from today, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has announced. The SCTS said in a statement: "Based on the government’s response to coronavirus we are continually reviewing the operation of the courts and tribunal

Reforms that aim to simplify, clarify and improve electoral law have today been published by the Scottish Law Commission and the Law Commission of England and Wales. Electoral law in the UK is currently spread across 25 major statutes. It has become increasingly complex and fragmented

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has published guidance to address concerns surrounding COVID-19. This update sets out a number of issues SLAB has changed or clarified in light of the most common concerns solicitors have raised around the COVID-19 virus.

The high rate of life imprisonment in Scotland is driven by both increased punitiveness and attempts to reduce the risk that serious crime poses to society, according to a new academic paper. More people are serving life sentences in Scotland as a proportion of the national population than in any ot

Licensing expert Stephen McGowan comments on the guidance issued by the Scottish government on mass gatherings. As of Monday 16 March 2020, the Scottish government recommends that all large gatherings or mass events of 500 people or more be cancelled or postponed.