News

Dear Editor, I was disappointed to read that court dress will no longer be required in some civil courts, but pleased to read in Scottish Legal News that not everything thinks this is a good idea.

Following on from the launch of the new First Home Fund, Harper Macleod held a special briefing for solicitors who regularly act for shared-equity scheme purchasers. The First Home Fund is a £150 million national pilot scheme to provide first-time buyers with up to £25,000 towards the pu

Dr Kasey McCall Smith is a senior lecturer in public international law at Edinburgh University. She first travelled to Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in 2016 and has returned nine times since as part of a project examining the effects of torture on fair trial rights. In 2017 I wrote a piece for

The safekeeping of digital assets by professional custodians remains uncertain territory. Solicitor Benjamin Bestgen provides an overview. With the increasing popularity of digital assets, parties interested in buying, holding and trading them face a common problem: how can assets like cryptocurrenc

A panel of legal professionals are to discuss the current priorities and future directions of sexual harassment and the law at an event in Edinburgh this month. Join The Consent Collective and its panel at a public event hosted by Edinburgh University on 16 March, 18:00 – 19:30 at the Usha Kas

BTO partner Lynn Richmond is heading to northern Finland for five days to trek in the Arctic Circle in aid of Ayrshire Hospice. The Ayrshire Hospice is a charity which helps patients and their families throughout Ayrshire in providing care and support to those with a terminal illness.

Members of the Scottish legal community are invited to face the future and have their pictures taken as part of a global photography project showcasing the future of women in law. A photoshoot being held on Friday 6 March in the run up to International Women’s Day will be hosted at the Law Soc

Certain domestic abuse offenders in England and Wales will have to take lie detector tests after their release from custody under new UK government plans. A three-year pilot will see mandatory polygraph examinations imposed on "high risk" offenders three months after release and every six months aft

A brewery has refused to remove cartoon animals from its beer cans despite a regulator ruling that it appeals too much to children. Bristol-based Lost & Grounded insists that its artwork is "no different to the multitude of other brands on the market that utilise an artistic style".

A housing association tenant whose application to assign the tenancy of the property to his daughter was rejected has successfully challenged the landlord’s decision. A sheriff ordered the housing association to consent to the application after ruling that the refusal was “not reasonable

Preserving free movement in Scotland for EU citizens would not undermine the post-Brexit visa regime, according to law firm Fragomen. In a report commissioned by the SNP members at Westminster, the firm endorses the view that a devolved or tailored immigration regime could be introduced north of the

Asylum seekers affected by the Serco ‘lock-change’ evictions in Glasgow can remain in their homes for another three months after Govan Law Centre (GLC) secured a further suspension of appeal cases. The long-running legal battle began in July 2018 when asylum accommodation provider Serco

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined CRDNN Limited with the maximum £500,000 fine for making more than 193 million automated nuisance calls. Operating out of a Clydebank business park, CRDNN Limited was raided by the ICO in March 2018, with computer equipment and documen

The Scottish government has opened a new fund to address prostitution "as a form of gender-based violence". Initiatives aimed at challenging men’s demand for prostitution will also be eligible to apply to the £100,000 fund.

The Scottish Government has published new legislation on the development of heat networks to help meet climate change targets and tackle fuel poverty. The Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill will introduce regulation and a licensing system for district and communal heating to accelerate use of the network