News

French police officers narrowly missed being pelted with stolen wine bottles worth hundreds of euros as they pursued thieves in a high-speed motorway chase this week. The burglars allegedly stole hundreds of bottles of Burgundy Grand Crus wines worth an estimated €350,000 from the wine cel

There cannot be many advocates who would willingly compare themselves to a notorious despot, but Black Chambers’ Tony Lenehan is one. Having replaced Ronnie Renucci QC as president of the Scottish Criminal Bar Association (SCBA) at the tail-end of last year, Mr Lenehan likens his ascension to

A UK salvaging company that retrieved 2,364 silver bars from a shipwreck in the Indian Ocean has successfully established in an English court that the Republic of South Africa did not have state immunity from an action for payment for salvage. Argentum Exploration Ltd had originally sought a de

Lawyers have strongly objected to a suggestion from the Lord President that breaches of court safety rules during the lockdown may constitute contempt of court and said any members threatened with this sanction will be offered free representation. In a message published yesterday, Lord Carloway emph

Thorntons has ushered in the new year with three promotions. Gary Mannion from the personal injury team in Dundee and Lucy Metcalf from the family law team in Edinburgh have both joined the partnership. Janice Napier has been promoted to legal director in business law within the commercial property

Roddy Harrison has joined Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP as a partner.   Mr Harrison, who is ranked Band 3 in Chambers, formerly headed up BTO Solicitors’ private client team for 16 years before becoming a partner at Dentons in 2018.

Rachael Brandon has been appointed a director at Boyd Legal. Ms Brandon, who specialises in equity release, currently manages a team of seven.

Some of the more controversial aspects of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 are to be brought into force by February 28, writes Hamish Lean. These are the long-awaited rules applying to a secure agricultural tenant’s right to relinquish their interest in the tenancy in return for compensatio

The Scotsman has published a full obituary of David Wood. "David D Wood was, until he retired due to ill health in 2000, the doyen of the solicitors practising in Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court. Highly respected in legal circles, Mr Wood was appointed to be an Honorary Sheriff in 1990 and he served with di

A tribunal is set to consider whether people outside of the UK have a right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. According to ComputerWeekly, the First-Tier Tribunal will hold a preliminary two-day hearing later this month to consider six questions related to nationality,

Plans to ban all non-household biodegradable waste from entering landfill by 2025 have been set out in the Scottish government’s Climate Change Plan update. A ban on household biodegradable waste being sent to landfill is already in place and the Climate Change Plan 2018 – 2032 commits t

The Chinese government is to revoke the licences of human rights lawyers hired to help protestors in Hong Kong who were arrested as they attempted to flee to Taiwan last August. A Chinese court sentenced 10 of the protestors to prison terms ranging from seven months to two years after they were conv

Benjamin Bestgen this week contrasts the letter of the law with its spirit. See his last jurisprudential primer here.  As a species, humans value play, sports and games. For example, probably all of us know somebody who enjoys cardgames, boardgames, videogames or various kinds of table-top game

A taxi driver who allegedly charged unsuspecting tourists more than four times the standard rate for a trip from an airport to a hotel has been reported to police. The tourists, from Hong Kong, were allegedly charged €230 for a ride from Charles de Gaulle Airport to their hotel in Paris city ce

A building contractor that was hired to construct an extension at a school in Ayrshire has succeeded in an action to enforce an adjudicator’s award following a dispute with the local authority. The pursuer, D McLaughlin & Sons Ltd, was contracted by the defender, East Ayrshire Co