News

British lawyers are among professionals who have functioned as "enablers" for the extension of Russian influence in the UK, according to a long-awaited report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC). The committee drew up the report on Russia last year under the chairmanship

Blackadders has announced the appointment of Peter Duff as chairman. Mr Duff has been a partner in the firm's Glasgow office since it acquired the Morisons LLP Glasgow business in 2019. He is an experienced business lawyer with specific expertise in corporate and commercial law, and his role will fo

Uber drivers have launched a legal case in the Netherlands to force the release of the computer algorithms used to manage their work in a test case that could lead to greater transparency for millions of gig economy workers. The case has been brought by UK-based App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU)

Universities have agreed to put an end to grade inflation and to give students qualifications that better reflection their academic ability. The pledge should do away with practices such as ignoring grades from core or compulsory courses when calculating the final degree classification, as is done o

Online mortgage broker Trussle has seen a 136 per cent increase in mortgage applications for properties in Scotland.

The Queen has appointed Jane Margaret MacLeod of Jane Macleod Solicitors as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Argyll and Bute in succession to Patrick Stewart CVO MBE, who is due to retire on 25 July. Mrs MacLeod currently holds the office of Vice Lord-Lieutenant and is a leading mem

A senior member of the criminal bar is to help explore changes in the legal landscape and challenges raised by COVID-19. Shelagh McCall QC, convener of the Faculty of Advocates’ Human Rights and Rule of Law Committee, will take part in a special online conference organised by the Law Society o

Planning lawyer Ewan MacLeod provides detail on the Scottish government’s consultation on the future of Scottish Planning Policy and the removal of the current presumption in favour of sustainable development. In 2014, the Scottish government introduced a significant change to Scottish Plannin

As Scottish business faces one of the toughest-ever economic climates, employers may be questioning whether diversity and inclusion programmes – viewed by some as ‘nice to have’ rather than essential – should be abandoned, writes Alison Woods. With many employers facing huge

Barristers in Northern Ireland have been told that the size of juries in criminal cases could be reduced from 12 to nine or seven members to help clear the COVID-19 backlog. The Office of the Lord Chief Justice, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, The Bar of Northern Ireland and the L

To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever-increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline — training — is about.

A police force has been criticised for using drones to catch topless or nude bathers at a secluded beach. Officers deployed high-tech surveillance devices to a lakeside beach in the US state of Minnesota following reports of immodest visitors.

A teacher who was removed from the teaching register for misconduct has had her appeal against the decision of the General Teaching Council of Scotland to remove her refused. The appellant, known as LM, faced 15 allegations of misconduct from her probationary year as a primary teacher as well as a s

Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins has announced he will return full-time to his role as the John Millar Professor of Public Law at the University of Glasgow next year. Mr Tomkins, an MSP for the Glasgow region since 2016, will not seek re-election at the upcoming Scottish Parliament election in May 2021

Viscount Melville, The Times reports, is considering applying for a judicial review of the legend on a proposed plaque on the Melville monument to reflect his ancestor's alleged perpetuation of the slave trade. Indeed, his lordship sprang to the defence of his forebear on the BBC's Today programme t