News

The Scottish government has announced that legislation to introduce an opt-out system of organ and tissue donation will come into effect on 26 March 2021, despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the new system, individuals will be required to actively opt-out of donation if they wish t

Lawyers in Aberdeen have called for temporary courtrooms to be established to help tackle the increasing backlog of cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as sheriff and jury trials have still not resumed. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) recently announced plans to restart High

Paul Mason has joined Womble Bond Dickinson as a partner in its real estate practice in Edinburgh. Mr Mason has over 15 years of experience advising household names, landlords, and tenants of retail, office and industrial premises on all areas of real estate law.

A new project will fill an access-to-justice gap and educate the public on the law while giving students hands-on legal experience in order to help boost their employability prospects. The Tayside and Perthshire Law Project (Tayper) is a pro bono organisation due to launch later this year that will

Paul Motion considers live streaming where the individual is innocent. On 15 July 2020 the UK Supreme Court gave judgement in Sutherland v HMA [2020] UKSC 32. Mr Sutherland was the subject of a “sting” by a “paedophile vigilante” group. He exchanged messages and photographs w

A pensioner is to appear in court next month accused of murdering a woman and her son more than 40 years ago. William Macdowell, 77, is accused of killing Renee Macrae, 36, and her three-year-old toddler Andrew in 1976.

Compass Chambers is delighted to announce the appointment of new silks, Amber Galbraith QC and Barry Smith QC. They have been appointed by Her Majesty The Queen on the recommendation of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, having been nominated by the Lord President.

A law student has successfully secured 1.5 times the value of a tenant's deposit after a local landlord failed to protect the deposit in a scheme. Ruth Dale, a member of the Aberdeen Law Project, represented her client in the First-tier Tribunal before going on to defeat the landlord's appeal a

Irish barrister Paul McGarry SC explores the opportunities for Irish lawyers following the UK's exit from the EU. The sabre-rattling by the UK government over the Northern Ireland Protocol has again brought the debate about the future arrangements between the EU and the UK into sharp focus. But no m

CMS has published its latest report in its General Counsel (GC) "Creating connections, bridging gaps" series, produced in partnership with the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA). The new report considers how GCs can build strategies to develop and succeed as a GC, especially amid the c

A woman who married a tree has marked their first wedding anniversary, The Mirror reports. Kate Cunningham, 38, who took the surname "Elder" upon marrying an elder tree said they have no plans to divorce.

An asylum seeker who claimed to fear persecution from a criminal gang in El Salvador has succeeded in challenging the finding of the Upper Tribunal that there were no arguable grounds of appeal against the original decision.  The petitioner, MF, argued that the First-tier Tribunal judge ha

Richard Keen is widely respected in Scotland for possessing one of the sharpest legal minds of his generation. A brilliant career at the bar led to his election as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and ultimately to his appointment as Advocate General for Scotland in the UK government. But he now fin

Pressure is growing in the Advocate General for Scotland, Lord Keen of Elie QC, to refuse to give his consent to the proposed UK Internal Market Bill. The bill allows ministers to “disapply” rules agreed over the goods that cross between Britain and Northern Ireland. Section 45(1) of the

A pilot initiative at Hamilton Sheriff Court has been agreed upon in order to help reduce the backlog of summary court cases. The initiative aims to reduce the length of trials, and how many cases proceed to a trial, by encouraging early discussions between defence and prosecution to identify cases