News

May 8th 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the end of the Second World War in Europe. During the six long years of conflict, the WS Society kept a scrapbook of news about Writers to the Signet in service at home and abroad. James Hamilton introduces this poignant resource. One mornin

A man currently detained in a psychiatric hospital has been refused permission to appeal a decision of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission regarding the service he received from a solicitor. David Lilburn alleged that the solicitor had failed to communicate effectively with him and had fai

The Faculty of Advocates has supported reform of the law on moveable transactions, and an end to the use of “work-arounds”. Currently, it can be difficult for businesses in Scotland to raise money using moveable assets, ie property other than land and buildings such as plant, intellectua

Immigration experts have accused the Home Office of interfering with the independence of the judiciary after it queried the number of detainees being released during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter sent to the president of the First-Tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber last week, a se

New analysis suggests that gender recognition reform in a number of European jurisdictions has "taken place with minimal public scrutiny", according to MurrayBlackburnMackenzie. In an article published in the May 2020 edition of the Edinburgh Law Review, the policy analysis collective reviewed

Legislation that allows the common agricultural policy to be simplified and "improved" post-Brexit has passed stage 1, following a debate in the Scottish Parliament. The Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill creates powers to enable Scottish ministers to ensure CAP schemes can conti

Gilson Gray has appointed commercial property expert Mark Sabey as legal director in the firm’s Glasgow real estate division. Originally from London, he is an English-qualified solicitor with more than 17 years’ experience in commercial property, land management and renewables.

Ruth Croman, managing partner of Macnabs, has recently been accredited by FLAGS as a family law arbitrator. A well-respected family lawyer, she is a member of the Family Law Association, Consensus Collaboration Scotland and is accredited as a specialist in both family law and child law.

MBM Commercial has launched its Digital Deals Hub, which aims to help commercial deals to stay on track during lockdown. The hub is the first of its kind and provides resources on how and when digital signatures can be used in legal transactions. The firm estimates that thousands of transaction

Concerns have been raised over the fairness of remote hearings in family cases, introduced during the lockdown, because of the difficulty for participants in reading each other's reactions. A rapid consultation carried out by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) on the effectiveness of rem

One of the first-ever remote hearings of the Supreme Court of the United States was interrupted by the sound of a toilet flushing. The mystery flush was clearly audible during live-streamed oral hearings in Barr v American Association of Political Consultants, Inc yesterday afternoon.

An early-years practitioner who was given a Temporary Suspension Order (TSO) after her fitness to practice was called into question has been unsuccessful in challenging the decision. Wendy McLaggan argued that the Scottish Social Services Council was unreasonable in making the order,

Lawyers have expressed mixed views over the safety of the UK government's new coronavirus contact tracing app. Ross McKenzie, partner at Addleshaw Goddard who specialises in data protection compliance, said the public should have confidence in data protection laws and that they should not become a b

Brodies LLP has announced eight new partners in its latest round of promotions and appointments.

The Scottish Law Agents Society (SLAS) has condemned the spending plans of the SLCC, which has laid its final budget for 2020/21 before the Scottish Parliament. It increases by 3.5 per cent the general levy which must be paid by every practising solicitor.