Opinion

In the 1970s Ernst Schumacher, an unlikely named British Coal economist, wrote his famous work Small is Beautiful bequeathing the decade a title that became a mantra, but which arguably made little impact on society. Today, in a reaction to globalisation boosted by Covid lockdowns, a new slogan has

Lord Glennie’s opinion in the recent ‘CH’ appeal ([2020] HCJAC 43) highlights a conflict of judicial thinking, and legal opinion in general, with respect to the Scottish rape shield. Could it be that the real issue is a fundamental lack of trust in the ability of a jury to reach a

The 16-day lockdown across the central belt has ushered in an almighty hangover for drinkers, diners and licensed trade operators alike, writes Audrey Ferrie. Pub and restaurant owners in large swathes of Scotland have been forced to call last orders again, to wipe down the bar counter and to put th

In the UK around 95 per cent of Britain’s 4.9 million private businesses employ less than 10 people. While 75 per cent are sole proprietors, another 20 per cent have up to only nine employees. This means that many of these businesses are not in a position to implement a Group Life Protection s

Leo Mattersdorf, friend and accountant of Albert Einstein, claimed the great physicist once said to him during a meal that "the hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax". Benjamin Bestgen this week takes a look at this marmite subject. See last week's jurisprudential primer here. I

Graeme MacLeod comments on a recent Inner House judgment in which police officers in a WhatsApp group lost an appeal against a decision to investigate them. The case of BC v the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland was pursued by a group of 10 Scottish police officers, all of whom were

Solicitor advocate Robert More recounts two days in the life of a defence lawyer, highlighting the dire straits in which practitioners find themselves. The pleas of the profession continue to fall on deaf ears as the Scottish government and, in particular, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, do not

Glasgow has raced out of the starting blocks in its bid to double the size of its city centre population over the next 15 years to 40,000, writes Martin Devine. Civic leaders were last week handed a very welcome boost to their ambitions to deliver their City Centre Living Strategy (CCLS) when LGIM R

Niall McCluskey and Christian McNeill take a critical look at the latest coronavirus rules. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The corollary is that the state attempts to create laws that are certain.

After she left her role at Burness Paull to join London media practice Simkins, Fiona McAllister – now a lawyer at Channel 4 – began looking for an extra-curricular activity that would allow her to contribute to society while at the same time not being too closely related to her day job.

Social media has become enshrined in society as a means to share and display information about our lives. With the popularity around various social media platforms showing no sign of stopping, the amount of information available online will be ever-increasing. For the most part, it will be ‘fr

In the third of his articles on free speech, Benjamin Bestgen stresses that freedom of expression must be examined in context. See his last piece here. In many societies worldwide, people need to be cautious with their personal expressions, be it through speech, fashion, lifestyle choices, hobbies o

Burness Paull's Chris Gotts, lead legal adviser on the Calnex IPO, discusses why more growing businesses in Scotland should follow suit.  Traditionally businesses in Scotland have sought to grow organically and through acquisition with private and/or debt funding, with their exit coming vi

Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland, discusses landlord-occupier tensions during the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions between commercial landlords and their financially stressed tenants continue to grow, and how landlords respond will be critical to the recovery not only o

Construction companies, engineering firms and other businesses active in the infrastructure sector stand to lose out on funding, investment and major government contracts around the world unless they take a more active role in the fight against climate change. A growing imperative for infrastructure