Opinion

A reader writes in response to our article from the Friday 21 August edition of Scottish Legal News: Our Legal Heritage: The adulterous judge who had his troublesome wife kidnapped and exiled to St Kilda. Following the harrowing tale of Rachel Chiesley's (Lady Grange) assault, abduction and imp

Duncan Milne warns employers over claims arising from the pandemic. An increase in whistleblowing claims over the coming months is inevitable. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the furlough fraud reports are now sitting at around 8,000. This fi

Benjamin Bestgen discusses the rights of animals in his latest jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. Britain is said to be a nation of pet lovers, with an estimated 50 per cent of British adults having a pet – dogs, cats and rabbits being the most popular. But Britain is also a nation

David Lorimer takes a look at the acquittal rate in last year's Scottish Mock Jury Trials and the 'Hollywood Effect'. The lighter side of remote trials being heard by juries in cinemas is already doing the rounds: ‘...selling tickets could reduce court costs...ice cream and sweeties could live

Stephen Phillips discusses the UK government's Brexit blueprint in relation to policing trade between the different parts of the UK. Last month the Westminster government set out its blueprint for policing trade between different parts of the UK after the post-brexit transition period ends on 31 Dec

Professor Steve Peers of the University of Essex discusses the 'Dublin system' for asylum applications between EU states and the legal issues of the Channel crossings. One key feature of the debate on Channel crossings is the impact of the EU’s ‘Dublin system’, allocating responsib

Digby Brown took part in the first video conference proof at the All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court heard last week. The evidential hearing was the first of its kind at ASPIC and the first proof to be heard in more than four months. The proof centred around a factual dispute on the

Alan Delaney looks at the approach taken by the ICO during the COVID-19 crisis. Last month the ICO updated its guidance on the regulatory approach it intends to take during the current COVID-19 crisis. This guidance provides employers with some degree of comfort that where they are struggling to com

Janis McDonald, chief officer at deafscotland, highlights the importance of inclusive communication – sharing information in a way that everybody can understand. Inclusive communication is short on money, focus and understanding with a distance to go to meet the needs of the one million p

Benjamin Bestgen considers the pitfalls of statistics in his latest jurisprudential primer. See last week's here. Being falsely convicted for murdering one's children is likely amongst the worst experiences any person can have. In 1998, solicitor Sally Clark was convicted of the murders of her two b

Carly Forrest, Lauren Kerr and Craig Fulton of Brodies look ahead to Scottish gyms reopening in September. When social distancing measures were introduced in March, we were only allowed to leave our homes for four reasons: medical needs, shopping for basic necessities, travel to and from work (

Brenda Mitchell and Jodi Gordon say that proposed changes to the Highway Code are simply tinkering at the edges given the recent road casualty figures.

Hamish Lean looks at the potential amalgamation of Scotland's land dispute bodies. The Scottish government has launched a consultation about the possibility of amalgamating the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal in Scotland. The Scottish Land Court deals with crofting disputes and disputes b

Tom Nener highlights the importance of protecting your brand as criminals take advantage of the pandemic. The coronavirus crisis has provided a fertile platform for sophisticated counterfeiters, as highlighted in recent reports by cross-border law enforcement agencies Interpol and Europol.

Iain McDougall discusses the increase in copyright infringement claims during the pandemic. Like most law firms we are seeing trends in certain types of litigation as a result of COVID-19. As expected, we have been asked to assist clients with disputes regarding rental premises, interruption to