Opinion

Elections, elections With the introduction of the Fixed Term Parliament Act bringing elections (seemingly) every two years, another set of manifestos may be the last thing you want to read. Yet it is clear to all of us in the renewables industry that they do matter. The Conservative Party manifesto

Paul Bradfield, former prosecution lawyer at the International Criminal Court, considers the future of the court. The International Criminal Court is at a crossroads. It seeks a new chief prosecutor to succeed the incumbent, Fatou Bensouda. For her successor, huge challenges – both legal and p

Stuart Clubb looks at today’s decision by the Supreme Court in MacDonald and another v Carnbroe Estates Ltd. Gratuitous alienations are one of the most common types of challenge brought by liquidators and administrators of companies. Under Section 242 of the Insolvency Act 1986, the

SKO is one of the first of a dozen or so firms in Scotland to go live with a new online tool, designed specifically for Scots family law matters. The tool is already being used by over 50 firms south of the border and another 150 in Australia and New Zealand, writes Rachael Kelsey. Settify was

Taking gender concerns seriously can be a commercial boon to companies, explains Tamar Tammes. The old saying goes that money talks. If that’s true, then more businesses need to listen to what it’s saying about who spends it.

Ewan McIntyre is a consultant to Burness Paull and expert in professional negligence and financial services litigation with over 25 years’ experience. He is currently enjoying a secondment with Racine, one of the main independent French law firms, in its Lyon office. The tales of daily life in

Gavin Buchan discusses how the rise of new finance possibilities is a positive development for all. When anything crashes and burns, there is often something that rises from the ashes. Since the economy emerged from the other side of the global financial crisis, that something has been a range

Katy Wedderburn and Kirsty Fryer look at the 2020 gender pay gap regime. On 8th March 2019, the Scottish government published its first gender pay gap action plan which aims to further reduce the gender pay gap in Scotland by 2021. It is reported that in 2018, the gender pay gap for full-time employ

Lynda Towers takes a look at what the Children (Scotland) Bill might mean for Scotland’s youth. The Children (Scotland) Bill is currently at stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament and continues the current government's emphasis on improving rights and protections for children in Scotland. This bil

The case of Dickie & Moore Limited v The trustees of the Lauren McLeish Discretionary Trust is a good example of how, sometimes, a scattergun approach is best used to try to resist an adjudicator’s award, writes Greg Flett. In this action, an adjudicator determined that Dickie & Moore,

Ewan McIntyre is a consultant to Burness Paull and expert in professional negligence and financial services litigation with over 25 years’ experience. He is currently enjoying a secondment with Racine, one of the main independent French law firms, in its Lyon office. There are risks to keeping

David Bell considers unfair prejudice claims in business disputes and how the role of the forensic accountant can play a part in resolving these. There has been an increase in unfair prejudice claims in the last few years and they always bring out interesting and challenging issues from a forensic

Julie Hamilton considers the role of mediation in commercial litigation and whether the flexibility it offers may be the route to avoiding, or at least limiting, the disputes that get to court. What is mediation?

25 November 2019 might later be judged a significant date for supporting victims of crime in Scotland. Nobody would dispute that victims of crime should receive support, but opinion may be divided on the fairest way to fund that. Scottish judges and sheriffs will soon have no option but to impose an

Briton Steve Easterbrook, credited with adding huge value to the McDonald’s fast food business during his tenure as US chief executive, has lost the top job he has held since 2015. Easterbrook worked his way up through the UK business, starting in 1993 and became its head of operations in this