Buying a Scottish property doesn’t have to be challenging if you’ve a good solicitor on your side

August 21, 2015

The implementation of home reports in 2008 marked a significant milestone in terms of how properties were bought and sold in Scotland. It gave assurances to buyers and sellers alike that the professionals involved (solicitors and surveyors) were fully regulated by their respective organisations. Nevertheless, buying and selling a property can be a daunting and […]

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Where the latest laws leave Scots in serious debt

June 17, 2015

Like every other part of the UK, Scotland has thousands of men and women who face serious personal finance problems and who find themselves in need of some form of debt management solution. Scotland’s laws and practices in this context are distinct from those in England and Wales and they have been adjusted in a […]

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Not Every Lie Amounts to Perjury – Lessons from the Coulson Acquittal

June 15, 2015

Andy Coulson, the ex-editor of the News of the World was cleared of committing perjury – despite what seemed to be a strong case against him. The journalist was acquitted on the 12th day of his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, after being accused of lying under oath about his knowledge of phone […]

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Licence to Chill – Is the obsession with alcohol legislation in Scotland getting out of hand?

May 11, 2015

Yet another – “Bill to make provision for reducing and dealing with the abuse of alcohol; to amend the legislation in relation to applications for, and to vary, licences for the sale of alcohol; and for connected purposes.”- is making it’s way through the Scottish parliament. This is the sixth piece of primary legislation relating […]

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Should there be a Statutory Defence for Crimes Committed by Victims of Human Trafficking?

April 7, 2015

Proposed human trafficking laws for Scotland have caused a great deal of discussion and controversy, since the introduction of a bill to address current deficiencies in the law. This issue concerns whether there should be a statutory defence for those who are victims of trafficking but find themselves committing crimes as a result of their […]

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Sorry, Not Sorry – Will the Apologies (Scotland) Bill encourage more parties to settle faster?

March 27, 2015

The recently introduced Apologies (Scotland) Bill, proposed as a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament by Margaret Mitchell MSP aims to introduce a statutory, evidentiary rule that apologies cannot be used as admissions of liability. The idea behind the bill is to address cases that ‘are not about the money’ where what clients are really […]

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Counterparts and Delivery in Scotland– A New Era for Document Execution

March 12, 2015

The Legal Writings (Counterparts and Delivery) (Scotland) Bill has now been passed. This piece of legislation allows the execution in counterpart of formal documents and contracts, and will also permit them to become legally effective by electronic delivery. The legislation is only seven sections long, but it is anticipated it will have great impact on […]

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Could Employment Law be Devolved to Scotland?

February 27, 2015

In recent Parliamentary debate, the Scottish Government have called for full devolution of employment law making powers to Scotland. This comes as a rise in unfair working practices and an alleged failure by Westminster to tackle these problems. This post looks at the difficulties faced by Scottish workers and how proposed changes to the law […]

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Scots Property Law, Souvenir Plot Ownership & Social Media at its Best

February 15, 2015

It’s one of the best examples of the Scottish legal profession (and indeed other lawyers from around the world) using social media to come together to clarify a point of law and shine light on misleading marketing. What happened? “If you do not understand how land can be sold in Scotland, ask a Scottish lawyer” […]

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The End of Early Release for Prisoners in Scotland – A Fairer Administration of Justice?

February 14, 2015

Long-term prisoners in Scotland will no longer be up for automatic early release after serving two thirds of their sentence. First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the change to the current criminal justice system for automatic early release of all prisoners serving more than four years. It was stated that where a parole board deemed it […]

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