Law Society of Scotland

2 weeks ago | lawscot.org.uk | Joshua King

The Lord Advocate has unveiled new processes for handling future rape cases where the accused is a child. The changes are focused on the decision to use diversion from prosecution or referral to the Children’s Reporter as alternatives to prosecution in solemn-level sexual offending. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said: “I am intensely aware of the trauma experienced by victims of sexual crime and their loved ones. These are among the most difficult cases we deal with.

3 weeks ago | lawscot.org.uk | Joshua King

When Maggie Chapman MSP branded the Supreme Court’s decision in For Women Scotland vs The Scottish Ministers "bigotry, prejudice and hatred”, the legal profession struck back. But what has this past week, and a separate ruling in a case against a prominent English barrister accused of undermining the courts, revealed about threats to judicial independence?

1 month ago | lawscot.org.uk | Joshua King

The news the BBC has commissioned a high-octane legal drama set in the courtrooms of Glasgow got everybody talking - so what are the greatest legal dramas of all time, asks Joshua King. The Journal posted the question what is the best legal TV series and Scotland's legal profession responded with verve. It remains to be seen whether Counsels, the new series from Bryan Elsley (The Crow Road, Skins) and BBC Writers’ Drama Room graduate Gillian McCormack, will one day trouble this list.

1 month ago | lawscot.org.uk

A historic Scottish law firm has appointed its first female managing partner as part of a shakeup of the leadership team.

Nov 4, 2024 | lawscot.org.uk | Olivia Moore

Six years after the Scottish Young Lawyers Association (SYLA) shone a light on stress in the legal profession, Careers and Wellbeing Manager Olivia Moore puts it back under the microscope for Stress Awareness Week to understand how far we’ve come and what’s left to do. In 2016 the SYLA wrote a groundbreaking article which made us all sit up and think about mental health in the law.