PINSENT Masons has long been known as a diversity champion, with its work on LGBT inclusion in particular earning the firm a regular slot at the top of the charity Stonewall’s annual Workplace Equality Index.
WHEN the great and the good of the Scottish legal profession gathered in Edinburgh for the Law Society of Scotland’s annual dinner last week, a small number of firms were notable by their absence. Lord Carloway, Lord President of the Court of Session, was one of several senior members of the judiciary in attendance, but representatives from Brodies and Harper Macleod were not.
AS the former chair of both the Commission for Racial Equality and its successor the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), it is fair to say that Trevor Phillips is pretty well-known as an anti-racism campaigner.
GROWING numbers of senior doctors are quitting the NHS or are not working additional shifts after being hit with more than £8 million in pension charges for working extra hours, new figures show.
THE Scottish Government has said repeatedly that the UK Government must take swift action to mitigate the impact of pension-tax policies that are wreaking havoc on staffing levels across the NHS.
STEPHEN Blane didn’t know it at the time, but Edinburgh practice Urquharts had big plans for him when he joined it from Ketchen & Stevens nearly two decades ago. Its litigation partner Alastair Thornton, who had recently completed a stint as president of the Law Society of Scotland, was making plans to retire and the firm needed someone to take on the mantle of holding negligent solicitors to account.
WHEN the SNP first took control of Holyrood in 2007 it did so on a promise that it would abolish council tax and replace it with what it believed was a more progressive local income tax. By adding 3p in the pound on to income tax rates the policy would, the party’s 2007 manifesto said, replace an “unfair” system with one based upon people’s ability to pay. By pledging to lift 85,000 people out of poverty while saving the average Scottish household between £350 and £535 a year, Alex Salmond’s government appeared to be onto a clear winner.
AS the producer of iconic drinks brands such as Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Drambuie and Hendrick’s Gin, family-owned whisky business William Grant and Sons has a vested interest in ensuring its intellectual property (IP) is protected.
ALMOST exactly a year ago the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party Education and Skills Committee released a report in which it said all schoolchildren should be given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument free of charge.
GIVEN the geography of the Western Isles, local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has long had to come up with innovative solutions to ensure all its children have equal access to education.
