From not proven to ABS and a new CEO — Scotland’s 2025 legal year in review

Peter Ranscombe examines some of the biggest stories making the headlines in the Scottish legal profession over the past 12 months.

End of the line for ‘not proven’

The Scottish Parliament passed its Victims, Witnesses & Justice Reform Bill in September, abolishing Scotland’s historic third “not proven” verdict from all criminal trials. Sir Walter Scott once branded it as the “bastard verdict”, MSPs decried it as “controversial” during the Bill’s passage through Holyrood, and the Law Society of Scotland expressed concerns about introducing “untested” changes to the criminal court system. Moving from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority of 10 out of 15 jury members being required to convict was introduced “to ensure fairness and balance”, according to the Scottish Government.

For Women Scotland wins appeal

April saw the Supreme Court reach a decision in the long-running case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, ruling that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act refer to “biological woman” and “biological sex”. When delivering the ruling, Lord Hodge pointed out that the judgment should not be considered as a “triumph” of one side over the other and emphasised that the law offers protection against discrimination to trans people. The ruling continues to raise further legal and public policy questions over how the Equality Act should be implemented.

Beefed up powers for Law Society

The Regulation of Legal Services Bill completed its passage through Holyrood in May, ending a journey that began a decade ago. The Bill cemented the Law Society of Scotland’s role as the regulator for Scottish solicitors and introduced a new offence of pretending to be a lawyer, which extending the existing narrower offence of “holding oneself to be a solicitor”. Measures that would have given Ministers further powers over regulation were removed during the Bill’s passage through the Scottish Parliament following objections from judges.

Those three little letters – A, B, and S

As well as giving the Law Society of Scotland new powers to act in the public interest, the Regulation of Legal Services Bill also reduced the stake needed to be held by solicitors or other specified regulated professionals in licensed legal services providers (LLSPs) – or entities in which non-lawyers could own shares – from 51% to zero. But the Law Society’s regulatory committee sparked ire among many in the profession by shelving discussions about alternative business structures (ABS) until its 2027/28 session.

Migration and safe passage

Few subjects stoked more discussion this year than migration – Scotland needs it, the far right opposes it, and Labour’s Ministers are looking to Denmark for solutions. Writing in The Journal, Andy Sirel – legal director of JustRight Scotland – reiterated that small boat crossings must be stopped but highlighted that they only accounted for just under 4% of migration to the UK in 2024, with his comments coming after the UK Government suspended Refugee Family Reunion (RFR) in September. Crucially, Sirel underlined that suspending RFR until March 2026 fails to tackle the underlying causes of Scotland’s and the wider UK’s housing crises.

Rethink for courts over evidence

In November, the Supreme Court dismissed appeals by convicted rapists David Daly and Andrew Keir, ruling each had received a fair trial. Yet the court’s ruling also warned that the approach being taken by Scottish courts to exclude relevant evidence is in breach of the right to a fair trial under article six of the European Convention on Human Rights. Patricia Thom, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said Scottish courts will need to “return to the system agreed by the UK and Scottish parliaments, giving trial judges greater discretion to decide what questions may or may not be asked.”

Lord Pentland becomes top judge

Paul Cullen – or Lord Pentland to give him his Sunday title – was sworn in as the Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General in February, following the retirement of Lord Carloway. Lord Pentland was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1982 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1995. He served as Solicitor-General for Scotland between 1995 and 1997 and then became a judge in 2008. He was chairman of the Scottish Law Commission between 2014 and 2018.

Ben Kemp becomes CEO

The Law Society of Scotland unveiled Ben Kemp as its new chief executive in May, with the dual-qualified solicitor joining the Law Society in August from his role as interim chief executive at the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). Ben graduated with a law degree from the University of Edinburgh and qualified as a Scottish solicitor in 2001. He worked in private practice in Scotland and London until moving in-house with the IFoA in 2012. Ben replaced interim Law Society chief executive Kevin Lang, who had been keeping the seat warm since the departure of Dianne McGiffen in April.

John Mulholland returns as president-elect

Falkirk-based criminal solicitor John Mulholland made history in December when he was selected by members of the Law Society of Scotland as their president-elect for 2027/28 – making him the first former president to return to the role. He served previously as president in 2019/20. Susan Murray was also nominated for the role of president-elect; history was on the cards no matter which way members voted because Susan had also served as president in 2024/25. Current president Patricia Thom noted that “John overcame considerable challenges as president during the beginnings of the Covid pandemic”.

MSPs express ‘alarm’ over legal aid

Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights & Civil Justice Committee voiced their “alarm” in September at the extent of “legal aid deserts” after publishing their report into the provision of civil legal assistance. The committee’s six-month inquiry highlighted “low fees for legal aid work and administrative complexity”. The Law Society of Scotland said the committee’s report highlighted the need for urgent reform to legal aid, a view echoed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board in its response to the publication of the document.