A report obtained from either the Registers of Scotland or from private searchers against the title to a property which reveals in the case of unregistered property: • ten years prescriptive progress of title • undischarged standard securities within the last 40 years • discharges of standard securities recorded within the last five years • other deeds which affect the property recorded within the last 40 years • extant advance notices/caveats • adverse entries in the Register of Inhibitions and in the case of registered property: • deeds registered which affect the property (eg standard securities and discharges) • deeds in the course of registration which may affect the property • extant advance notices/caveats • adverse entries in the Register of Inhibitions

Is one of the following if they have been instructed to act for a party in relation to the proceedings: —barrister —solicitor —solicitor's employee —manager of a body recognised under s 9 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 (AJA 1985), or person who, for the purposes of the LSA 2007, is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the conduct of litigation (within the meaning of that Act) SCCO Guide defines this as a person authorised to exercise a right of audience or to conduct litigation on behalf of a party to that litigation

Arbitration analysis: The case concerned Seamus Andrew’s application for permission to appeal findings made against him in the High Court severely criticising his conduct. The Court of Appeal refused his application, holding that it was out of time and that permission should have been sought at first instance. The court also found that even if permission had been granted, the appeal would have been dismissed. The case re-states legal practitioner’s obligations in respect of privileged documents, while addressing legal professional ethics more broadly. It also considers the risks inherent in satellite litigation arising from section 68(4) orders and provides insight into appropriate appellate procedure. Written by Tope Adeyemi, barrister and Arbitrator at 33 Bedford Row Chambers.

The Metropolitan Police has announced that a legal representative who exchanged hundreds of calls and messages with a prisoner, who was using mobile phones smuggled into prison, has been sentenced to 42 weeks' imprisonment. The legal representative, Dene McClean, of Enfield, admitted two counts of 'causing the transmission of an image/sound from a prison without authority'—contrary to section 40D of the Prison Act 1952, at an earlier hearing and the prisoner, Jonathan Gomez, was sentenced to an additional nine months after admitting two counts of transmitting an image/sound from a prison without authority. McClean, a police station representative and legal consultant, represented Gomez when he was on trial for firearm offences in January 2018 during which Gomez was searched by a court security guard and a mobile phone was found. An investigation uncovered a total of seven mobile phones used by Gomez, all of which were found to have been used to communicate with McClean.

Legal research is the process of identifying, analysing and applying relevant legal sources to answer a specific legal question or solve a client problem. In practice, this includes locating and interpreting primary sources (legislation, statutory instruments, case law and constitutional provisions), as well as secondary sources (textbooks, commentary, practitioner texts and journal articles). The expression “legal research” is descriptive rather than formally defined in UK or Irish legislation or case law, but it underpins competent legal advice, advocacy, drafting and risk management across all practice areas. Legal research typically involves: developing research questions; using legal research platforms, law reports and official publications; checking legislative history and amendments; distinguishing and reconciling authorities; and assessing the weight and hierarchy of sources (including persuasive versus binding precedent). Across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the core concept and professional expectations are broadly consistent, though the relevant courts, legislative instruments and citation practices differ between jurisdictions. Sound legal research is a key component of professional competence and ethical practice, and is essential for due diligence, opinion writing, litigation strategy and transactional work.

Our ref: [Client - Code/Matter - Matter Code/Matter - Fee Earner initials] Your ref: [insert ref] [insert full address] [insert date] Dear [insert name] Estate of the late [name of deceased] We are instructed in the administration of the estate of your late [mother OR father OR grandmother OR grandfather]. We act on behalf of the executor(s) who are [insert name] and [insert name], appointed by a Will dated [insert date]. You are not named as a beneficiary in the Will. However, the law of Scotland allows certain family members to make a claim on the estate, whether or not the individual concerned

Our ref: [Client - Code/Matter - Matter Code/Matter - Fee Earner initials] Your ref: [insert ref] [insert full address] [insert date] Dear [insert name] Estate of the late [name of deceased] We are instructed in the administration of the estate of your late [mother OR father OR grandmother OR grandfather]. We act on behalf of the executor(s) who are [insert name] and [insert name], appointed by Will dated [insert date]. In terms of the Will, you are entitled to a legacy of [ ]. However, the law of Scotland allows certain family members to make a claim on the estate, whether or not the individual concerned is named as a beneficiary in the

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, marking the first review of trusts law in Scotland in over 100 years since the principal legislation, the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, was passed. The trusts provisions will require secondary legislation from Scottish Ministers to be brought into force whereas the provisions relating to succession law came into effect on 30 April 2024. The main changes to modernise the law are summarised in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes on areas of Scottish trusts and succession law will be updated further to reflect this new legislation. Protection against disinheritance Where a person dies domiciled in Scotland, legal rights form part of the entitlement of the deceased's spouse and children (or, in some situations, remoter issue) where the deceased died intestate. Legal rights also protect the surviving spouse and the deceased's children where the deceased left a Will. Legal rights arise automatically but, where the deceased left a Will, they must be claimed.

Legal operations risks This section covers risks arising out of the operation of the legal department. People and skills Action point ☐ Document the management structure of the legal team, eg by means of a role profile for each team member setting out:—reporting lines—responsibilities of individuals ☐ Map the legal team’s skills to the needs of the organisation:—consider what key projects and day-to-day issues the organisation will need legal support on in the next 12 months—identify the skills required to meet those needs—identify the services the legal department wishes to offer—identify the client groups to be served within the organisation—specify the way in which services will be delivered—determine what reports are required by the business, the purpose of such reports, their frequency and to whom they are to be delivered ☐ Check the organisation’s processes and make suitable arrangements to reflect the needs of the legal department in respect of:—the identification and provision of appropriate training, together with evaluation of that training—a learning and development plan for all

1 Introduction 1.1 Date of report: [insert date] Date of last report: [insert date] Author of report: [insert name and role] 1.2 This report identifies key legal risks, arising from two main sources: 1.2.1 the operation of the legal team itself (narrow legal risks); 1.2.2 other business risks that have a legal component, eg litigation risk, transactional risk, breach of intellectual property rights or risks arising out of a change of law (broader legal risks). 1.3 For more in-depth analysis of [insert organisation’s name]’s legal risks, see Appendix 1 (Legal risk register) and Appendix 2 (Litigation register). 2 Legal operations This section reports on risks to the business arising out of the internal functioning of the legal department. The table below reflects the top [insert number, eg three] highest-rated legal operations risks recorded in the legal risk register at Appendix 1. Risk RAG (red, amber, green) rating Details Mitigation and status [Insert, eg Operational departments dabbling in their own legal work] [Insert, eg Red] [Insert, eg Two known recent incidents of operational departments failing to refer work requiring legal input to legal department. One related to a contract valued at £200k] [Insert, eg Internal framework for instructing legal team already in place. Annual

Please click for the Precedent Legal risk register. Please note that this register has been prepared in Excel and it therefore cannot be downloaded to Word. For detailed guidance on how to complete a legal risk register, see Practice Note: How to create a legal risk register. However, key information is summarised here. What is a legal risk register? A legal risk register is a tool for collating and managing all your legal risk information in one place. To formulate an effective legal risk register, you must first identify the legal risks your organisation faces. It is also helpful to have an understanding of your organisation’s appetite for risk. The legal risk register then enables you to categorise each risk, score each risk and decide on mitigation actions. There are separate Precedents for a general risk register and for a privacy risk register—see Precedents: Risk register and Privacy risk register. Identifying risks To formulate an effective risk register, you must first identify the risks your organisation faces. This may already have been done (by the legal team, compliance function or otherwise) as part

Law360: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) gave the all-clear on 13 February 2024 to a new programme for certifying legal services providers that process personal data, amid increasing adoption of new technology and the growing risk of cyberattacks in the sector.