Woodward Lawson represent clients in a broad range of civil court cases, both in the Sheriff Court and Court of Session.
Woodward Lawson provide civil litigation services for cases including:
If you require to raise court proceedings or if court proceedings have been raised against you, please contact Philip Lawson on
01224 626299
or Ian Woodward-Nutt on
01224 630321
We pride ourselves on helping you to make informed decisions regarding your case, so we make sure we communicate in everyday language and that you understand what is going on in your case.
Back in 2002, Tony Bennett introduced his duet with k d lang on a live album. This was no ordinary introduction; this was Bennett at his most lyrical talking about the fact that there had been, and were, many great performers in the world but he believed that Kathryn Dawn Lang was in the pantheon...
READ MOREThe final day of TRNSMT, now in its third year, turned out to be as good as festival days can get. The Wombats hark from Liverpool and have been on the indie scene for over a decade. Their set is just right for a festival, and the crowd enjoyed it during the cloudier part of the...
READ MOREStonehaven Folk Festival is now in its 31st year, and the triple bill of performers tonight at the Town Hall was a richly diverse grouping headlined by a band of a similar vintage to the festival itself. Arthur Coates is from a farming background in Insch, Aberdeenshire, and has introduced a new term to the local music scene,...
READ MOREBarbara Dickson and Rab Noakes have known each other since the 1960’s, long before her illustrious musical career during the 1970’s and 1980’s when she was rarely off the television. Their original musical influences are similar, they have a shared musical heritage in the Scottish folk circuit, they are both Fifers and good friends. Both,...
READ MOREAlthough age should not be a consideration when it comes to a concert, it is natural to see Kris Kristofferson’s visit to the Music Hall as being a final one and that makes you treasure every moment of his performance, and pinch yourself that you are watching a true legend whose roll call of success...
READ MOREThe last five years have been a rollercoaster of a ride for The Last Internationale, the New York power trio who wear their social conscience on their sleeves. When last in Glasgow in 2014, they played a quite startling gig as support to Robert Plant at the O2 Academy which will long burn in the...
READ MOREPortsoy continues to punch above its weight in terms of drawing top-notch talent to its venues. Tonight, at the Town Hall, it is sold out for the visit of English singer-songwriter legend, Ralph McTell to the 10thHaal, and he does not disappoint – even playing a new song, Close Shave, which pertinently, he has not...
READ MOREMark Knopfler makes the point that he can only play one instrument when, within his band, the 10 musicians around him can play a total of 47 instruments. But, what of it when you can play like him? Not just being a master of the guitar but having such a distinctive voice on the instrument...
READ MOREThe Vibration Festival at Falkirk is a new music festival and it would be a pity if it did not have a re-run next year even though the impression left is that its ticket sales have been slower than the organisers would have wished. It was not assisted by a grey and occasionally drizzly day...
READ MOREStevie Van Zandt, erstwhile stalwart of the Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band during its glory days from 1975 to 1984, and long term actor, mostly notably in The Sopranos, could never be accused of being understated when it comes to his occasional musical project, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Resurrected in 2017, his...
READ MOREAnother side of the venerable Fairport Convention presents itself at the packed Lemon Tree on a Saturday night. There was a minimum of instruments on display, certainly no electric guitar and drum kit. All of it could easily be fitted into the back of small van. However, any suggestion that the band are going to...
READ MOREWhen it comes to commercial life, we are all familiar with logos and designs as trade marks. However, it is possible to register 3D shapes as trademarks as well although it might be more difficult to envisage what shapes might be successfully trade-marked. It does not stop some companies trying. Take a recent case between...
READ MOREIn this ever more connected world, it is easy to convey images and information instantly at the click of a button all around the world. That is no bad thing, and citizen journalism often provides a viewpoint that gives another insight into what has actually happened. At the same time, there is a legal difference...
READ MOREImagine the situation. You have a fire at your premises. The Fire Brigade come out quickly and put it out. They do a visual inspection to satisfy themselves that it is extinguished. They go away. The fire re-ignites. Further fire damage is caused before the Fire Brigade can put it out for the second time....
READ MOREA TV licence is only required to watch programmes live or recorded as live. You do not require a TV licence if you are only using “catch up” services. You do not require a TV licence for live radio broadcasts. If you are watching live TV or recording live programmes, you will require a licence....
READ MOREWills come in many shapes and forms. It is quite possible that quite informal writings can attain an importance which the person writing them may not have meant. 20 years after the commencement of The Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act, 1995, the common law still comes in handy. Section 7 (2) (c) of the Act...
READ MOREUnder sections 1 and 5 of the Employer’s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act, 1969, a director of a limited company should ensure that there is insurance in place should one of the company’s employees be injured. In the case of Campbell v Peter Gordon Joiners Limited and Peter Gordon (2015), the sole director of the building...
READ MOREAs will have been seen from the first and second of this series of articles, the present law appears to be of limited use to cohabitees. Of course, there are arguments to the effect that (i) if people wish to have more extensive and clear rights, they should get married or enter a civil partnership...
READ MOREThere are laws and regulations out there that we, as lawyers, become aware of which appear to be plain daft. The present EU regulations on promotion and marketing of spirits prohibit a Scotch whisky blender from disclosing the composition of their blends. In other words, they are unable to tell you, as the consumer, the...
READ MOREAssuming that there might be sufficient net intestate estate to make an action in terms of the Family Law (Scotland) Act, 2006, the surviving cohabitee does encounter further difficulties. The fact that they are a proven cohabitee does not automatically entitle them to any award by the Court even if there is available net intestate...
READ MOREAt present, the Scottish Parliament is undertaking consultation and reform of the rights of succession on death. The present law in the area of cohabitation is governed by the Succession (Scotland) Act, 1964 in conjunction with section 29 of the relatively recent Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. As we turn into 2016, this would appear...
READ MOREIn a stark reminder that at least two different sets of laws and legal systems exist in the UK, in the recent tax case of Taylor Clark Leisure plc v HMRC, the Inner House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh decided that a QC from the English Bar did not have rights of audience...
READ MOREDog attacks are always of great concern, and none more so when they involve children. Scottish Borders Council sought an order under section 9(2) of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act, 2010 for the delivery and destruction of a dog which had jumped up on a little girl and bitten her on the cheek. The...
READ MOREAs a landlord, you may consider that the circumstances of some cases against miscreant tenants are cut and dried when you seek to obtain recovery of possession. Take the recent case of Glasgow Housing Association v Stewart. In this case, the tenant had breached the tenancy agreement by producing a controlled drug (cannabis plants) in...
READ MOREAlthough many landlords use professional factors to manage their properties, many others lease and factor residential properties themselves in order to save some outlays. The law in relation to the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 continues to develop, and shows the dangers of departures from the statutory framework even if unintentional. It should now...
READ MOREIt is not unusual for councils to enter into arrangements with businesses. In a recent decision under s75(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973, Aberdeenshire Council raised an application at Court seeking authority to sell ground in Banff forming part of the common good which had been used as a car park adjacent to...
READ MOREIt has been a mild winter this year and that has meant that all us budding athletes (perhaps, overripe is a better description these days) have had no excuses for interrupting our running training. But, just when it seemed safe to go out, a case gives a reminder of the obligations on those brave souls...
READ MOREIan Woodward-Nutt, founder and principal of court solicitors Woodward Lawson has been admitted as a Solicitor Advocate with extended rights of audience before the High Court of Justiciary. As a Solicitor Advocate Ian is now qualified to represent clients in the highest courts in Scotland and the UK. A solicitor advocate is a solicitor who...
READ MOREFrom Orkney Isles comes the recent case of Shields v Crossroads. The circumstances are that the pursuer became involved in an affair which came to an end. Nothing remotely unusual about that, you might say. However, the affair was with her social worker, and regrettably, as a result of its ending, the pursuer suffered serious...
READ MOREWoodward Lawson Solicitors were recently assessed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. Readers of our News Section will see that last year we were assessed in relation to our provision of services to clients in receipt of Criminal Legal Aid. All private law firms who carry out Legal Aid work require to submit a random...
READ MOREIn a long-overdue effort to regain fitness after the excesses of the festive period, Ian Woodward-Nutt has undertaken to run the Balmoral 10K in support of Voluntary Services Aberdeen. For the uninitiated, the race is best known for its course which takes participants through the grounds of Balmoral Castle and includes an infamous 2K hill...
READ MOREAs winter fast approaches, a recently reported case is of interest. The case was one where a local authority were sued by the relatives of a deceased who had died whilst driving on a main road (a so-called Priority 1 route) between 5.35 and 6am one December. The evidence showed the accident occurred when the...
READ MOREIf only! Under the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act which came into force on 31st July, 2013, the current UK tax on land and property transactions (SDLT) will no longer apply in Scotland from April, 2015. It will be replaced by the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). Apart from having a comparatively...
READ MOREIf you and your heritable predecessors have continually used a water source and pipe and storage system situated on your neighbours land for decades and it is the only active water supply to your property, you might consider that you have a servitude or legal right in that supply. Not necessarily so. In a recent...
READ MOREPart of the criminal defence workload of this firm relates to cases where our involvement is funded by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. As a firm that carries out such work, we are required to subject the work that we carry out to occasional peer review. Effectively, this means that a selection of our closed...
READ MOREFurther to our previous article on the proposed closure of Stonehaven Sheriff Court, it has now been announced that Stonehaven Sheriff Court will close as of May 2014. According to the Scottish Courts Service, Aberdeen Sheriff Court has sufficient capacity to accommodate both it’s own existing business together with the addition of the business presently...
READ MOREIan Woodward-Nutt recently represented a client before the Mental Health Tribunal Scotland in Aberdeen in relation to an Appeal against an Order detaining that client in hospital. Despite repeated requests by this office that the Mental Health Tribunal Scotland disclose to us paperwork relating to the Application, the Mental Health Tribunal Scotland refused or failed...
READ MOREThe Scottish Court Service published at the end of 2012 its proposals for “restructuring†the Scottish Court Service. Amongst its proposals are a suggestion that eleven Sheriff Courts and eighteen JP Courts should close including Stonehaven Sheriff Court.    The proposal has left many Court lawyers in the North East of Scotland concerned with regards to...
READ MOREFor hundreds of years Scots Law has required that no-one be convicted of a crime in Scotland unless the Crown case is proven by corroborative evidence.   In broad terms this means that for a Crown criminal prosecution to succeed there must be evidence from at least two, separate sources confirming that the accused committed the...
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