Events Calendar by Lawbore™

50th Annual Lecture of the Centre of European Law and Inaugural Keynote of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Next Generation EU-UK Relations.

Delivered by H.E. Pedro Serrano, European Union Ambassador to the United Kingdom

EU and UK: united in times of global uncertainty

In a period marked by geopolitical instability and rapid global change, the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom plays a pivotal role in shaping a resilient and secure future. This lecture explores the evolving dynamics of EU-UK relations, highlighting the shared values, interests, and challenges that unite these two entities beyond political and legal frameworks. Delving into the implications of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the discussion will highlight their importance as foundations for long-term cooperation. Strengthening our bonds, in line with the 2024-2029 Political Guidelines of President von der Leyen, remains a cornerstone for the new European Commission mandate. Lastly, the lecture will also discuss the EU’s role as a decisive global geopolitical actor.

H.E. Pedro Serrano's Bio

Chief of Staff to the European Union’s High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy and EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles until October 2022, his previous roles include that of Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. Pedro Serrano was also the first EU Ambassador to the United Nations, in New York, after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Born in Madrid, Spain, Pedro Serrano is married and has two daughters.

An event funded by the Centre of European Law and by the European Commission.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

An exclusive event for City students, the BVS Taster session for intending barristers will give you a real insight into the experience of training for the Bar at City.  It will include an Advocacy demo, information about the Pupillage Advice Service, a Q&A session with current students & alumni and a chance to meet some of the staff, and is taking place in Professional Programmes teaching space in Whiskin Street.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Join us for the third in a series of four webinars organised by the Childhood, Law & Policy Network (www.qmul.ac.uk/clpn). This series explores social issues relating to children and their bodies. The third webinar will focus on childhood and disability.

Speakers and topics:

Dr Anastasia Todd (Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky)

Topic: ‘Disabled Girlhood and Platform Intimacies’

In this presentation, I introduce and discuss the utility of the heuristic that I developed in my book project, “cripping girlhood.” I hone in on disabled girls’ self-representational practices on two platforms—YouTube and TikTok—in order to explore how disabled girls subvert normative expectations for disabled girlhood, or “crip girlhood.” Through producing and uploading videos, disabled girls re-author the meanings of their bodyminds in their own terms. I end with a discussion of new directions for this research, toward a more sustained recognition of the intersection of the material and digital, or what I term platform intimacies.

Dr Antonios Ktenidis (Lecturer in Education in the School of Education, University of Sheffield)

Topic: ‘“The Pursuit of Development”: Deconstructing Developmentalism from a Critical Disability Studies and Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies Perspective’

In this presentation, Antonios will explore the foundational concepts of Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies (DCCS), emphasising their significance in understanding the intersections of disability and childhood. The discussion will center on developmentalism as a pervasive discourse that shapes societal perceptions of (disabled) childhoods. Antonios will analyse the intersections of developmentalism with ableism, colonialism, and heightism, particularly in relation to growth charts, which often serve as instruments of measurement that reinforce normative standards of development. By critically examining how these intersecting ideologies impact the lived experiences of disabled children, this presentation aims to highlight the need to challenge prevailing narratives and advocate for a reimagining of developmental paradigms that acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of disabled childhoods.

Dr Harriet Cooper (Lecturer in Medical Education (Humanities and Sociology), University of East Anglia)

Topic: ‘Regarding the disabled child / Thinking with and against narrative’

The disabled child in Anglo-American cultural contexts is often figured as ‘exceptional’ and as the exception that demands an emotional response from the interlocutor (Mollow, 2012; Puar, 2017). For Puar (2017), this lens facilitates and structures a politics of (so-called) inclusion that relies on an exclusionary understanding of disability. That is, forms of population-level debilitation are effectively excluded from the category of disability in order for disability to appear as such (Puar, 2017). Puar draws our attention to geopolitical contexts of debilitation that are rendered external to the economies of representation of disability studies in the Global North.

In this work-in-progress paper, I try to draw out some of the connections between the exceptionalism Puar (2017) identifies and the contemporary prevalence of the notion that ‘everyone has a story to tell’ (Poletti, 2011). Focusing in particular on Anglo-American life-writing by parents of disabled children in the era of platform capitalism and entrepreneurial subjectivity (Hakim, 2019; Han, 2017), I explore how the proliferation of life-writing foregrounds the disabled child as an individual with a narrative. What are the ethical and political consequences of a cultural turn to the individual’s ‘story’ for the many disabled and dying children who do not – who cannot – appear as individuals, and whose lives are not available for narration?

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Misinformation is nothing new. From the rumours that helped spark the French Revolution to the Great Moon Hoax that gripped 19th-century New York, fake news has shaped societies and influenced the course of history for hundreds of years.

Join renowned Academy Fellows and historians on a whirlwind tour through the history of misinformation. Drawing on in-depth research and vivid sources, our panel will bring to life historical tales of alternative facts and distorted truths from across the globe – and reveal how the past can help us better understand the challenges we face in today’s 'post-truth' world.

Speakers:

Professor Esther Eidinow FBA

Esther Eidinow is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Bristol. Her research focuses on ancient Greek culture, especially religion, magic, myth and social emotions, and she has a particular interest in interdisciplinary approaches. Her books include 'Envy, Poison, and Death: Women on Trial in Classical Athens' and 'Oracles, Curses, and Risk Among the Ancient Greeks'. She was made Fellow of the British Academy in 2024.

Professor Alvin Jackson FBA

Alvin Jackson is Sir Richard Lodge Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh. Before moving to Edinburgh, he held posts at University College Dublin Queen’s University Belfast. He was made Fellow of the British Academy in 2024. He has published extensively on modern Irish, Scottish and British History. He is especially interested in the political relationship between Britain and Ireland. His most recent book, 'United Kingdoms: Multinational Union States in Europe and Beyond, 1800-1925', was a TLS Book of the Year.

Professor Yasmin Khan

Yasmin Khan is Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. She previously held posts at the University of Edinburgh and Royal Holloway, University of London, and she was a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow in 2019-20. Her research focuses on the history of the British in India, the British Empire, South Asian decolonisation, refugees and the aftermath of empire. Her award-winning books include 'The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan' and 'The Raj at War: A People’s History of India’s Second World War'.

Chair:

Ritula Shah

Ritula Shah is a journalist and broadcaster with one of the most recognisable voices on speech radio.

Ritula was the lead presenter of the news and current affairs programme 'The World Tonight', on BBC Radio 4 for 15 years. She is also an experienced panel chair, including on the BBC’s weekly panel discussion show, 'Any Questions?' and 'The Real Story' on BBC World Service. She regularly leads major public debates for universities and think tanks.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Tort Liability in Warfare: States’ Wrongs and Civilians’ Rights reevaluates fundamental principles of tort law, offering a fresh perspective on state liability for harm inflicted on civilians during combat. Arguing that domestic tort law could and should serve as a viable means of redress for such wrongs, Dr Haim Abraham (UCL Laws) highlights the critical role that the norms governing armed conflict play in defining the rights and obligations of both states and civilians in wartime, showing that private law rights remain relevant even amid warfare, and that violations of these rights trigger duties of corrective justice.

Challenging the conventional view that tort law has no place in warfare, Dr Abraham introduces the concept of "belligerent wrongs," arguing that excluding tort remedies for wartime losses stems from policy choices rather than necessity and questions whether these choices justify states' broad immunity from tort liability.

The symposium, centered around these ideas, will bring together academics and policymakers to explore how private law could play a greater role in armed conflict, how shifting geopolitical dynamics impact tort law, and the extent to which the doctrinal and theoretical frameworks of tort law align with the legal realities of warfare.

The panel includes Prof. Paula Giliker from the University of Bristol, Prof. Liesbeth Zegveld from the University of Amsterdam and Prof. Ugljesa Grusic from UCL. It will be moderated by Prof. Luke Moffett from QUB, and followed by a Q&A with the author Dr Haim

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Overview

The Finsbury Institute is delighted to host His Excellency Pedro Serrano to give a lecture on the balancing power of the EU, with a reception to follow.

The event will be under Chatham House rules and opened by Prof Charles Lees, Executive Dean of the School of Policy and Global Affairs. The chair for the evening will be Dr Sara Silvestri, Senior Lecturer in International Politics.

The event is being promoted and co-sponsored by The Finsbury Institute, the Europe @ City Research Cluster and Institute for the Study of European Laws at The City Law School. It forms part of SPGA's "Festival of the Professions" activity.

His Excellency Pedro Serrano

EU Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Chief of Staff to the European Union’s High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy and EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles until October 2022, his previous roles include that of Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.

Pedro Serrano was also the first EU Ambassador to the United Nations, in New York, after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.

Born in Madrid, Spain, Pedro Serrano is married and has two daughters.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

We are excited to welcome students, staff, professionals, and the public to the seventh London Student Sustainability Conference (LSSC25).

The conference will adopt a hybrid format, allowing participants from London and beyond to attend either in person or virtually.

London Student Sustainability Conference provides attendees with the chance to explore the remarkable work undertaken in the climate and sustainability realms being carried out by students across London.

Applications are now open for student presenters.

Student presenters

The LSSC25 will showcase student research, projects and creative work aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). Visit the UNDP webpage to learn more about the Global Goals.

The Conference provides opportunities for students to exhibit their work through presentations, posters, or other creative mediums. It will be held in person at a Central London location (venue to be confirmed) on Wednesday 26th February 2025, followed by an evening networking event. All presentations and Q&A sessions will also be available to live stream for those attending online.

For participants, this is a fantastic opportunity to present your work to a diverse audience and network with students, staff, and professionals from numerous London universities and beyond!

Oral presentations

Students can present their research or project in a 10-minute presentation, using slides, if you wish (PowerPoint, PDF, Prezi etc) or as a panel discussion, which will then be followed by 10 minutes for questions and answers.

Videos, performances and art installations

We also encourage students whose work takes the form of a film, music piece, dance or spoken word performance, art installation or practical demonstration to take part in the conference. Please let us know if you have any specific requirements to present your work.

Poster exhibition

Presenters are encouraged to create a poster to go alongside their presentation. If you choose to submit a poster, it will be displayed throughout the Conference and during the networking event. Posters offer an excellent way to present your research or project in a visually appealing and easy-to-read format.

Your poster should be A1 size (either landscape or portrait) and contain a mixture of text, images and graphics.

You can decide on the layout, but it must be clear and logical so that the reader’s eye naturally follows the flow of text. Our poster checklist [PDF] helps you create a poster that is engaging and relevant to the conference.

Partnership

We are pleased to announce that this year’s London Student Sustainability Conference is a collaboration between eleven London universities:

• City St. George’s, University of London
• Imperial College London
• King’s College London
• Kingston University London
• London School of Economics
• London South Bank University
• Queen Mary University of London
• University of Greenwich
• University of London
• University of Roehampton
• University of Westminster.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Since the financial crisis of 2007-2009 the UK’s economic growth has been slow, with the nation languishing in the lower half of the OECD rankings on productivity. The UK also has high levels of inequality in terms of wealth, income and opportunity when compared to its OECD peers. These challenges are in many ways linked but tackling them is no straightforward task.

In this webinar, three experts from different strands of the social sciences offer their perspectives, based on research evidence, for how the new UK Government might seek to balance its economic priorities against large and growing inequalities across society.

This will be the first of several panel events throughout the year examining the theme of ‘good growth’ from different standpoints as part of the Campaign for Social Science’s new hub. We will ask what sort of growth might we want in the UK – and where, how, and for whom? Are there ways that the UK can achieve growth that is fair, inclusive, carefully targeted, and environmentally sustainable?

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Withers is the first international law firm dedicated to successful people, their families, businesses and charitable interests. Trainees engage in both private client and commercial.

If you're interested in working at Withers, visting us at one of our open days is a great way to meet some of our people and get a first hand experience of our offices, the way we work and our culture. We welcome applications from all degree disciplines and from applicants at all stages of their career (undergraduates, postgraduates, mature students and those considering a career change). We're an equal opportunities employer and actively aim to attract a vibrant, diverse pool of talent with individual skills and experience to reflect our dynamic client base.

Secure your place now, we run an open day for up to 30 people annually in London.

Applications for 2025 open day are now live. All applications must be made via our online careers portal.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Join City Pakistan Law Society for their speakers event on the 26th:

Navigating the British Legal Landscape: Insights and Strategies for Pakistani Professionals.

Pakistan Law Society - Bridging Excellence in Law

The Pakistan Law Society is a dynamic platform dedicated to uniting Pakistani legal professionals, students, and academics with a shared commitment to advancing the rule of law and legal education. Our mission is to foster a vibrant exchange of ideas, promote professional development, and champion the unique perspectives and challenges faced by Pakistan’s legal community.

We are not just another student organization; we are a bold initiative determined to build bridges between aspiring legal minds at City University and seasoned practitioners in Pakistan. Whether you are a student eager to navigate the complexities of law, a barrister pushing boundaries, or a judge shaping jurisprudence, the Pakistan Law Society is your stage to collaborate, learn, and lead.

At the core of our ethos lies the ambition to challenge stereotypes, inspire critical thinking, and empower a new generation of lawyers committed to justice and equity. Through events, mentorship programs, and discussions on contemporary legal issues, we aim to redefine what it means to be a part of Pakistan’s legal legacy.

Join us—where law meets innovation, tradition fuels progress, and collaboration drives change.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This looks set to be a highly interesting lecture, as a part of the 'The UK's Unwritten Constitution: Is It Worth the Paper It's (Not) Written On?' series by Gresham College.

This lecture discusses a hierarchy of rights. Is the First Amendment the most important of all, given its five foundational rights – no law respecting an establishment of religion; free exercise of religion; freedom of speech and the press; the right peaceably to assemble; the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. How might this apply to the UK?

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

• 'The Development of International Law: The Case for Revisiting Compensation’ by Professor Martins Paparinskis (Faculty of Laws, UCL)

• Chair: Prof Vaughan Lowe (Essex Court Chambers)

About this Inaugural Lecture

The development of public international law is a curious process, often easier to observe and retrospectively explain than predict and direct. Much depends on how particular specialist fields strike the balance between substance, institutions, and means of dispute settlement. Equally, much turns on choices that actors take by turning to these specialist institutions and means, the character of acts or omission that serve as catalysts for these choices, and particularly the fit within the broader context provided by generalist rules and universal institutions. The talk will consider the variety of considerations that shape the development of public international law in modern practice, with an eye to compensation for the damage caused by internationally wrongful acts, a topic entered into the long-term programme work of the United Nations International Law Commission in 2024.

About the Speaker

Martins Paparinskis is Professor of Public International Law at UCL Faculty of Laws. He is a generalist public international lawyer with a variety of specialist interests, and has published on foundational topics of public international law, such as sources, law of treaties, State responsibility, and international dispute settlement, as well as on topics in the subfields of investment law and environmental law. Professor Paparinskis is a member of the United Nations International Law Commission, and has been the Chairperson of its Drafting Committee (2023) and the First Vice-Chair (2024).

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This talk will focus on the recently published 'Interdisciplinary Research Methods in EU Law: A Handbook' (Deplano, R., Gentile, G., Lonardo, L. and Nowak, T. (eds.), Edward Elgar, 2024).

This comprehensive Handbook provides a critical and analytical guide to the application of interdisciplinary research methods in EU law and explores the advancement of the EU legal landscape from an interdisciplinary research perspective.

Venturing beyond doctrinal legal scholarship, it reflects on the cognitive synergies between EU law and other disciplines, and advances the debate on contemporary trends in EU law research.

About the speaker

Giulia Gentile is Lecturer in Law at Essex Law School. Her research focuses on the promotion of human rights in the digital society and EU constitutional law. She is particularly interested in the use of AI in the legal profession and in justice systems. She joined Essex Law School in 2023, having previously worked as Fellow at LSE Law School, Teaching Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher at Maastricht University.

Giulia has led several research projects funded among others from the EU Commission and UKRI on the rule of law, public values and digitisation. She held funded positions as visiting scholar at the European University Institute (Florence), the Centre de droit européen of the University Panthéon-Assas (Paris) and the Max Planck Institute of European Procedural Law (Luxembourg).

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see a masterpiece of documentary cinema that is all but forgotten today. 'The Memory of Justice' (1976) from Oscar-winning director Marcel Ophuls confronts the subject of wartime atrocities. Set against the backdrop of the Nuremberg trials as well as the Algerian and Vietnam wars, the film raises questions about violence, war, and justice that are as relevant today as they were when it was first made. This compelling, if challenging, film has never had a cinematic release in the UK.

Join us for a special screening at the ICA, introduced by distinguished international lawyer and award-winning author Professor Philippe Sands Hon FBA.

Speaker: Professor Philippe Sands FBA

Philippe Sands is Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London. He previously held positions at SOAS University of London, King's College London, the University of Cambridge, and New York University. A practicing barrister, he has litigated cases before the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Justice, and he frequently advises governments, NGOs, and international organisations on aspects of international law. His book 'East West Street' won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2016, the British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2017 and the 2018 Prix Montaigne. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy in 2023.

"Restored by the Academy Film Archive in association with Paramount Pictures and the Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Material World Foundation, Righteous Persons Foundation, and the Film Foundation."

Ticket prices

• £14, general admission
• £12, concessions
• £5, 25 and under

For more information regarding concessions, please visit the ICA website via the booking link. For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student and pensioner) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.

Further information

The event commences at 14:00. The screening lasts 278 minutes, and there will be a 20-minute interval halfway through. All are welcome to join for drinks and discussion at the ICA bar after the screening.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

We invite you to attend the public launch of City St George's following the merger between City, University of London and St George's, University of London which took place on 1 August 2024.

We are now ‘City St George’s, University of London’.

We welcome an eclectic panel of experts to discuss How can AI contribute to the future health of the nation.

Professor Enrico Bonadio, Professor of Intellectual Property Law and on the Management Board at the Institute for Creativity and AI at City St George’s
Dr Elinor Carmi, Senior lecturer in Data Politics and Social Justice at City St Geroge's, previous advisor to WHO on data literacy, disinformation and infodemiology.
Professor Amanda Goodall, Professor of Leadership and creator of the Executive Masters in Medical Leadership at Bayes Business School. City St George's
Professor Caroline Ling Li, Professor in Biomedical Engineering, City St George's and currently researching high blood pressure treatment through innovative AI-driven smart sensors.
Professor Chris Owen, Professor of Epidemiology in the Population Health Research Institute, City St George's - leading the way on using AI to predict heart disease and diabetes risk from a simple eye scan.
Dr Divya Srivastava, health economist at City St George's, researching digital health technologies including AI involving methods for analysis and health financing.

Chair TBA

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Pupillage Interviews - What to expect, how to prepare and how to perform.

The Pupillage Advice Service team is running a follow up lecture to the Panel Event on Pupillage Interviews, to support your ongoing preparation for Pupillage Interviews. The lecture will take place online on Tuesday 4th March at 7 PM - 8 PM. PAS will be in conversation with Charlotte Pope Williams of 3 Hare Court.

Please use the link below to join the event. 

All welcome including guests from other Universities.

Join the meeting now 

Meeting ID: 355 484 920 875 

Passcode: wXMFQS 

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This workshop will cover using legal databases. It is useful as an introduction to using them, or a refresher session. 

It will cover:

• Using Westlaw and Lexis+ to find information on legal topics
• Using the databases to find case law, legislation, articles and other resources
• An overview of other legal databases including Practical Law, HeinOnline and i-Law
• The opportunity to ask questions about using particular legal databases

How do I attend?

When you register we'll send you an email with a link to join the workshop in Microsoft Teams. You'll also get a reminder an hour before the start time.

The Microsoft Teams application enable us to make voice calls, video calls and screen sharing. To use Microsoft Teams application, you will need:

• a computer
• a reliable internet connection and
• quiet space at the time of the workshop

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Title of talk -' Radical Lawyers? Rethinking the law and society canon'

In this talk Professor Mulcahy will draw on a four year oral history of law centre lawyers to interrogate what we know, and think we know, about progressive lawyering. Revisiting the focus of scholarship on the heroic test case and pro bono work, it will argue that the English and Welsh experience of salaried full time poverty lawyers suggest that there are many ways in which repressive laws can be challenged and systemic change achieved. Situated within discussions of localism, collective working and parity of esteem with community workers, this paper will challenge theories of radical lawyering that place the lawyer and national test case at the core.

Professor Mulcahy is a multi-disciplinary researcher with an interest in marginalised stories about law and justice. Across her career she has undertaken hundreds of interviews with victims of medical negligence, council flat tenants, food bank users and radical lawyers. In recent years she has written about the architecture of law courts, the representation of law and justice in the public sphere and street art. Professor Mulcahy is the Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and the Statutory Chair of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford. She has a particular interest in methodology, radical listening and narrative interviews. Professor Mulcahy is an expert adviser to the British Library Life Stories programme.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Join the Human Rights Lawyers' Association for an empowering and important discussion in the run up to International Women's Day 2025.

International Women’s Day 2025: Protecting the Human Rights of incarcerated pregnant women, mothers and their dependent children

Two high-profile baby deaths in two women’s prisons in 2019 and 2020, and a public campaign by Level Up, have brought the serious risks faced by incarcerated pregnant women into sharp focus, with all pregnancies in prison now categorised by NHS England and the Ministry of Justice as “high-risk.”

A new mitigating factor for pregnancy and the postnatal period has been introduced by the Sentencing Council and a rapidly growing body of appellate case law is underscoring the importance of alternatives to immediate imprisonment to protect women and dependent children from the risks and harms of prison.

A new legal toolkit, co-authored by Level Up and Maya Sikand KC, Pippa Woodrow and Hannah Smith from Doughty Street Chambers, equips lawyers with the core legal arguments, tools and resources to effectively represent pregnant women and mothers of infants at all stages of the criminal justice process. It also includes the key prison law issues that incarcerated pregnant women and mothers face.

Join us to explore the right to life, family life, liberty and security, fair trial and discrimination issues that arise when representing pregnant women and mothers of dependent children in the criminal justice system. We will provide practical tips on what needs to be done to bring a true human rights approach to decisions on sentencing, mitigation, bail and appeals against sentence.

The event will be Chaired by Maya Sikand KC, and we will hear from Charlie, who will share her lived experience of being pregnant in prison, Pippa Woodrow and Janey Starling (Co-director, Level Up), toolkit co-authors, and Dr Shona Minson, academic expert on maternal imprisonment and member of the newly formed Women’s Justice Board.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Join the HRLC at our Annual Human Rights Conference addressing the issue of Human Rights Under Pressure.

The Human Rights Law Centre is delighted to invite you to our upcoming Annual Human Rights Conference on 'Human Rights Under Pressure'.

Human rights are under pressure. Threats ranging from anti-democratic movements to the climate crisis, to rollbacks to hard-won protections for historically disadvantaged groups, to assaults on freedom of expression and the right to protest, risk robbing human rights and their associated enforcement mechanisms of their moral, political and legal power. In response, the conference will bring together leading experts to consider the state of play of human rights and the prospects for pushback globally, regionally and nationally.

We will be joined by Keynote Speakers Baroness Shami Chakrabarti (Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom) and Professor Conor Gearty (Professor of Human Rights, LSE School of Law).

We will additionally be joined by an exciting line-up of expert seakers including:

• Tessa Khan, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Uplift;

• Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law / Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham;
• Dr Mando Rachovitsa, Associate Professor in Human Rights Law / Deputy Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham;
• Dr Wanda Wyporska, Chief Executive Officer of Safe Passage International.

This event will take place on Wednesday, 5 March 2025 from 13:00-17:30 (GMT) in the Law and Social Sciences Building, Room B62. The event will be streamed so that viewers can join us online*.

*Please note that UoN students are asked to attend in person.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

We are thrilled to invite you to our first event of 2025 in celebration of female trailblazers in the legal profession. We partnered with global law firm DLA Piper to bring to you the premiere of our First 100 Years film of the life and work of Barbara Mills KC. This month, Barbara became the first person of colour and only the 5th woman to lead the barristers' profession in England and Wales. Following her film premiere, we will be in conversation with another trailblazer, Stephanie Boyce, who herself led the solicitors' profession in England and Wales (2020-22) and whose film we premiered a few years back, also at DLA Piper.

What: Exclusive screening and discussion with Barbara Mills KC and I. Stephanie Boyce

Where: DLA Piper, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT

When: 5th March 2025, evening (630pm-1030pm)

17:30 Arrivals/networking

18:30 Welcome: Jon Hayes DLA Piper Global co-Chair

18:40 Film screening: Barbara Mills KC

18:50 Audience Q&A with Barbara Mills KC and Dana Denis-Smith OBE

19:10 Panel discussion, featuring Dr I. Stephanie Boyce

19:30 Drinks Reception

20:30 Event close

Our guests

Dana Denis-Smith OBE

Dana Denis-Smith OBE is an award-winning entrepreneur, leading campaigner for equality, TEDx speaker and philanthropist. Dana is the CEO of Obelisk Support, a legal services provider offering flexible legal solutions to FTSE100 companies, law firms and growing businesses, UK-based or multinational.

Dr. I Stephanie Boyce

Stephanie is a seasoned leader with a background as a Board Advisor, Chair, Personal Coach, and Podcaster. A former president of the Law Society of England and Wales, she led the solicitor profession during one of the most turbulent times in the nation’s history.

Barbara Mils KC

Barbara Mills KC is chair of the Bar 2025. Barbara is joint head of chambers at 4PB and practises in family law specialising in difficult and complex children cases, often with an international element. Barbara is an arbitrator and a mediator, sits as a deputy High Court judge, and has been a recorder on the South Eastern Circuit for over 10 years.

Jon Hayes

Jon Hayes has over 30 years' experience of working on multijurisdictional matters, helping clients to achieve their strategic objectives. Jon is a committed advocate for inclusion, diversity, belonging and wellbeing. He is a member of the firm's D&I Council, and a member of the Advisory Board of New Perimeter (the firm's pro bono affiliate).

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This workshop will focus on how to carry out practical legal research (PLR). It will be useful as a refresher for BVS or SPP students, or as an introduction to PLR for GDL or LLB students who intend to undertake the BVS or SPP in 2025-26. 

It will cover:

• Using the Practical Law database, Westlaw Topics and Halsbury's Laws of England
• The 7 step practical legal research method
• Finding cases and legislation
• Checking the status of cases and legislation

How do I attend?

When you register we'll send you an email with a link to join the workshop in Microsoft Teams. You'll also get a reminder an hour before the start time.

The Microsoft Teams application enable us to make voice calls, video calls and screen sharing. To use Microsoft Teams application, you will need:

• a computer
• a reliable internet connection and
• quiet space at the time of the workshop

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Something slightly different for you here! This is a part of the 'Lawgivers in Political Imaginations' series by Professor Melissa Lane at Gresham College.

The Hebrew lawgiver Moses was compared to ancient Greek lawgivers such as Lycurgus of Sparta and Solon of Athens by the ancient Jewish authors Philo and Josephus—both writing in Greek while living in the Roman empire.

This lecture explores their views of Moses and ancient Greek lawgivers on topics including education, ethical habituation, writing, prophecy and political rule. Early modern authors would inherit and examine these lawgivers, along with others, in their own reflections on law, culture, and politics. 

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This lecture will be delivered by Dr Anna Chadwick, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2024-25

About the lecture

The analysis of prices is an activity that has traditionally taken place within the domain of Economics, and legal scholars have had very little to say about how prices are formed. Yet as the impacts of price spikes for resources like oil or gas, the effects of long-standing inequalities relating to the terms of international trade, the contentious practice of pricing of sovereign debt, or the current cost-of-living crisis all underline, prices have significant implications for a matter with which lawyers have traditionally been concerned: justice.

Legal institutions are increasingly understood by economic sociologists and institutionalist economists to be of critical importance in processes of price formation, yet there has been no systematic attempt to understand the role of law in the formation of prices. In this lecture, I build on important foundations around ‘the just price’ to evaluate the potential of developing an alternative theoretical approach to analysing prices from a legal perspective. I identify and critically discuss four different ways of analysing the role of law in processes of price formation that take as their point of departure the following intellectual traditions: I) New Institutional Economics, II) Economic Sociology, III) Law and Political Economy, and IV) Marxist Economics. In addition to offering a comparative analysis of distinct legal-theoretical perspectives on the engineering of prices, I reflect on whether it is possible to advance a legal theory of prices that is both sociologically convincing and that also has explanatory power.

Prices govern peoples’ lives and dictate courses of action to elected governments, often entrenching and exacerbating inequalities. Can a greater understanding of their legal engineering open up any avenues to making prices any more ‘just’?

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

A panel of distinguished speakers will address this question, to be followed by a general discussion. All are welcome.

Alessandro Stanziani is Professor of Global History at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), and Senior Research Fellow at Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). He is the author of Les métamorphoses du travail contraint: Une histoire globale XVIIIe-XIXe siècles (Sciences Po, Les Presses, 2020) and of Labor on the Fringes of Empire: Voice, Exit and the Law (Springer, 2018).

Zoe Adams is Fellow at King's College, Cambridge and Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Labour and the Wage: A Critical Perspective (OUP, 2020) and of The Legal Concept of Work (OUP, 2022).

Oliver Holland is partner at Leigh Day Solicitors, specialising in international claims against parent companies for breaches of fundamental rights down their supply chains. He has conduct of the case of Limbu v Dyson (judgment on jurisdiction) [2024] EWCA Civ 1564. The Claimants are Nepalese and Bangladeshi workers transported to Malaysia and not paid the local minimum wage, amongst other forms of mistreatment. They seek redress against Dyson, using the law of negligence and unjust enrichment.

Natalie Sedacca is Assistant Professor in Employment Law at the University of Durham. She has carried out theoretical and practical work on emancipation of domestic workers. She was also part of the move towards removal of the exemption from the National Minimum Wage for family workers. In her forthcoming book, she discusses the rights of domestic workers in Chile, the UK, India, and South Africa and the use of human rights law to challenge lack of protection. She will discuss her draft chapter on the devaluation of domestic work through perception of a ‘family-like’- relationship.

Sandhya Drew (Chair) is a Barrister, Senior Lecturer at City St George's, Honorary Adjunct Professor in Law, O.P. Jindal Global University, and Professeure Invitée, Université Paris Nanterre. Her focus on forced labour started with Human Trafficking: Human Rights Law and Practice (LAG, 2009). Her article 'Safe in Leicester Town? Law's reach to those working below the minimum wage' is forthcoming in ILJ 2025.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This workshop is on OSCOLA citing and referencing.

It is aimed at those who have an understanding of using OSCOLA but would like further guidance and tips and tricks on how to use it. 

It will cover:

• A reminder of what OSCOLA is and how it works
• Referencing different types of materials such as books, journal articles and websites
• How to cite sources in a bibliography
• Advice on where to find further guidance
• An opportunity to ask questions about citing and referencing using OSCOLA

How do I attend?

When you register we'll send you an email with a link to join the workshop in Microsoft Teams. You'll also get a reminder an hour before the start time.

The Microsoft Teams application enable us to make voice calls, video calls and screen sharing. To use Microsoft Teams application, you will need:

• a computer
• a reliable internet connection and
• quiet space at the time of the workshop

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

In 1984, the Greater London Council declared the Year of Anti-Racism. Join us as we commemorate the 40th anniversary with a day of engaging talks. Activists, artists, and academics will reflect on this pivotal decade and the impact of municipal activism. Hear from those who experienced it firsthand and those who now delve into the archives to better understand our present-day challenges.

Talks

Parminder Vir OBE

Parminder will discuss the transformative work undertaken from 1979 to 1986, a defining period for Black and Asian creativity in the UK. Amidst the political and social tensions of the 1980s, this decade saw significant efforts to challenge racial discrimination in the arts. Key to this was the GLC’s Anti-Racism Year in 1984 a groundbreaking initiative aimed at confronting racism within mainstream arts institutions and promoting race equality.

This will be followed by a short Q and A with Sarah El-Taki

Tim Joubert

Under the leadership of the ‘new urban left’, the 1981-1986 GLC embarked on a transformative agenda to reshape life in London. The 1984 Anti-Racism Year is just one characteristic example of the left GLC’s efforts to bring the politics and campaigning energies of new social movements into municipal policy-making. This paper presents some reflections on how this wider encounter between radical politics and local government unfolded in practice — in the everyday work of politicised councillors and officials and their experiences navigating the constraints of municipal bureaucracy, the legal system, and local government finance, all while trying to balance their political commitments with professional responsibilities. Revisiting those experiences helps us see a more dynamic interplay between political activism and the local (and central) state, and form a more complete picture of how the successes and failures of progressive urban transformation took shape in the GLC.

Sarah El-Taki

Sarah will present an overview of her doctoral dissertation, which examines the history of state-led and municipal anti-racism initiatives. While much of anti-racist history has focused on representational politics, it has often overlooked the visual materials created by anti-racist organisations. This presentation will illuminate the campaign posters produced by the Greater London Council (GLC) in the 1980s, exploring how public images—particularly those from the 1984 Year of Anti-Racism—were designed to shape ideas of citizenship and belonging. Drawing on correspondences found in the London Archives, Sarah reveals public reactions to the evolving visual landscape in London during this period.

Biographies of Speakers

Parminder Vir OBE’s commitment to empowering Black and Asian creativity in the UK began with her pioneering work at the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1982 to 1986. As the Ethnic Arts Officer and later Head of the Race Equality Unit, Vir led a transformative grant aid programme that supported a wide range of Black and Ethnic Minority artists and organisations, many of whom have since achieved international acclaim. She developed groundbreaking programmes for Black and Ethnic Minority arts, established training initiatives, and spearheaded race equality policies that ensured representation in mainstream arts institutions. Her early experience in Arts Administration included work with the Minority Arts Advisory Service and the Commonwealth Institute, where she programmed the first Festival of Black American Independent Cinema in February 1982. An award-winning film and television producer with 30 years of experience, Vir has produced for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and more.

As CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Advisory Board Member from 2014 to 2021, based in Nigeria, she designed and led a groundbreaking entrepreneurship programme impacting over 10,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African nations. She remains a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship as a catalyst for Africa’s social and economic development. She continues to offer strategic guidance to African enterprises, promoting structured approaches to entrepreneurship through writing, speaking, and mentorship. She is currently writing a memoir that interweaves these many facets of her career.

Tim Joubert is a scholar and activist based in Leeds, with a background in urban geography and political and social sciences. His PhD from the University of Leeds revisited the politics of the 1981-1986 GLC in relation to contemporary debates on radical 'municipalism', where local government and urban social movements meet.

Sarah Samira El-Taki is a British scholar specialising in visual culture, currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has submitted her PhD thesis at the University of Copenhagen and is set to defend it in early 2025. Sarah holds an MA in Visual Culture from Lund University, Sweden, and is affiliated with the Sarah Parker Remond Centre at University College London (UCL). Her research focuses on the history of photography, Black British visual culture, and the dynamics of British multiculturalism.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Can Law Tackle the Climate Crisis?

Legal cases against companies and governments contributing to catastrophic climate change have been increasing over the past few years.

Good Law Project is one of the UK firms doing this, for example:

• they fought against illeagl coal mining in Wales.
• they are supporting Gaie Delap - the Just Stop Oil supporter returned to prison because of Cerco's failure to fit her with a tag.

This approach has been taken in many other countries too but how much does it contribute?

Rebekah Hill from Good Law Project has kindly agreed to come and speak to us about the part law can play in the crisis which is unfolding and also what law can't do.

Rebekah is a solicitor (New Zealand Qualified) at Good Law Project, working on primarily environmental and human rights cases. Rebekah has an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to working for a non-profit, Rebekah worked for a private environmental law firm in New Zealand. She has also worked in environmental policy at New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment.

Come along with your questions, thoughts and experiences. Maybe you have run legal campaigns or been represented in a court case for climate protest. Let's share what we know and have experienced.

Co-operate events are relaxed, the bar is open for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. We have speakers who speak from the heart.

Best of all we have a wide-range of like-minded women who are eager to get to know each other, give each other support and learn together.

Think of it as a party or networking event without the awkward silences or wondering what you have to wear beforehand!

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The UK’s Immigration Legislation and a Hierarchy of Modern Slavery Victimhood by Dr Marija Jovanovic

We are delighted to host Dr Marija Jovanovic as part of the Wilberforce Institute's Public Lecture programme, in association with Hull Museums.

The talk will explore a paradox and implications of the UK’s public declarations of commitment to anti-slavery action and protections embedded in the ‘modern slavery’ legislation introduced in 2015, on one hand, and the denial of such protection to certain categories of victims brought about by the recent immigration legislation, on the other.

The UK has sought to position itself as a global leader in anti-slavery action, both historically through the abolition of state-sponsored slavery in the 19th century and in its present-day initiatives to tackle ‘modern slavery’ and human trafficking (MSHT) – an umbrella term for a range of exploitative practices which persist in the 21st century despite being almost universally outlawed. Accordingly, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is often portrayed as ‘a world-leading piece of legislation’ (UK Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2019). Similarly, the expert body in charge of monitoring States’ compliance with the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, noted that ‘[t]hrough its strong measures to identify victims, the UK is setting an important model for Europe’ (GRETA, 2021). More recently, the UK has led efforts to establish the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in order to address a widely perceived lack of political leadership and declining global attention to the issue, despite increasing numbers of victims worldwide. The UK Government has also listed tackling modern slavery as one of its five pledges to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 2023).

In contrast with this professed global leadership in anti-slavery action, recent legal and policy developments designed to tackle ‘illegal’ migration tell a different story. Namely, following the publication of new immigration policy in 2021 (UK Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2022), the UK has adopted several pieces of legislation that exclude any victim of MSHT who either arrives in the UK ‘illegally’ (sections 22-29, Illegal Migration Act 2023) or is found to have committed a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment (known as ‘public order disqualification’ in section 63, Nationality and Borders Act 2022) from any protection available under domestic modern slavery legislation. This means that even those MSHT victims who were forced to commit criminal offences (a phenomenon known as ‘criminal exploitation’) as well as those who breach immigration rules because they were trafficked to the UK are made ineligible for any protection and support.

By denying protection and support to these categories of MSHT victims, the UK has created a hierarchy of victimhood expressly prohibited by its international legal obligations. Not only does international law binding on the UK not allow for a distinction between different categories of victims, it also expressly contains additional protections for victims compelled to commit criminal offences and those with irregular migration status.

The talk will address this tension and consider the immediate and long term implications of prioritising immigration control goals over human rights commitments and taking action against the perpetrators of this serious crime.

Marija Jovanovi? is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Essex Law School and Human Rights Centre. Her research focuses on modern slavery and the way this phenomenon interacts with different legal regimes, such as human rights law, criminal law, labour law, immigration law, international trade law, and business regulation. She is the author of State Responsibility for ‘Modern Slavery’ in Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2023). Marija’s recent work includes a research project on the experiences of modern slavery survivors in UK prisons and a legal analysis of the compatibility of the Rwanda Treaty and Act 2024 and Illegal Migration Act 2023 with the UK’s international obligations. Marija holds DPhil, MPhil, and Magister Juris degrees from the University of Oxford, and a law degree from Serbia. She previously held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in ASEAN Law and Policy at the National University of Singapore, and a Lectureship in Serbia.

This year we are teaming up with Hull Museums to offer attendees at our public lectures the opportunity to visit Wilberforce House Museum next door before they join us for the lecture. As a result all our lectures will begin at 4.30pm, directly after the Museum closes, and all will take place at our home in Oriel Chambers, 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE. We are very grateful for the financial support Hull Museums is providing to the Wilberforce Institute’s public lecture programme, and hope that some of you will take the opportunity to have a look round their exhibitions and displays in advance of the lectures. Please join us for refreshments from 4.15pm onwards, and if you can, stay afterwards for a glass of wine and a chance to talk with our speaker.

There are a limited number of tickets available to attend in person. If you can’t make it in person, you can still enjoy the lectures by streaming online – please select the ticket according to your preference when you make your booking.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

During our Postgraduate Virtual Fair you will learn more about our postgraduate courses and discover all the benefits of studying at City, University of London.

Taking place from Tuesday 11 March to Thursday 13 March 2025 (various timings), our Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University, all from the comfort of your own home or from anywhere, on your preferred devices.

During our three-day event, you will have the opportunity to attend a range of subjects and course-specific sessions across our six Schools.

Whether you are a prospective student considering applying for one of our postgraduate courses, or an applicant looking for further advice about joining with us, our online fair is designed to give you all the information you may need to make an informed decision.

• 16:00-17:00 (GMT)
  • Bar Training at The City Law School
    (Bar Vocational Studies (BVS))
  • Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at The City Law School
  • LLM programmes at The City Law School
    (Master of Laws LLM, Business and Social Responsibility LLM, Criminal Law and Social Justice LLM, Dispute Resolution LLM,  Intellectual Property Law LLM, International Banking and Corporate Law LLM, International Commercial Law LLM, Maritime Law LLM, Public International Law and Human Rights LLM, and Technology, AI and Legal Services LLM)
  • SQE Preparation and Solicitor Training at The City Law School
    (Solicitors' Practice Programme (SPP))

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The right to free expression is severely threatened in many places in the world, yet it has also never been so passionately defended.

This lecture focuses on the recent history of banned literature. It considers the changing nature of literary censorship, arguments in defence of free expression, why literary writers have so frequently pushed the boundaries of the acceptable, and the impact of technology on censorship and free speech.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The only event of its kind, The Non-Law into Law Conference connects students from diverse academic backgrounds across the UK, providing them with invaluable insights into legal careers and breaking down barriers to entry. We aim to give students studying non-law degrees the confidence and knowledge they need to succeed in the law.

Being partnered with student non-law and law societies at fourteen universities, the Conference brings non-law students together to form a supportive community and enduring friendships and networks.

Following on from its inaugural edition in 2024, the Conference will once again be held at LSE in March 2025. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive experience, wherein all attendees can learn from and engage with peers and experienced professionals, making lasting impressions and relationships. 

The Conference aims to empower attendees to explore legal careers through expert-led panels, keynote speeches, and workshops, offering guidance on law conversion courses, internships, and training contracts. Through networking sessions with experienced legal professionals and peers, attendees will gain practical knowledge and connections that extend beyond the conference, fostering long-term opportunities for mentorship and career advancement. The event highlights the diversity of routes into law, encouraging students to embrace their unique academic backgrounds as strengths in the legal field.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Embark on a journey to master commercial awareness – a skill vital for success in the legal field. Whether you're eyeing commercial law, human rights law, or family law, understanding and applying commercial awareness is key.

Led by Career Consultants, Caroline Berry and Melissa Zad, in collaboration with national full-service law firm Irwin Mitchell, these two online workshops will equip you with the knowledge to confidently pursue training contracts and legal work experience opportunities.

During the two workshops you will;

• Learn why commercial awareness is important in the legal sector
• Establish how commercial awareness is applied in the work of a solicitor, paralegal and other legal roles
• Identify resources and approaches for developing your commercial awareness
• Practice using frameworks to interpret recent news stories and explain the impact on law firms and their clients
• Understand how to answer commercial awareness questions in applications and interviews

Workshop 1: Mastering Commercial Awareness in Legal Applications
Wednesday 12th March 2:00-3:00pm, hosted online (Teams)

During this workshop you will;

• Identify resources and approaches for developing your commercial awareness
• Understand how to answer commercial awareness questions in applications and interviews

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This lecture will be delivered by Professor Bebhinn Donelly-Lazarov, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2024-25

‘I didn’t know what I was doing!’

‘I wasn’t myself when I did that!’

‘I had no control over what I did!’

What is missing when defendants disown their actions?

Speaker: Professor Bebhinn Donelly-Lazarov (University of Surrey)

About the lecture

A defendant who commits an assault while sleepwalking may have, in that moment, a very clear understanding of what they are doing. They may perceive their environment with clarity. They may have resolute motivation and perform their action through coordinated movements well-equipped to achieving their end. Moreover, that end may be fixed by the defendant’s own desires rather than set as a response to perceived threats or physical attack.

At first glance, if we are to consider exculpation, we are, therefore, left with a problem. The physical movements and states of mind that make up a criminal offence are present, and they are present in the typical way; straightforwardly bringing about a prohibited end. All this notwithstanding the fact that the behaviour may be entirely contrary to anything usually the agent would do.

So, what gives? In virtue of what precisely are we no doubt absolutely right to say that the defendant is not culpable? That is the question I seek to answer. Where the cognitive, emotional, and physical apparatus of typical human action (reflected by the elements of a crime) appears present, what, we might consider, is missing such that it is simply obvious a defence is due? I will say that what the defendant lacks is a very distinctive and interesting kind of knowledge; that unique self-recognition that connects any agent to the action they do such that it ‘becomes’ an action of theirs.

Above and beyond the legal elements of an offence, this knowing attachment to one’s own actions is necessary to (if never sufficient for) culpability of any sort. It is an attachment so foundational that it does not feature in the elements of a crime. It may come into view only when its absence matters.

For our sleep-walker, it matters a good deal!

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The Legal London tour is an award winning tour that won us the Best Historical tour operator in the 2021 Southern Enterprise Awards, Best Legal tour in London 2023 and Best legal Tour 2024. and it also has been granted a certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor with 89 out of 96 reviews classing the tour as excellent, plus we are a Traveller's Choice winner for 2024.

It is taken by a former crime reporter, who has the inside knowledge of over 25 years covering both the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ) and the Old Bailey. It is our most popular offering, ideal for schools, colleges, universities and crime buffs. It starts at the RCJ, a stunning historical building where some of the country’s most significant legal judgements are made. Find out why barristers wear wigs. The huge sums earned by some lawyers and why barristers working in the criminal justice system went on strike. The good and the bad in our justice system are revealed. 

Sounds interesting? Head over to Eventbrite for more info!

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG) and Centre for Food Policy have organised a panel examining the role of international law in governing livestock emissions and shaping sustainable food systems in the context of the global climate crisis.

Dr Rebecca Williams will present her book Climate Change, Cattle, and the International Legal Order (Hart Bloomsbury, 2024) with expert commentary from Dr Rebecca Wells and Dr Christian Reynolds from the perspective of food policy.

Livestock food systems need to be rapidly rethought to tackle the global climate crisis. This presentation examines how climate concerns for the livestock sector are governed in international law and addresses the sector's inclusion (or lack thereof) across the international governance of climate change, agriculture, forests and trade.

This provides a wide-ranging analysis of legal regimes at the international level that affect emissions from cattle (and where relevant, livestock more broadly). On this basis, tensions, interactions, and common themes for livestock emissions mitigation across the international climate change, forestry, agricultural and agri-trade regime are identified. This showcases where productive synergies and damaging tensions have emerged across the cross-cutting nature of livestock governance, enabling goals of fairer and more effective emissions mitigation for the sector to be achieved. In addition to addressing issues such as food security and public health, this highlights the problem of affluence in reducing cattle emissions from meat consumption. This key insight is significant in terms of tackling future livestock emissions trajectories, particularly in relation to securing climate justice within the agricultural sector and securing equitable and effective livestock solutions.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

When: Thursday, 14 March at 6pm

Where: Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, 67-69 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JB

The Centre for European and International Legal Affairs (CEILA) is delighted to invite Judge Konrad Jan Marciniak of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to deliver this year's annual lecture on 'Contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Development of International Law'.

Speaker Bio

Judge Konrad Jan Marciniak

Professional Experience: Treaty and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland: senior expert on the law of the sea and environmental law (2007-2014), Deputy Director (Deputy Legal Adviser) (2014-2019), Director (Legal Adviser) (2019-2023); Assistant Lecturer at the Law Faculty, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw (2006-2016); guest lecturer at: Collegium Civitas University in Warsaw, Polish National School of Public Administration, Polish Diplomatic Academy and ITLOS (Nippon programme) (2007-present); Conciliator under Article 2 of Annex V to the Convention; Arbitrator under Article 2 of Annex VII to the Convention; Arbitrator designated pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Schedule to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty; Vice-President to the Bureau of the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; Head of the Polish delegation to the EU Working Parties on Public International Law (COJUR; 2019-2023) and on the Law of the Sea (COMAR; 2007-2023) (Chair of the Group in 2011); Head of the Polish delegation to the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisors on Public International Law (CAHDI); Co-chair of the Antarctic Working Group of the Polish Intergovernmental Polar Policy Committee.

Member: Warsaw Bar; European Society of International Law (ESIL); International Law Association (ILA, Polish Branch); ILA Committee Submarine Cables and Pipelines under International Law; Maritime Law Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Glossing the Foreign Affairs Constitution

The United States’ constitutional law governing the conduct of foreign affairs has evolved significantly in the more than 230 years since its Constitution took effect. That evolution did not come through formal amendments or Supreme Court rulings. Rather, as Professor Bradley documents in his new book, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice, the law in this area has been developed and defined by the practices of Congress and the executive branch, also known as “historical gloss.” This has meant that to some extent the United States—like the U.K.—has an unwritten constitution. This unwritten constitution has been influenced by the United States’ international relations, and in the early years of the nation these relations were often with the U.K. On issues ranging from executive agreements, to treaty reservations, to extradition, U.S.-U.K. relations helped shape U.S. constitutional law, and sometimes also international law. With a new President in office, attention naturally turns to the scope of presidential power over foreign affairs. Historical gloss, the book explains, has often enhanced such power, but it has also allowed Congress to serve as a check on such power when it has had the institutional will to do so. As Justice Robert Jackson famously observed, presidential power is at its “lowest ebb” when it conflicts with the will of Congress.

About the Author:

Curtis Bradley is the Allen M. Singer Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. His areas of expertise include international law, foreign relations law, and constitutional law. He has written numerous articles relating to these subjects and is the author or editor of a number of books, including Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (2024); International Law in the US Legal System (3d ed. 2020); and The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law (2019). Professor Bradley graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1988, after which he clerked for Justice Byron White on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2004, he served as counselor on international law in the Legal Adviser’s Office of the U.S. State Department. From 2012-2018, he served as a Reporter on the Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, and in 2023 he began serving as a Reporter on the latest phase of this Restatement. From 2018-22, he was a co-Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of International Law.

Our panel will include:
Curtis A. Bradley, Allen M. Singer Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago Law School
Arabella Lang, Visiting Fellow, Essex Law School and Human Rights Centre, and Head of Public Law, Law Society of England and Wales
Alex Mills, Professor of Public and Private International Law, Faculty of Laws, UCL

Introduced by:
Anupam Chander, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Technology, Georgetown University

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

In this seminar, Prof. Nicola Lacey will sketch Hanna Pickard’s and her current project, which seeks to reconceive criminal punishment so as to realise institutional counterparts of the interpersonal practices of forgiveness.  As well as setting out the main claims they hope to make, and the challenges which they face, Prof. Lacey will also consider the more general question of what role ideas which find their primary reference point in interpersonal life have, and should have, in efforts at legal reconstruction.

Speaker: Nicola Lacey is School Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy at the London School of Economics.  She is a Fellow of the British Academy, served as a member of the British Academy’s Policy Group on Prisons, which reported in 2014, and was from 2014-2019 the Academy’s nominee on the Board of the British Museum. In 2011 she was awarded the Hans Sigrist Prize by the University of Bern, for scholarship on the rule of law in modern societies; and in 2022 she won the Law and Society Association’s International Prize. Her publications include A Life of HLA Hart (OUP 2004); Women, Crime and Character: From Moll Flanders to Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008); The Prisoners’ Dilemma (2008), and In Search of Criminal Responsibility (2016).

Discussant: Dr Galia Schneebaum is a lecturer at the Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University. Her research is at the intersection of criminal law, sociological, and political theory, and focuses on emerging conceptions of wrongdoing in the law. Galia's research covers a variety of topics, among which are the legal regulation of authority relations, sex offenses, criminalization theory, and the legal regulation of boycotts.

Chair: Dr Andrew Benjamin Bricker, LHub & Ghent University 

The paper will be pre-circulated to registered participants.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The UK’s Immigration Legislation and a Hierarchy of Modern Slavery Victimhood by Dr Marija Jovanovic

We are delighted to host Dr Marija Jovanovic as part of the Wilberforce Institute's Public Lecture programme, in association with Hull Museums.

The talk will explore a paradox and implications of the UK’s public declarations of commitment to anti-slavery action and protections embedded in the ‘modern slavery’ legislation introduced in 2015, on one hand, and the denial of such protection to certain categories of victims brought about by the recent immigration legislation, on the other.

The UK has sought to position itself as a global leader in anti-slavery action, both historically through the abolition of state-sponsored slavery in the 19th century and in its present-day initiatives to tackle ‘modern slavery’ and human trafficking (MSHT) – an umbrella term for a range of exploitative practices which persist in the 21st century despite being almost universally outlawed. Accordingly, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is often portrayed as ‘a world-leading piece of legislation’ (UK Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2019). Similarly, the expert body in charge of monitoring States’ compliance with the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, noted that ‘[t]hrough its strong measures to identify victims, the UK is setting an important model for Europe’ (GRETA, 2021). More recently, the UK has led efforts to establish the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in order to address a widely perceived lack of political leadership and declining global attention to the issue, despite increasing numbers of victims worldwide. The UK Government has also listed tackling modern slavery as one of its five pledges to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 2023).

In contrast with this professed global leadership in anti-slavery action, recent legal and policy developments designed to tackle ‘illegal’ migration tell a different story. Namely, following the publication of new immigration policy in 2021 (UK Secretary of State for the Home Department, 2022), the UK has adopted several pieces of legislation that exclude any victim of MSHT who either arrives in the UK ‘illegally’ (sections 22-29, Illegal Migration Act 2023) or is found to have committed a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment (known as ‘public order disqualification’ in section 63, Nationality and Borders Act 2022) from any protection available under domestic modern slavery legislation. This means that even those MSHT victims who were forced to commit criminal offences (a phenomenon known as ‘criminal exploitation’) as well as those who breach immigration rules because they were trafficked to the UK are made ineligible for any protection and support.

By denying protection and support to these categories of MSHT victims, the UK has created a hierarchy of victimhood expressly prohibited by its international legal obligations. Not only does international law binding on the UK not allow for a distinction between different categories of victims, it also expressly contains additional protections for victims compelled to commit criminal offences and those with irregular migration status.

The talk will address this tension and consider the immediate and long term implications of prioritising immigration control goals over human rights commitments and taking action against the perpetrators of this serious crime.

Marija Jovanovi? is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Essex Law School and Human Rights Centre. Her research focuses on modern slavery and the way this phenomenon interacts with different legal regimes, such as human rights law, criminal law, labour law, immigration law, international trade law, and business regulation. She is the author of State Responsibility for ‘Modern Slavery’ in Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2023). Marija’s recent work includes a research project on the experiences of modern slavery survivors in UK prisons and a legal analysis of the compatibility of the Rwanda Treaty and Act 2024 and Illegal Migration Act 2023 with the UK’s international obligations. Marija holds DPhil, MPhil, and Magister Juris degrees from the University of Oxford, and a law degree from Serbia. She previously held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in ASEAN Law and Policy at the National University of Singapore, and a Lectureship in Serbia.

This year we are teaming up with Hull Museums to offer attendees at our public lectures the opportunity to visit Wilberforce House Museum next door before they join us for the lecture. As a result all our lectures will begin at 4.30pm, directly after the Museum closes, and all will take place at our home in Oriel Chambers, 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE. We are very grateful for the financial support Hull Museums is providing to the Wilberforce Institute’s public lecture programme, and hope that some of you will take the opportunity to have a look round their exhibitions and displays in advance of the lectures. Please join us for refreshments from 4.15pm onwards, and if you can, stay afterwards for a glass of wine and a chance to talk with our speaker.

There are a limited number of tickets available to attend in person. If you can’t make it in person, you can still enjoy the lectures by streaming online – please select the ticket according to your preference when you make your booking.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Emily Jones, University of Newcastle will be joining the Goldsmiths Law Department for a Law and Society Research Seminar where she will present a paper entitled ‘No Future for Future Generations: Who is International Environmental Law for?’.The idea that the environment must be protected for future generations has been gaining traction in recent years. This paper argues that the concept of future generations, as deployed in international environmental law is, however, deeply exclusionary, with only some humans being envisaged as future generations, these exclusions being marked by gender, race, class and ableism. It is furthermore argued that the concept is anthropocentric in that it focuses only on human future generations. The paper discusses whether the concept can be recast considering these critiques, deploying queer and decolonial approaches to do so. In particular, Indigenous understandings of future generations are highlighted as offering an alternative framing. The paper concludes by arguing that legal concepts must be carefully designed to ensure the construction of a future whereby climate change and environmental degradation are addressed in an equitable and just way, providing three pathways that can be used to begin to reframe the concept of future generations accordingly.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This article examines the participation of women as authors in five leading law journals of a generalist nature in the United Kingdom to those of private law journals. For its data points, it takes each author of an article in the Cambridge Law Journal, the Journal of Law and Society, Legal Studies, Modern Law Review, and the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. The private law journals in property, equity and family law and they are Child & Family Law Quarterly, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, Trusts and Trustees, and the International Journal of Law, Policy, and the Family. The analysis of these results reveals wide discrepancies in women’s participation in legal publishing. It shows that for generalist journals those which publish fewer articles, publish fewer women authors. This is not the case for the specialist journals, where some large journals are entirely bereft of women as authors. The article situates its data in a description of gender patterns within the Academy generally and specifically within the Law School. It draws on the experiences of gender publishing disparity in other disciplines where the debate is more established. It concludes with suggestions for changes in internal process within law journals and a plea for them to improve their external profile to boost women’s participation as the authors of articles.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Workshop 2: Mastering Commercial Awareness in Legal Practice – with Irwin Mitchell
Wednesday 19th March 2:00-3:00pm, hosted online (Teams)

This session will be delivered by two solicitors from Irwin Mitchell and you will;

• Learn why commercial awareness is important in the legal sector and how this vital skill is applied in the work of a solicito
• Practice using SWOT framework to interpret recent news stories and explain the impact on law firms and their clients

Mastering Commercial Awareness – two workshops for aspiring legal professionals

Demystify commercial awareness and cultivate essential skills for interviews and your future legal practice!
 

Embark on a journey to master commercial awareness – a skill vital for success in the legal field. Whether you're eyeing commercial law, human rights law, or family law, understanding and applying commercial awareness is key.

Led by Career Consultants, Caroline Berry and Melissa Zad, in collaboration with national full-service law firm Irwin Mitchell, these two online workshops will equip you with the knowledge to confidently pursue training contracts and legal work experience opportunities.

During the two workshops you will;

• Learn why commercial awareness is important in the legal sector
• Establish how commercial awareness is applied in the work of a solicitor, paralegal and other legal roles
• Identify resources and approaches for developing your commercial awareness
• Practice using frameworks to interpret recent news stories and explain the impact on law firms and their clients

Understand how to answer commercial awareness questions in applications and interviews

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This Inaugural Lecture will be on ‘Family Law As Social Policy: Taking Family Problems Upstream’ and delivered by Professor Rob George.

About this Inaugural Lecture

In recent years, family law legislation has often been a focal point for reforms which have aimed as much at changing the societal attitudes and behaviours of family members as affecting their statutory entitlements or how the courts approach family law cases. There has been a tension in the approach of politicians between, on the one hand, restricting access to the courts and thus to law for family disputes and, on the other, using family law as a tool of policy to influence how family members think and behave in relation to one another. This lecture situates family law as a tool of social policy, but one which is often not up to or not suited to the job. Post-separation parenting arrangements are a key example: using family law, as it now does, to stipulate that the involvement of both parents in a child’s life is likely to promote their welfare comes too late to make effective change. The problem needs to be taken ‘upstream’, considering the policy factors that influence the way in which parenting was arranged prior to parental separation rather than focusing only on arrangements made post-separation. Policy factors that affect family problems such as this include parental leave and flexible working policies, situated as part of employment law; housing policy, seen as part of social welfare law; and provision of services such as mental health support, part of healthcare law (if seen as a concern of law at all). This lecture seeks to reposition these upstream policy issues as the central considerations for those interested in effecting societal change to family life.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The Chair and Trustees of the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) are delighted to invite you to the 2025 Sir Henry Brooke Lecture.

This year's lecture on 'Valuing Lawyers' will be given by The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Date: Thursday 20 March 2025

Hybrid Event: In-Person 5.30-8.30pm/Online 5.30-7.30pm

Location: Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2EG

The Right Honourable The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill became the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales in October 2023. She is the first woman to hold this historic office and the 98th person since the role was created in the 13th century. As Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr is the President of the Courts of England and Wales, and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales.

Lady Carr was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1987, specialising in general commercial law with an emphasis on professional liability, and insurance and fraud litigation. She took silk in 2003. Lady Carr became a Recorder in 2009, was appointed to the High Court, Queen's Bench Division in 2013, and in 2014 became the second female High Court Judge to sit in the Commercial Court and the first female High Court Judge to sit in the Technology and Construction Court. She was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2020.

This is a hybrid event. Registration for all attendees will close on Sunday 16 March at 11.59pm, or when bookings reach capacity, whichever is the sooner. All registrants will receive reminder e-mails. For online attendees, reminder e-mails will contain the access link.

On the day of the event, both the online waiting room and the in-person registration desk will open at 5.30pm. The lecture will begin at 6.00pm, and there will be a Q&A session afterwards. For in-person attendees, a reception will follow.

BAILII is very grateful to Herbert Smith Freehills LLP for generously hosting this event. BAILII also thanks the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the University of London for their support.

Thursday 20 March 2025, 5.30-8.30pm (in-person)/Thursday 20 March 2025, 5.30-7.30pm (online)

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

About this Inaugural Lecture

In recent years, family law legislation has often been a focal point for reforms which have aimed as much at changing the societal attitudes and behaviours of family members as affecting their statutory entitlements or how the courts approach family law cases. There has been a tension in the approach of politicians between, on the one hand, restricting access to the courts and thus to law for family disputes and, on the other, using family law as a tool of policy to influence how family members think and behave in relation to one another. This lecture situates family law as a tool of social policy, but one which is often not up to or not suited to the job. Post-separation parenting arrangements are a key example: using family law, as it now does, to stipulate that the involvement of both parents in a child’s life is likely to promote their welfare comes too late to make effective change. The problem needs to be taken ‘upstream’, considering the policy factors that influence the way in which parenting was arranged prior to parental separation rather than focusing only on arrangements made post-separation. Policy factors that affect family problems such as this include parental leave and flexible working policies, situated as part of employment law; housing policy, seen as part of social welfare law; and provision of services such as mental health support, part of healthcare law (if seen as a concern of law at all). This lecture seeks to reposition these upstream policy issues as the central considerations for those interested in effecting societal change to family life.

About the Speaker

Rob George is Professor of Law and Policy at UCL. His research focuses on family law and the working of the family justice system, linking his academic background in both law and social policy. He is the co-author of OUP’s leading textbook, Family Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (5th edition, 2023) and Class Legal’s Dictionary of Private Children Law (4th edition, 2024), and his latest monograph is Wards of Court and the Inherent Jurisdiction (Hart Publishing, 2024). Alongside his academic work, Rob practises as a Barrister at Harcourt Chambers.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Lord David Wolfson will share his personal journey and reflections on the evolving role of justice in society, drawing from his extensive career in law and public service.

An intimate gathering of our most valued supporters, corporate guardians, and leading members of the legal profession. This special evening will include a moderated discussion with Lord Wolfson, followed by an informal networking reception.

This event will take place in Central London, the address will be shared after registration. Tickets are £45, please register below.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences is delighted to announce that the 2025 Baron de Lancey Lecture will take place at 17:00 on Thursday 20 March 2025. The event will take in-person at the Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, with the option of joining virtually. Online-only attendees can watch via a live broadcast.

Event Overview:

Each year, the Baron de Lancey Lecture brings a leading mind to Cambridge to dissect a contentious and cutting-edge topic in medical law and ethics. This year, Professor Kimberly D. Krawiec from the University of Virginia Law School will discuss “repugnant transactions and taboo trades” - exploring markets that push moral boundaries and even face prohibition, such as sex work, commercial surrogacy, and the sale of organs, eggs and sperm. She will challenge us to think critically about society’s decisions on what can be bought and sold.

This lecture will discuss:

• The ethical dilemmas of payments for: surrogacy; human organs, eggs and sperm; and prostitution.
• The societal implications of prohibiting certain trades.
• Diverse legal regulations and cultural norms for these markets.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

About the Session: This lecture explores how modern constitutions operate as pluralistic systems of governance that develop dynamically by drawing on the contributions of diverse institutional actors. Conventional accounts have addressed this question by focusing either on the political or the legal constitution. More recently, there has been renewed scholarly interest in overcoming this strict distinction and expanding the range of actors that are recognized as elaborating on constitutional principles relationally.

Drawing on the case study of same-sex marriage, the lecture illustrates that institutional pluralism around the world reflects an underlying norm of democratic constitutionalism. Across countries with different background constitutional structures, political cultures, and institutional traditions, there are common bottom-up appeals for involvement in constitutional authorship beyond judicial and legislative elaborations. Analytically, the lecture argues that this framework captures more accurately the complex institutional dynamics across various legal systems. Normatively, this public and inter-institutional conversation facilitates a dynamic interpretation of constitutional principles that reflects bottom-up constitutional evolution rather than top-down delivery of constitutional meaning.

About the Speaker: Athanasios (Akis) Psygkas is Associate Professor of Law at Western University in Canada, where he co-directs the Public Law Research Group. His research interests include comparative public law, law of democracy, regulation and governance, and he has advised international NGOs on these issues. Prior to his appointment at Western University, Akis was Senior Lecturer in Public Law and Politics at the University of Bristol. From January to April 2025, Akis is a visiting academic at UCL Faculty of Laws. He has also held visiting positions at the University of Toronto, the European University Institute, the University of Milan-Bicocca, the Université Paris-Dauphine, and the Institut d’études politiques (Sciences Po) Paris.

About the Institute: The Institute brings together political and legal theorists from Law, Political Science and Philosophy and organises regular colloquia in terms 2 and 3. Read more about the Institute's work.

If you would like to be added to the ILPP mailing list please contact us at laws-events@ucl.ac.uk.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, we would like to invite you to attend the "Pathways into Financial Services and Regulatory Law" panel discussion and networking on Tuesday, 25th March, starting at 6pm.

The event will be hosted at the City of London Law School with a panel discussion chaired by Saima Hanif KC of 3 Verulam Buildings, a leading financial services silk. The event will feature panellists with a range of experiences, including: 

• Aleja Isip – Legal Counsel at the Financial Ombudsman Service. Aleja currently works for the Financial Ombudsman Service, within the Legal and Jurisdiction team. Aleja previously worked as a Lawyer at the Financial Conduct Authority, in its Enforcement and Market Oversight division. Admitted as a solicitor in 2022, Aleja was one of the first cohort to qualify via the SQE route. Aleja has had various roles in private practice and in-house where she gained Qualifying Work Experience, which included areas of professional discipline, healthcare, and insurance.
• Thomas Cave – Solicitor Apprentice at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang (second year). Tom is currently working within the Financial Services Litigation team. After completing A-levels at a state school in North Yorkshire, Tom opted for a gap year, during which he discovered the solicitor apprenticeship route as an alternative to traditional university education. This decision has allowed Tom to gain invaluable hands-on experience in the legal field while continuing his studies and progressing towards qualification.
• Holly Girven – Barrister at Farrar’s Building. Holly is a barrister specialising in regulatory and personal injury law at Farrar’s Building. She is a manual wheelchair user and has first-hand experience of the importance of improving access to the legal profession for disabled people. She has previously spoken on Radio 4’s Law in Action and various podcasts about her experiences as a disabled barrister. 

During the panel discussion, our speakers will discuss their experiences and journeys into financial services and regulatory law.  There will be ample time for questions at the end. 

Please sign-up using this link to ensure that you have a space - we are expecting this event to be extremely popular.

Following the panel discussion, we invite you to join us for a networking session with refreshments.

• Registration will open at 6pm, with the panel starting at 6.30pm, followed by networking drinks from 8pm to 9pm.
• Venue: City of London Law School, Faculty of Law, Northampton Square, Sebastian Street, London EC1V OHB

Due to the nature of the event, we are delighted to be able to invite non-members and members alike.  Please do forward this email to anyone who may be interested.  FSLA membership is free for students - for more details please email fslalondon@gmail.com.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Join us for the book launch of Gendered Peace through International Law, a collection of essays co-authored by Louise Arimatsu and Christine Chinkin. Against the backdrop of shifting global power, the authors reflect on the past, present and future of international law and its co-constitutive relationship with peace, a core, yet often neglected, ambition of law. How does gender, as an analytic tool, help to inform our understanding of hegemonic power to create new pathways to peace? Is there a future for international law? What might it look like?

The event, which takes the form of a conversation, will be followed by an audience Q&A and a drinks reception in the foyer.

The book launch is hosted by LSE Library in partnership LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security, marking the latest collaborative initiative between the Library and Centre staff dating back to 2018. The Library archives provided a rich source of material for the authors whose research work was funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council.

LSE Chair:?Joanna Lewis?is Professor in the Department of International History and Director of the Centre for Women Peace and Security.  

Author bios:  

Louise Arimatsu is a Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Women, Peace and Security  

Christine Chinkin is Emeritus Professor of International Law and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Women. Peace and Security. …  

Speakers:

Fareda Banda 
Kate Hudson 
Sheri Labenski 
Madeleine Rees 
Patricia Sellers 
Keina Yoshida 

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG) brings together a panel to discuss the recent book The Commercial Activity Exception to State Immunity: An Introduction (Edward Elgar, 2024).

In The Commercial Activity Exception to State Immunity: An Introduction, Katherine Reece Thomas explores the evolving nature of state immunity, providing an analysis of the tension between private and public law. The current rules on the commercial activity exception to state immunity are examined, in both international and domestic law settings, using recent case studies from the UK , the US and other common and civil law jurisdictions. Later chapters focus on central bank immunity in the context of sanctions and the use of the commercial activity exception in relation to claims against states for breaches of human rights.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

About the lecture

UK competition law stands at a crossroads. After half a century of adaptation towards the EU archetype, the Brexit process has formally unmoored the UK rules from their European influences. The question is thus whether, and in what direction, UK competition law is likely to evolve away from the EU rules in future. This lecture will look backwards and forwards, in order to understand the current UK competition framework and to explore its prospective development. The lecture will first trace the evolution of the UK rules from a common law vision of market freedom focused on the interests of traders, to a statutory regime that regulated rather than outlawed anticompetitive practices, and finally a modernised competition framework that adopts the law enforcement paradigm of the EU rules. It will then turn to the future, evaluating the impact of both the centrifugal and centripetal forces that could alternatively set UK competition law on a more globally influenced or domestically oriented path. In doing so, the lecture aims to explore not just the past, present and future of UK competition law, but also to enhance our understanding of the process of Europeanisation of domestic laws—and possible de-Europeanisation in future.

About the speaker

Niamh Dunne is a Professor, teaching in the areas of competition and EU law. Before coming to LSE in September 2015, she was a Lecturer at King's College London, and a Fellow in Law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. She has also worked in competition enforcement for the Competition Authority of Ireland, and as a consultant in competition policy, primarily for the OECD. She holds law degrees from the University of Cambridge (BA, PhD), NYU School of Law (LLM) and King's College London (MA). She is qualified as a solicitor in Ireland and in England & Wales (both non-practising), and as an attorney in New York State.

About Current Legal Problems

The Current Legal Problems (CLP) lecture series and annual volume was established over fifty five years ago at the Faculty of Laws, University College London and is recognised as a major reference point for legal scholarship

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Legal Otologies | Hear Law Sound is a series of workshops at the Westminster Law & Theory Lab at University of Westminster.

Legal Otologies | Hear Law Sound is a series of workshops at the Westminster Law & Theory Lab at University of Westminster, hosted by Julia Chryssostalis and Danilo Mandic. The residencies provide a platform through which to examine the ear in law – its structures, functions, practices, lexicons and locations – and more generally the legal register of the aural and the auditory in its relation to sound. This event is supported also by the Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture at the same university.

In this workshop, we are joined by scholar Derek Baron, to discuss recent work of Derek’s and explore the theme of Sound, Law, and Place. This session centers around the way that sound and law have the potential to both make and unmake space, place, and contested senses of group belonging. A scholar of sound studies, American studies, and Indigenous studies, Derek Baron will present a work-in-progress essay that investigates three sonic artworks that all mediate the question of jurisdictional conflict in various (and often conflicting) ways: Diné composer Raven Chacon’s graphic score, American Ledger, no. 2 (2019), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma! (1943), and Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs’s Green Grow the Lilacs (1931), on which the musical is based. Using law as a hermeneutic framework for investigating these pieces, the session will explore the contested claims on place posed by sound and law, both in the context of U.S. colonialism and writ large.

The second half of the workshop will involve a close reading of two texts that will be circulated to the registered participants.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The School of Law is delighted to host a symposium on Roger Cotterrell's new book, Jurisprudence and Socio-Legal Studies: Intersecting Fields.

Abstract

This book presents a set of related studies aimed at showing key points of intersection and common interest between jurisprudence and socio-legal studies, which are otherwise typically considered distinct fields. It reflects and draws on the author’s work in these areas over more than four decades.

The first half of the book explores theoretical issues surrounding the enterprise of socio-legal research, its current scope, and its historical traditions. Some chapters directly compare juristic theory and socio-legal inquiry. Chapters in Part II profile a selection of European jurists whose work offers important insights for socio-legal inquiry. Other chapters frame these studies, explore the history of interactions between jurisprudence and socio-legal research, and show points of convergence between these fields that are increasingly important today. A main aim of the book is to show the current urgency of linking and broadening juristic and social scientific interests in law.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

2025 Cotterrell Lecture in Sociological Jurisprudence: Human Rights for Nature or Dehumanizing the Demos? With Professor Wendy Brown

Extending rights to non-human entities is an established, and limited, strategy for stemming the destruction of nature threatening all planetary life. The human-rights-for-nature approach has been criticized for its failure to problematize the liberal humanist figure at the core of modern rights and also for its vulnerability to supervenience by capital. This talk addresses the critique and proposes an alternative reconstruction of democracy and the democratic subject.

About Professor Wendy Brown

Wendy Brown is UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and professor emerita of Political Science and Critical Theory at UC Berkeley. The author and editor of more than a dozen books, she is best known for her interrogation of identity politics and state power in States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity; her critical analysis of tolerance in Regulating Aversion: Tolerance in the Age of Identity and Empire; her account of the global political inter-regnum in Walled States, Waning Sovereignty; and her study of neoliberalism’s multi-pronged assault on democratic principles and practices in Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution and In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. Her latest book, Nihilistic Times: Thinking with Max Weber, reflects on the forces of nihilism corroding contemporary political and intellectual life. Professor Brown has held a variety of visiting professorships and her writing has been translated into more than twenty languages. She credits her thinking life to the excellent and accessible public universities of her youth and has worked in recent years to prevent their extinction.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Keele Commerce and Business Law Team has organised an ADR Webinar on 3 April 2025, 2-4pm.

Exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution: Challenges and Opportunities
with
- Dr Tariq Mahmood - Med-Arb-International, London
- Brad Pomfret KC - 23 Essex Street Chambers, London
- Hon. Barry Leon - Former BVI Commercial Court Judge - 33 Bedford Row, London; Arbitration Place, Toronto; Caribbean Arbitrators, BVI
- Moderator: Dr Angelica Rutherford, Keele University

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Step inside the hidden world of MI5 and explore the extraordinary stories behind the security of a nation.

For the first time, MI5’s history will go on display to the public in a major new exhibition, made possible through an unprecedented partnership between the Security Service and The National Archives.

Explore the ever-changing world of espionage and security threats through original case files, photographs and papers, alongside the real equipment used by spies and spy-catchers over MI5’s 115-year history.

From counter-espionage and daring double-agents during the world wars, to chilling Cold War confessions and the counter-terrorism of recent times, this historic exhibition will take you behind the scenes of one of Britain’s most iconic institutions.

Keep your eyes peeled – a programme of online and on-site events will be announced soon...

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

At City, University of London we understand the importance of choosing the right place and course to continue your studies.

Our online events provide the perfect opportunity for you to find out more about our postgraduate courses and what it's like to study with us from the comfort of your own home.

Upcoming online events

Our postgraduate online information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and range from subject/course specific sessions to general advice ones – all designed to give you further guidance about life at City, student experience and support available to you.

Postgraduate Virtual Fair

Hosted over three days, our Postgraduate Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University from the comfort of your own home, on your preferred devices.

Across the event, you will have the opportunity to attend online sessions on a range of subjects and courses across our Schools, ask questions and discover all the benefits of studying at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

When: Wednesday 16 April, 9am - 5.30pm & Thursday, 17 April, 9.30am - 1.15pm

Where: Colette Bowe Room, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

Format: Hybrid

The Centre for Small States, Professor Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta, and Professor Peter Clegg, University of the West of England, warmly invite you to attend a one and a half day conference on the use of direct democracy mechanisms in small states and territories.

Small states and territories have a long-standing reputation for adhering to the norms, practices and institutions of representative democracy. The state and practice of direct democracy in these jurisdictions are much less explored. In this conference, experts on direct democracy from academia, government and civil society examine and explain referendums from small states and territories around the world, including Gibraltar, Martinique, New Caledonia, Puerto Rico, Guernsey, Guyana and the Falklands, to better understand the role that direct democracy plays in the world’s smallest democracies.

Confirmed speakers include:

· Dr James Blair (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona)

· Dr Jennifer Ballantine (University of Gibraltar)

· Dr Matthew Bishop (University of Sheffield)

· Michael Bromby (Truman Bodden Law School, Cayman Islands)

· Katherine Collin (Georgetown University)

· Professor Carine David (University of the Antilles, Martinique)

· Professor Wendy Grenade (St George’s University, Grenada)

· Dr Ulrik Pram Gad (Danish Institute for International Studies)

· Dr Kate Quinn (University College London)

· Dr Derek O’Brien (Oxford Brookes University)

· Dr Thom Oliver (University of the West of England)

· Dr Emilio Pantojas-Garcia (University of Puerto Rico)

· Jo Reeve (Director of International Relations and Constitutional Affairs, States of Guernsey)

· Professor Jamie Trinidad (University of Cambridge)

· Professor Wouter Veenendaal (Leiden University)

The conference will take place at the Mile End campus of Queen Mary University of London. There is no charge to attend.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This looks set to be a highly interesting lecture, as a part of the 'The UK's Unwritten Constitution: Is It Worth the Paper It's (Not) Written On?' series by Gresham College.

Regarding the US Constitution, there is a major split between the Originalists (typically conservatives) and those who believe in an organic document that grows with the times. There have been enormous changes since 1789 – the internet is just one example – and the document must change one way or the other.

This lecture explores some of the unenumerated rights that might be added. These are not without their own subjective cultural elements. For example, Europeans are much more focused on ‘privacy’ than Americans, and it is debatable whether free speech is truly consistent with privacy.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This conference is for anyone with an interest in property law, who wants to learn, engage and grow. Whether you're a seasoned professional an academic or simply someone eager to deepen your understanding of property legislation, you are invited to join us to listen to the experts, learn and grow, participate in the conversations and expand your network. All you need to bring is your curiosity and enthusiasm.

In 1925, a ground-breaking suite of property legislation revolutionised land law, simplifying transactions and laying the foundation for modern property dealings. Now, 100 years later, we're reflecting on that pivotal moment, assessing its legacy and looking ahead to the future of property law. 

Join us at the landmark confirmation to celebrate the centenary of these transformative Acts. Together, we'll explore key questions: 

• How successful were the 1925 Acts in achieving their goals? 
• What lessons can be drawn from the evolution of property law over the past century?
• What must property legislation look like to meet the demands of the next 100 years? 

This event is more than a commemoration; it's an opportunity to learn, network and contribute to shaping the future of property legislation. With leading experts, stimulating discussions and opportunities to engages this is a must-attend event for anyone interested in the future of property law.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

There isn't much of a blurb available for this one online! I advise you keep an eye on the Gresham website for updates. Should be interesting in any case.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This Dworkin Colloquium is organised by the UCL Institute for Laws, Politics and Philosophy (ILPP)

About the Session: Talk of rights permeates philosophical, legal, and everyday discourse. And yet there is surprisingly little agreement about what rights are. This debate has long been dominated by two main accounts of rights – Interest Theory and Will Theory. I argue that the most common counterexamples to both theories are less significant than their detractors generally take them to be. I suggest a different way of evaluating competing accounts of rights, one that is less focused on the search for counterexamples and more focused how the respective theories construe the role of rights in our practical deliberations. I then propose a distinctive account of rights, which I call Action Theory. I argue that Action Theory captures the role of rights in our practical deliberations better than either of its rivals.

About the Speaker: Japa Pallikkathayil is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. Her work focuses on issues at the intersection of moral and political philosophy. She has written on topics including coercion, consent, and political legitimacy. Her current research focuses on rights.

About the Institute: The Institute brings together political and legal theorists from Law, Political Science and Philosophy and organises regular colloquia in terms 2 and 3. Read more about the Institute's work.

If you would like to be added to the ILPP mailing list please contact us at laws-events@ucl.ac.uk.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

At City, University of London we understand the importance of choosing the right place and course to continue your studies.

Our online events provide the perfect opportunity for you to find out more about our postgraduate courses and what it's like to study with us from the comfort of your own home.

Upcoming online events

Our postgraduate online information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and range from subject/course specific sessions to general advice ones – all designed to give you further guidance about life at City, student experience and support available to you.

Postgraduate Virtual Fair

Hosted over three days, our Postgraduate Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University from the comfort of your own home, on your preferred devices.

Across the event, you will have the opportunity to attend online sessions on a range of subjects and courses across our Schools, ask questions and discover all the benefits of studying at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

The Capitalist Laws of Social Reproduction in the Planetary Social Factory

Alessandra Mezzadri (SOAS, Development Studies)

Keynote for QMUL Law and Marxism Speaker series

Feminist political economy approaches centred on social reproduction provide us with an alternative framework to read the features and processes shaping capitalism and the global development process. Drawing from Social Reproduction Theory (SRT), Early Social Reproduction Approaches (ESRA) and Raced Social Reproduction Accounts of Slavery and Indenture, and inspired by feminist legal approaches to reproductive justice (Kotiswaran, 2023), this talk sketches the contours of a global feminist political economy framework able to capture various key features of contemporary capitalism, including its extractive reproductive architecture (Fraser, 2017), the centrality of reproductive work to all forms of exploitation (Mies, 1986; Federici, 2004), and the drive towards the regeneration of multiple surplus populations (Mezzadri, 2022). The talk reflects on some of the legal implications of this framework, in the realms of social provisions, labour, and reparations.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Slavery’s Long Goodbye: Capitalism, Nationalism, and Christianity in the Age of British Emancipation by Professor Chris Evans

We are delighted to host Professor Chris Evans as part of the Wilberforce Institute's Public Lecture programme, in association with Hull Museums.

In the 1830s, the British state turned its back on chattel slavery, abolishing slavery as a legal condition in the British Atlantic world. Leaving slavery behind was no simple matter, however. Although the British liked to think of themselves as unswervingly hostile to slavery, abolitionism was just one component of British national identify in the early Victorian decades. The British were also pathfinders for global capitalism (even when new areas of capitalist endeavour rested upon slavery). They saw themselves as advancing Christian civilisation (including forms of Christianity that were indifferent to emancipation). And they often looked favourably on the emergence of new nations (even if, as was the case with the Confederate States of America, that new nation was aggressively pro-slavery).

This paper deals with three cousins who found it impossible to disentangle themselves from slavery, despite a family tradition of anti-slavery activism. One cousin was a prominent businessman who became a corporate enslaver in Cuba in the 1830s. Another was a High Church naval chaplain, sailing out of Cape Town in the 1840s, who came to reject the British policy of intercepting slave ships headed for Cuba or Brazil. The third was a ne'er-do-well who embraced Southern nationalism in the 1860s and fought with the Confederate States Army. Their experiences reveal the limitations of Britain’s Age of Emancipation.

Professor Chris Evans is head of the History Research Group at the University of South Wales. He works on industrial history from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, and the history of Atlantic slavery. His current interests include abolitionism in the British world in the nineteenth century, the links between European industry and the Atlantic slave trade, eighteenth-century whaling, and Swansea copper as an agency of global change in the nineteenth century. He is the author of Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery 1660-1850.

This year we are teaming up with Hull Museums to offer attendees at our public lectures the opportunity to visit Wilberforce House Museum next door before they join us for the lecture. As a result all our lectures will begin at 4.30pm, directly after the Museum closes, and all will take place at our home in Oriel Chambers, 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE. We are very grateful for the financial support Hull Museums is providing to the Wilberforce Institute’s public lecture programme, and hope that some of you will take the opportunity to have a look round their exhibitions and displays in advance of the lectures. Please join us for refreshments from 4.15pm onwards, and if you can, stay afterwards for a glass of wine and a chance to talk with our speaker.

There are a limited number of tickets available to attend in person. If you can’t make it in person, you can still enjoy the lectures by streaming online – please select the ticket according to your preference when you make your booking.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

This looks set to be a highly interesting lecture, as a part of the 'The UK's Unwritten Constitution: Is It Worth the Paper It's (Not) Written On?' series by Gresham College.

The U.S. Constitution had to be formed through debate before it could be ratified. Mirroring this, a British constitution must emerge through debates held by the next generation.

This lecture indicates schools are a good environment to foster this. For students, there are many contentious issues that tap into discussions at the heart of writing a constitution. Students being punished for swearing raises questions of limits to free speech. Students wishing to intervene when an unpopular peer is bullied would be empowered by constitutional duty obliging them to do so.

Schools tend to be authoritarian institutions, benevolent or otherwise, and can either provoke students to develop ideas on power structures and recognise the need for their own rights and duties, or condition them to accept the status quo.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Something slightly different for you here! This is a part of the 'Lawgivers in Political Imaginations' series by Professor Melissa Lane at Gresham College.

For many modern thinkers, the lawgiver has been important as a founding figure of civic identity and cultural values. Rousseau analysed the legacies of Solon and Lycurgus, believing in the need for a lawgiver to make a true social contract possible. By contrast, Nietzsche felt it necessary to seek a lawgiver in history who was also a poet and prophet.

This lecture uses their perspectives and others to explore how the figure of the lawgiver has encapsulated key debates in modern political philosophy.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

During our Postgraduate Open Evening you will learn more about our postgraduate courses and discover all the benefits of studying at City, University of London.

Our spring Open Evening on Wednesday 4 June 2025 provides you with the perfect opportunity to get a taste of our campus and what it's like to study with us.

This event is a great way to get all the information you may need to make an informed decision, whether you are a prospective student considering applying for one of our postgraduate courses or have already applied and would like to get further advice about joining City.

What can you expect at City's Postgraduate Open Evening?

Our Postgraduate Open Evening is designed to help you find out if City is the right choice for you. You will be able to:

• Learn more about our postgraduate taught courses, including course structure, application process, entry criteria, fees and scholarships available
• Chat with academics, admissions and current students
• Obtain information and guidance on student life at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

Something slightly different for you here! This is a part of the 'Lawgivers in Political Imaginations' series by Professor Melissa Lane at Gresham College.

How have lawgivers featured in modern revolutions?

This lecture considers key moments in revolutions, including seventeenth-century Britain, eighteenth-century France and (what would become) the United States, and twentieth-century Iran.

The appeal to lawgivers (including ancient ones from many cultures) in revolutionary visions and in consolidating new constitutions is a striking feature of modern politics.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

At City, University of London we understand the importance of choosing the right place and course to continue your studies.

Our online events provide the perfect opportunity for you to find out more about our postgraduate courses and what it's like to study with us from the comfort of your own home.

Upcoming online events

Our postgraduate online information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and range from subject/course specific sessions to general advice ones – all designed to give you further guidance about life at City, student experience and support available to you.

Postgraduate Virtual Fair

Hosted over three days, our Postgraduate Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University from the comfort of your own home, on your preferred devices.

Across the event, you will have the opportunity to attend online sessions on a range of subjects and courses across our Schools, ask questions and discover all the benefits of studying at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

At City, University of London we understand the importance of choosing the right place and course to continue your studies.

Our online events provide the perfect opportunity for you to find out more about our postgraduate courses and what it's like to study with us from the comfort of your own home.

Upcoming online events

Our postgraduate online information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and range from subject/course specific sessions to general advice ones – all designed to give you further guidance about life at City, student experience and support available to you.

Postgraduate Virtual Fair

Hosted over three days, our Postgraduate Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University from the comfort of your own home, on your preferred devices.

Across the event, you will have the opportunity to attend online sessions on a range of subjects and courses across our Schools, ask questions and discover all the benefits of studying at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).

At City, University of London we understand the importance of choosing the right place and course to continue your studies.

Our online events provide the perfect opportunity for you to find out more about our postgraduate courses and what it's like to study with us from the comfort of your own home.

Upcoming online events

Our postgraduate online information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and range from subject/course specific sessions to general advice ones – all designed to give you further guidance about life at City, student experience and support available to you.

Postgraduate Virtual Fair

Hosted over three days, our Postgraduate Virtual Fair is a great way to explore postgraduate study at our University from the comfort of your own home, on your preferred devices.

Across the event, you will have the opportunity to attend online sessions on a range of subjects and courses across our Schools, ask questions and discover all the benefits of studying at City.

Find out more on their event details page (external site).