Lawbore City Hub

Join our webinar for the chance to hear directly from barristers from diverse backgrounds working across the Chancery Bar, about the work that they do; how they got to where they are; and things that you can do in order to succeed

Find out more about this event here.

In this event, our interdisciplinary research team will explore the Frontiers of AI in Legal Reasoning, in particular how deep learning can predict case outcomes.

Schedule:

1.00pm - 1.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

1.30pm - 2.15pm: Opening talk

2.15pm - 2.45pm: Q&A

2.45pm - 3.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

Fantastic second round of the JUSTICE members-only webinar series titled ‘Career Conversations’. Over the course of this series you will have the opportunity to hear from a range of excellent speakers from the JUSTICE membership, sharing their various paths into and through the law.

On Wednesday 28 October we welcome Dean Kingham as our speaker.

Dean Kingham is a solicitor who qualified in 2011. He previously completed the Bar Vocational Course in 2005 and decided to cross qualify as a solicitor. He has worked on criminal appeals since 2005. He heads the prison law, criminal and public law teams at Swain and Co Solicitors.

His work at Swain and Co involves regularly representing those before the Parole Board, making applications to the Court of Appeal and submitting cases to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. He is a Committee Member for Association of Prisoner Lawyers and sits on both the Parole Board user group and Criminal Cases Review Commission user group. He is vice chairman of Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence. He sits on the advisory panel of the Miscarriages of Justice Charity Inside Justice and serves on the JUSTICE Council.

In July 2020 he was crowned winner of Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year under the Public law category. A recent example of a Judicial Review challenge he took Warner, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2020] EWHC 1894 (Admin), involved a claim against the Ministry of Justice for interfering in the independence of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.  Ultimately, the challenge was not successful but did lead the High Court to conclude “The relationship between the CCRC and MoJ (whether the ALB CoE or more widely) was very poor during this period, even dysfunctional. The poverty of this relationship undoubtedly tested the CCRC’s ability to remain independent of MoJ, and to be seen to be so. It is no surprise that a judicial review was issued in 2018, seeking the Court’s review of these and related matters”.

This is a JUSTICE-members only event...good news is that students only need to pay £15 for student membership! Find out more about the benefits of this.

Find out more about this event here.

First debate in this year's Oxford Putney Debates.

Chair: Joshua Rozenberg, the UK's pre-eminent legal commentator

Panellists:

Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, Queen Mary University of London  

Questioning sovereignty again: Why the history of Parliament’s relations with the British Empire, Scotland, and Ireland reveals an unsettled sovereignty

Denis Galligan, University of Oxford    

Constitutional origins of parliamentary sovereignty

Vernon Bogdanor, Kings College, London  

Parliamentary sovereignty and the people

Richard Clary, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York 

An alternative to parliamentary sovereignty: The checks and balances of the US constitution, and why that path was chosen.

Register in advance!

Find out more about this event here.

The academic year, and legal education “as usual”, endured an unexpected and unsettling upheaval in 2020.  The pandemic produced a steep learning curve for law teachers and students, forced to shift into virtual classroom mode.  In this seminar, Professor Shauna van Praagh explores what she refers to as the “3 R’s” of remote legal education: resistance, reflection, and re-creation.  Resistance flows from an insistence on the importance of presence and proximity in legal education. Reflection underscores the importance of pausing to consider the “why” and “how” at a time educators rush to respond to the “what” of on-line tools.  Finally, re-creation suggests the potential for re-imagining active and interactive learning in law in ways that outlive any virus. This seminar is grounded in Professor van Praagh’s experience of teaching a “Legal Education” course at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and as the initiator of a collection of pandemic-related essays by legal academics across Canada (Law and Learning in the Time of Pandemic: A Collage).

Find out more about this event here.

This event explores the controversies around removing statues, constructing and reconstructing ‘heritage’, and protesting received ways of deciding what is commemorated, and what is not. 

The speakers will examine the conflicts around the intellectual and cultural rethinking of public spaces and statues in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, the re-sacralization of Hagia Sofia/Aya Sofra, ongoing discussions about the ‘Fourth Plinth’ in Trafalgar Square, the caves at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia, and other examples. The event will involve a discussion of what it means to decide what, or whom, gets placed on a pedestal in a landscape in which heritage, and the investments in heritage, are shifting.

Speakers:

Dr Tatiana Flessas
Jonathan Jones
Dr Sarah Keenan
Dr Luke McDonagh

Find out more about this event here.

A new report on the Cost of Trafficking in Human Beings led by the Violence and Society Centre, City, University of London, has just been published by the European Commission to mark European Anti-Trafficking Day, 18 October 2020.

The report can be downloaded here.

This webinar on 29 October will highlight key findings from the report and make the case for why a gender disaggregated approach that takes account of longer term harms is key to understanding the full costs associated with trafficking.

Trafficking of human beings in the EU disproportionately affects women and only three per cent of the total costs is spent on specialised support for victims. The study finds that the total costs associated with the trafficking of women are almost three times greater than that for men.

The event will consist of contributions by the report authors, led by Professor Sylvia Walby, a public Q&A, and discussion; and chaired by Professor Karen Shire, who has published on the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings in the EU.

This report builds on previous research on trafficking in human beings by Walby and colleagues for the EU Anti-Trafficking Unit, which can be found here:

Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU.

Comprehensive Policy Review of Anti-Trafficking Projects funded by the European Commission.

Gender Dimension of Trafficking in Human Beings.

Speakers and Discussants

Speakers:

• Sylvia Walby (City, University of London, UK)
• Sally McManus (City, University of London, UK)
• Sian Oram (King’s College London, UK)
• Jessica Phoenix (City, University of London, UK)
• Merili Pullerits (City, University of London, UK)

Chair:

• Karen Shire (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)

Registration

Registration is free, but please sign up in advance here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Contact

For further information, please email: violenceandsociety@city.ac.uk

Find out more about this event here.

In this event, we will hear from a representative of The Law Society. Dr Kion Ahadi joined The Law Society in May 2019 in the newly created role of Director of Futures and Insight. He is responsible for establishing and leading a future focused insights and analytics function. His main interest lies in understanding the future issues affecting the legal profession, to help inform The Law Society’s 160,000 plus members. Join us for this event to discuss the future direction of travel for lawyers in England and Wales.

Schedule:

1.00pm - 1.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

1.30pm - 2.15pm: Opening talk

2.15pm - 2.45pm: Q&A

2.45pm - 3.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

Second of the debates in this year's Oxford Putney Debates.

Chair: Joshua Rozenberg

Panellists:

Robert Hazell CBE, Constitution Unit, University College London    

Parliamentary sovereignty, the civil service, and special advisers

Alison Young, University of Cambridge    

Does parliamentary sovereignty belong to the legislature or the executive?

Robert Saunders, Queen Mary University of London  

Parliamentary sovereignty or party sovereignty

Nicholas Barber, University of Oxford

After parliamentary sovereignty

Register now!

Find out more about this event here.

Tom Sargant was JUSTICE’s Secretary – broadly equivalent to today’s Director – from its foundation in 1957 to his retirement in 1982.

As a result of his commitment, persistence and determination, JUSTICE played a key role in taking up the cause of miscarriage of justice cases. His tireless campaigning resulted in some 25 people being released, or released early, from prison. He was instrumental in many of the cases featured in the BBC Rough Justice series.

Tom also played a major role in bringing about other key measures such as the creation of the office of Ombudsman and the establishment of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

He died in 1988.

Each year, we recognise Tom’s work by inviting a high profile speaker – from practice, the judiciary, academia or politics to speak at the Memorial Lecture.

More details to come!

Find out more about this event here.

The Centre for Financial Law, Regulation and Compliance (FinReg) has organised a series of webinars to discuss and analyse the Bribery Act, ten years on from its enactment. This is the first one!

• Miranda Ching, Serious Fraud Office;
• Dr Sue Hawley, Spotlight on Corruption. 

Chair: Dr Colin King, IALS. 

Read about all the other webinars in the series.

Find out more about this event here.

The phrase "algorithms are black boxes" often highlights the fact that when we rely on algorithms in decision making (e.g. when courts determine the sentence, when banks grant loans, or when employers hire new workers) we cannot easily determine on what grounds the algorithmic decision was made. But software developers and their investors do not always want the algorithm to be transparent. In this event, we will discuss Ignacio and Katherine's research that explores the question "When is algorithmic secrecy justified?".

Schedule:

2.00pm - 2.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

2.30pm - 3.15pm: Opening talk

3.15pm - 3.45pm: Q&A

3.45pm - 4.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

The third in this series of Oxford Putney Debates.

Chair: Joshua Rozenberg

Panellists:

Sir Stephen Sedley, University of Oxford

Parliamentary sovereignty and the courts

Richard Bellamy, University College London

The court of democracy: Parliamentary sovereignty and the political constitution

Helen Mountfield, University of Oxford

Taking back control: what does the sovereignty of parliament mean now? 

Geraldine van Bueren, Queen Mary University of London  

Parliamentary sovereignty: The artificial constraint on combatting poverty and providing social justice

Register now!

Find out more about this event here.

This webinar shall begin with a talk on the topic as described in the above working title of up to 40 min. A succeeding Q&A session shall allow an intense discussion of the topic. Artificial Intelligence including all of its forms and shapes is on top of the agenda of international, supranational and national policy makers, legislators, regulators and supervisors as well as in society as a whole due to its potential of profound disruption. The seminar shall allow insight into the legal (-methodological) approach to the topic with a focus particularly on selected manifestations of artificial intelligence in financial markets.

Speaker: Professor Gudula Deipenbrock

Find out more about this event here.

This series of monthly remote workshops organised on the Zoom platform by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies during the 2020-21 academic year seeks to ‘make sense’ of the wide ranging relationship between law and the pandemic through the insights of the humanities, broadly understood as the set of cultural influences which are shaping the use of law and the responses to it. Authors will present theirwork in progress for twenty minutes, followed by questions from the audience and discussion. The intention is to publish the papers following the completion of the series.

This second workshop features:

Death, Burials and Funerals: Grieving in the Shadow of Covid-19
Hui Yun Chan, University of Huddersfield

The Politics of COVID-19: Reshaping Healthcare Law and Policy in the UK 
Sabrina Germain, City, University of London

Find out more about this event here.

In this event, the Oxford research team will present their empirical work on skills pricing. What skills are required for LawTech vacancies? Are these skills unique to law? And are there some skills that attract higher salaries? The research discussed during this event is part of a wider investigation into Coordination of Skill Investment and Tech Transfer.

Schedule:

1.00pm - 1.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

1.30pm - 2.15pm: Opening talk

2.15pm - 2.45pm: Q&A

2.45pm - 3.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

The final debate in this fantastic series of Oxford Putney Debates.

Chair: Denis Galligan, University of Oxford

Panellists:

Sir Adam Roberts, University of Oxford 

Meg Russell, The Constitution Unit, University College London

A.C. Grayling, New College of the Humanities

Catherine Barnard, University of Cambridge

Register now!

Find out more about this event here.

The ILPC is delighted to announce that Lord Clement Jones CBE will deliver this year’s ILPC Annual Lecture. Lord Clement-Jones is Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence.

We are also pleased to confirm several keynote speakers for the conference, including:
Ellis Parry (Information Commissioner’s Office)
Joanna Bryson (Hertie School, Berlin; University of Bath)
Silkie Carlo (Big Brother Watch)
Julian Huppert (University of Cambridge; Home Office Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group)
Graham Smith (Bird and Bird)
Lorna Woods (University of Essex)
Hamed Haddadi (Imperial College London; Brave Software)

This event is free but advanced booking is required. It is a 2 day conference (19-20th November)

Find out more about this event here.

Organised by Elisabeth Griffiths, Associate Professor and Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Northumbria Law School, and Dr Frances Hamilton, Senior Lecturer and Co-Convenor of the Gender, Sexuality and Law Research Interest Group, Northumbria Law School.

If you would like to reserve a place or submit an abstract (of up to 200 words), please email Elisabeth Griffiths or Frances Hamilton.

This event is kindly supported by the Socio-Legal Studies Association and Northumbria University.

Speakers Include:

• Julie Elliot MP
• Dr Frances Ryan (Guardian columnist)
• Robin Allen QC
• Dr Jennifer Aston
• Dr Judith Bourne
• Professor Jamie Callahan
• Mark Gatto
• Elisabeth Griffiths
• Dr Frances Hamilton
• Professor Ann Mumford
• Daphne Romney QC
• Professor Lucy Vickers
• Tracey Walsh (partner Womble Bond Dickinson) and
• Wanda Wyporska (executive director of the Equality Trust)

Find out more about this event here.

When can AI developers use copyrighted material to train their algorithm? And how can they protect the outcomes of the algorithm? These and other questions around machine-generated original content will be discussed by Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director of the European Commission's Media Policy unit (Directorate I).

This event is co-sponsored by the EU Law DG, the DPIR, and the European Studies Centre.

Schedule:

1.00pm - 1.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

1.30pm - 2.15pm: Opening talk

2.15pm - 2.45pm: Q&A

2.45pm - 3.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

In this event, the team that maps LawTech and Innovation Ecosystems will present their latest research on the "make-or-buy" dilemma when it comes to adoption of LawTech.

Schedule:

1.00pm - 1.30pm: Online networking (feel free to bring your own refreshments)

1.30pm - 2.15pm: Opening talk

2.15pm - 2.45pm: Q&A

2.45pm - 3.00pm: Open discussion

Find out more about this event here.

This year's BACFI Denning Lecture will be given by Michael Sosso, Senior Vice President Legal – Gas & Low Carbon Energy and Customer & Products, BP.

Chaired by Ian Brookes-Howells

This event is free for all to join but you must register beforehand.

To register or if you have any queries, please email events@bacfi.org or call  07507237218

Kindly sponsored by:

www.bacfi.org

Find out more about this event here.

How do we investigate violent and unexpected deaths at the inquest? 

Who investigates? When do deaths get referred to the Coroner? Are inquests non-adversarial and inquisitorial? When do you have a jury? What are findings, determinations and conclusions (aka verdicts)? Can you appeal? Is the process transparent to the public and user friendly? Fit for purpose or in need of reform?

Professor Leslie Thomas QC is the current Gresham Professor of Law and will be doing a series of 6 lectures over the course of the coming year.

Find out more about this event here.

This series of monthly remote workshops organised on the Zoom platform by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies during the 2020-21 academic year seeks to ‘make sense’ of the wide ranging relationship between law and the pandemic through the insights of the humanities, broadly understood as the set of cultural influences which are shaping the use of law and the responses to it. Authors will present theirwork in progress for twenty minutes, followed by questions from the audience and discussion. The intention is to publish the papers following the completion of the series.

This third session features:

Penal System and Biopolitics in the time of Covid-19 Pandemic: An Indonesian Experience
Harison Citrawan, Ministry of Law & Human RIghts, Republic of Indonesia
Sabrina Nadilla, Ministry of Law & Human Rights, Republic of Indonesia

Walls and Bridges: Metaphors of Movement and Constraint in Legal Responses to COVID-19
David Gurnham, University of Southampton

Security and the Pandemic: A View from Hong Kong
Marco Wan, University of Hong Kong

Find out more about this event here.

About this Event

This event marks the formal introduction of Lord Carnwath as Honorary Professor in the UCL Faculty of Laws, and member of the Centre of Law and Environment. In this conversation about environmental law, Lord Carnwath will discuss his experiences of environmental law, as a practitioner, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judge, patron of the UK Environmental Law Association, and leading member of global environmental networks. Professor Scotford and Lord Carnwath will also discuss future challenges for environmental law, including the challenges of climate change.

Find out more about this event here.

Gresham College lecture

Speaker: Professor Thomas Grant QC

Is the jury system the bulwark of individual liberty? 

This lecture will look at the role of the so-called “perverse jury” in acquitting defendants where the law, or the charge itself, is deemed unjust. Famous examples are Kempton Bunton (for the “theft” of Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington in the 1960s), Clive Ponting, and Randle and Pottle. 

But the jury can also be a bastion of prejudice: white juries habitually acquitted white defendants in the US in race violence cases. Does the jury system need improvement? Should its right to deliver a perverse verdict be curtailed?

Find out more about this event here.

Gresham College lecture

Speaker: Professor Leslie Thomas QC

Is there is a level playing field between participants at inquests? What does ‘equality of arms’ mean? Is such a concept appropriate when looking at inquests? Are inquiries better? 

How have they developed since the IRA Death on The Rock case? What are the problems faced by those representing families, is there a case for fundamental change? If so what model should we adopt to replace the present system?

Find out more about this event here.

Gresham College lecture

Speaker: Professor Leslie Thomas QC

We hear too often about sudden death in adults following prolonged and often unnecessary police restraint. What do people know about the dangers of restraint and how widespread is our understanding of such deaths? 

This talk explores the legal implications facing the state and what steps can be taken and implemented to save more lives and have safer policing. 

Do these deaths disproportionately affect African Caribbean men given recent BAME stop and search statistics?

Find out more about this event here.

Gresham College lecture

Speaker: Professor Thomas Grant QC

In the wake of the decision in the parliamentary prorogation case Miller (No.2), the question of the politics of the judiciary has been thrust into the public eye. Was it “a constitutional coup” as some have claimed? 

The Government has promised to “update the Human Rights Act” and review the “relationship between the government, parliament and the courts”. 

Will this limit the power of the judiciary to do justice? Do British judges have too much “power” and are they over-politicised?

Find out more about this event here.