Liverpool Law School: A Year in Review 18-19

The Liverpool Law School’s Annual Review provides a snapshot of the key activities that took place in the Law School during the academic year 2018-19. The volume provides a reflection on the achievements of both students and staff throughout the year, events that took place including research seminars, high-profile conferences and student-facing events, as well as a look to the Law School’s future in its new home – the School of Law and Social Justice building.

The Year in Review is avaliable to download as a pdf:

Liverpool Law School Year in Review 2018-19

 

Below are some of the key highlights from the review.

 

    The New Home for the School of Law and Social Justice

    In January 2020, the new School of Law and Social Justice Building opened to staff and students. For the first time in the School’s history, all staff and students from across the School will be together in one building, unifying the School and nurturing collaborative working and learning.

     

    School of Law and Social Justice Building

    School of Law and Social Justice Building.

     

    The new Building forms part of the University’s investment into the South Campus. The former Cypress Building has undergone major renovation that includes the construction of a new wing and a large central atrium, along with new social and breakout spaces and a multi-purpose event space and a coffee shop.

     

    School of Law and Social Justice Building, atrium

    School of Law and Social Justice Building, Atrium.

     

    With a range of innovative and adaptable environments, the building will house the majority of the Law School’s research and collaboration events. The new 100-seater events space paired with the multi-purpose atrium, provides the perfect place for workshops, symposiums, meetings, book launches and public lectures.

     

    School of Law and Social Justice Building, Law Clinic.

     

    The new School of Law and Social Justice Building opens up a new chapter for the Liverpool Law School and we look forward to the exciting opportunities that it offers.

    Law Extra

    Thanks to contributions from alumni and friends of the Law School, our students have enjoyed a spectacular series of inspiring talks within our ‘Law Extra’ guest speaker programme.

    Law Extra celebrated its third anniversary in 2018-19. The programme was developed to provide our students with an insight into the experiences, challenges, and successes of people who have already completed their academic legal studies and who are now applying their skills and knowledge in the real world. It is also an important opportunity for students to understand the real-world impact of the law on those in need of legal advice and representation.

    Image Credit: SLSJ Student Placements and Employability team, University of Liverpool.

    Image Credit: SLSJ Student Placements and Employability team, University of Liverpool.

    Law Extra Key Speakers

    We hosted 26 events this year, with almost 1500 seats filled by students from across all years of our programmes. Martyn Rodmell and Nicola Fox from Princes joined our own Jim Fox to talk to students about the work of the in-house lawyer. The option of qualifying and working in-house was a revelation to our students, many of whom left the talk with wistful thoughts of venturing off to exotic lands on behalf of their future employer.

    Stuart Whittle and Catriona Wolfenden joined us from Weightmans to talk about the way in which technology is disrupting legal services, the possibilities and limitations of what is often referred to as artificial intelligence in law, and what students can do to prepare themselves for an increasingly data-driven legal sector. One student graciously contributed ‘why can’t all of our lectures be like this?’. Thank you to Stuart and Catriona, we hope to see you back soon.

    Stuart Whittle, Weightmans.

    Stuart Whittle, Weightmans.

    Student Successes: Jessup Moot Competition

    In February 2019, a group of Liverpool Law School students reperesented the University in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2019.

    Jessup is the world's largest moot court competition with participants from over 680 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case, this also includes a 20,000 word written memorial.

    Liverpool Law Students, Thomas Jenkins, Erin Sexton and Jin Rong Koo successfully competed against different law schools from across the country. The team came 9th overall, just missing out on a quaterfinal spot; a very impressive achievement.

     

    Liverpool Law School Jessup Moot Team

    Liverpool Law School Jessup Moot Team.



    Liverpool Law School Jessup Moot team member, Thomas Jenkins reflected:

    'It was a privilege to represent the university, and compete alongside and against the best and brightest law school from across the UK. The competition has allowed us to refine and practice our mooting skills, to explore the breadth and complexity of international law, and gain an appreciation for the standard which is required to excel within both the Jessup competition and within the legal profession more broadly.'

    Jin Rong also commented:

    'This was one of the most rewarding experiences during my time in university and I am extremely excited for the future of this endeavour which will be led by Tom. I am sure it is in great hands and he will be able to lead the university to progressive success in the competition'

    The students thanked the Law School for their support, in particular, Dr Ben Murphy and Davide D'Aleo who both helped to prepare the students for the competition.

     

    Liverpool Law Clinic Successes

    The annual Law Works Attorney General’s Student Pro Bono Awards recognised the excellent work done by the Clinic, with the Trafficking Project winning in the Best New
    Project category in 2019. In 2018, the Alder Hey Social Care project was highly commended for the Best New Student Pro Bono Activity 2018 and the Family Court Project was shortlisted for the same award in both 2018 and 2019.

    The Clinic team were recognised for their teaching excellence in 2018-19 with Lucy Yeatman and Deborah Tyfield winning Lecturer of the Year at the University annual awards. Lucy was also shortlisted as one of five finalists for the prestigious national award Law Teacher of the Year.

    Two of our lawyers were appointed as part time judges this year: Deborah Tyfield in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and Jared Ficklin in the Immigration Tribunal.

    We could not provide as many services as we do without the help of lawyers who volunteer their time to work with us. One of the ways that we recognise this support is through presenting an annual Pro Bono award to our volunteer lawyers. This year the award was shared between Peter Simm for his work on the Refugees Fresh Claims Project and Darren White for his regular support at the Family Court Project.

     

    Deborah Tyfield and Lucy Yeatman, Liverpool Law Clinic.

    Deborah Tyfield and Lucy Yeatman winning Lecturer of the Year at the University's annual Staff Awards.

     

    To find out more about the Liverpool Law Clinic and the important work they do, visit their website.

    Research Funding and Impact: Citizens Assemblies to Renew Engagement (CARE) for the Future of Europe

    CARE for the Future of Europe was led by Dr James Organ in 2018. With £130,000 of funding provided by the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency, it has designed, run and evaluated an innovative form of decentralised EU Citizens Assembly and online deliberation. At eight meetings led by partners in four Member States (Hungary, Italy, Romania and Germany), representative groups of citizens were asked: how can we increase effective citizen engagement in debates about the future of Europe, and inflence EU policy? In a structured, informed process, participants examined different options for a more democratic and participatory EU. Participants recommended that an EU Citizens’ Assembly, closely followed by a referendum, was the best option to enhance EU democratic participation. This recommendation was presented to EU institutions and leading civil society organisations at an event in the European Parliament in November 2018.

    The project then concluded with a major conference in Liverpool on 5 December 2018 titled Citizens Assemblies: Time to Renew European Democracy with attendees from twelve Member States. An edited collection – Democratic Participation in a Citizens’ Europe - involving a number of the participants is due for publication early 2020. CARE has contributed to the important debate on EU democracy with citizens and arange of political actors. It demonstrated that there is a real appetite for ‘doing politics differently’, and that citizens want to participate in informed, reasoned deliberation about the complex questions facing Europe. The project’s innovative approach also showed that the Citizens’ Assembly method is an excellent way of providing the space for flexible, inter-societal engagement in a geographically and culturally diverse polity such as the EU.