Annual Law Lecture: Court Design in a Digital age

You are warmly invited to this year's Annual Law Lecture: Court Design in a Digital Age

The Annual Law Lecture is one of our most established events of the year offering students and professionals an excellent opportunity to network with local solicitors and law firms.

For the past 30 years, a highlight of the legal year has been the Essex Law Lecture, hosted by the School of Law with the support of the local profession through the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society (SNELS). Previous speakers have included senior judges, the Director of Public Prosecutions, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, directors of NGOs, prominent legal practitioners and Members of Parliament.

This year, we are delighted to announce Linda Mulcahy, the Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford University as our guest of honour.

About the Event:

In this talk Linda Mulcahy will discuss the history of ideas about courthouse design in the UK from the medieval era to current discussions about online courts. Drawing on extensive archival research undertaken over a ten-year period she will consider the opportunities that current debate about ‘smart’ courts and the dematerialisation of the courthouse provide for us to re-think the staging of criminal and civil justice. Key issues raised include the extent to which we need to learn from past mistakes in courthouse design, the nature of the relationship between design and due process, and the need to re-think ritual and ceremony in a digital age.

Keynote Speaker:

Linda Mulcahy is the Professor of Socio-legal Studies and the Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. She has degrees in law, legal theory, sociology and art history and her work has a strong interdisciplinary flavour. Linda has previously held posts at the LSE, Birkbeck, the Law Commission and Bristol University. She regularly acts as a research consultant to government bodies, regulators and NGOs. Linda is currently a member of the Administrative Justice Council and the advisory board of the British Library oral history programme. She is a former Chair of the Socio-Legal Studies Association and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. The focus of her research is on perceptions and experiences of the legal system and the socio-legal dynamics of dispute resolution. Her empirical work has been supported by a range of grants from the ESRC, AHRC, Nuffield Foundation, NHS Executive, Department of Health and the Leverhulme Foundation. Linda’s recent work has focused on the architecture of justice facilities and the relationship between design and due process.

Event Schedule

Wednesday 8 February

Please join us for our drinks reception, a chance to network with large law firms and professional bodies prior to the lecture.

4.30 pm: Drinks Reception, Ivor Crewe - Foyer

5:00 pm: Lecture, Ivor Crewe - Lecture Hall A