The Reporter - University of Kent

The Reporter New replica courtroom Page 2

Nobel Peace Prize nomination Page 3

Specialise in Intellectual Property Law. Page 5

Student Society News Page 10

Bringing you the latest news from Kent Law School at the University of Kent

Spring Term 2016

Student mediators voted best international team in Chicago tournament A team of four student mediators from Kent Law School were voted the best international team by more than 400 fellow competitors in the final of this year’s International Law School Mediation Tournament held in Chicago. Rachel Bale, Meshaal Choudhary, Rachel Easton, and Hannah Loosley scooped four awards, including one for finishing fourth (out of more than 50 teams) in the four-day

competition hosted by Loyola University Chicago. The girls were also presented with the H Case Ellis Spirit of Mediation Award for being voted best international team and both Meshaal and Rachel Easton were awarded trophies for coming 6th in the Outstanding Individual Advocate/Client Pair category. Just weeks earlier the team had been the first from Kent to compete against 66 other Law

Kent Law School

Schools from around the world in the International Chamber of Commerce’s annual International Commercial Mediation Competition held in Paris. Student mediators from Kent have previously reached the final of the International Law School Mediation Tournament with teams competing in Chicago in 2014 and in London in 2015.

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News

Kent ranked as one of best law schools in the world Kent Law School continues to be ranked as one of the best law schools in the world in the QS World University Rankings for law. In the QS World University Rankings by Subject table, published in March, Kent is ranked 19th out of a total of 30 UK law schools that made the global list of top 200 institutions. Rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact with QS conducting surveys of more than 75,000 academics and 44,000 employers and undertaking an analysis of 28.5 million research papers to determine this year’s results. The news comes in a year which has seen the School enjoy a strong performance in the subject tables for law. Already ranked 13th in the Times Good University Guide 2016, the School is also ranked 17th in The Guardian University Guide 2016 and 19th in the Complete University Guide 2017. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, Kent Law School is ranked eighth in the UK for research intensity.

Kent mooters triumph in inaugural varsity moot A team of mooters from Kent Law Temple Society (KLTS) triumphed in an inaugural varsity moot series against the student law society at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU). The KLTS team also scooped two ‘best mooter’ medals. Society President Joe Chambers said: ‘The varsity moot series is a new addition to our calendar which I wanted to implement to build relations and to instigate a friendly rivalry with our friends down the hill. It also provides more mooting opportunities for Temple Society members. I’m so pleased that’s it’s been such a great success and, given the huge benefit to the employability of aspiring lawyers that mooting provides, would hope that it will go on to become a valued annual event in the KLTS/CCCU calendar.’

The Kent Law Temple Society is one of seven student societies at Kent Law School. Sponsored by both Inner and Middle Temple, membership is open to all students at the University of Kent who wish to learn more about a career at the Bar.

New replica courtroom

Mooters to compete in Sri Lanka

Construction work on the new £5m Wigoder Building, with a replica courtroom on the upper floor, is due to be completed this summer. The building will also provide a new home for our award-winning Kent Law Clinic on the ground floor. This fantastic new learning environment will significantly enhance our students’ experience of advocacy and boost their confidence when presenting legal arguments in a formal setting. Anyone wishing to help support the work of the Clinic in providing access to justice for those who cannot otherwise afford it, can take advantage of a unique opportunity to name one of 60 public seats in the courtroom. With a donation of £250, your chosen name will be engraved on a plaque and fixed to one of the seats. The Hon Charles Wigoder, former alumnus, has agreed to matchfund all donations (and gift aid) until 30 June 2016 to help us achieve our fundraising target: www.kent.ac.uk/lawcampaign

Law students Melanie Lafresiere, Jas Cheema and Tom Bishop have successfully applied for a grant of £3,000 from the Student Projects Grant Scheme to help cover travel costs for a trip to Sri Lanka in August where they will compete in the 11th LAWASIA International Moot Competition 2016. Accompanied by Kent Law School’s Deputy of Director Johanne Thompson, it will be the second year a team from Kent have entered the competition. Last term, final year Law LLB students Orestis Anastasiades, Elena Savvidou and Lizzie Virgo (pictured with Johanne) secured a top ten finish in the 10th LAWASIA International Moot Competition 2015 held in Australia in November. The annual moot is organised by LAWASIA, an international organisation of lawyers’ associations, individual lawyers, judges and legal academics in the Asia Pacific region; the chair of its Moot Standing Committee is Kent alumnus Raphael Tay, a partner at Chooi & Company in Kualar Lumpur.

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Kent law students amongst top client interviewing teams

Nobel Peace Prize nomination for legal team including Professor Nick Grief

Law students Meghan Daniels and Feryel Beyrakdar proved they are one of the top client interviewing teams in the country after finishing second in the national final of the Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales.

Dean for Medway and Kent Law School professor, Nick Grief, is a member of a team of lawyers that has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its work at the International Court of Justice. The team is representing the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in nuclear disarmament cases against India, Pakistan and the UK. The RMI alleges that each State is failing to comply with its obligation under international law to pursue in good faith and conclude negotiations for the worldwide elimination of nuclear weapons. Nick practises at the Bar from Doughty Street Chambers and appeared before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in March. The RMI’s legal team, led by the RMI’s former Foreign Minister Tony de Brum, was nominated for the Peace Prize by SecretaryGeneral of the International Peace Bureau (IPB) Colin Archer. In a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Institute, he praises the team’s ‘highly effective’ work and says: ‘The IPB sincerely believes that

New Criminal Justice Group A new Criminal Justice Group, launched at a guest lecture event on corruption by Baroness Vivien Stern CBE, seeks to ‘give a voice to those who would otherwise not be heard’. Convenor of the new interdisciplinary research group, Professor Dermot Walsh, said: ‘Our research seeks to challenge the current orthodoxies and official policies in all areas of criminal justice; to expose the distorting influence of vested interests; to highlight abusive discrimination and corruption; and to identify and critique the ideologies that inform and drive current criminal justice policies and frameworks. In short we aim to make a qualitative and very necessary contribution to an enlightened and fair criminal justice system and to the good of society as a whole – and most especially we aim to give a voice to those who would otherwise not be heard.’ To mark the launch of the group, Baroness Stern was invited to deliver a talk entitled ‘Grand Corruption and the Rule of Law: a Parliamentary Perspective’. Baroness Stern is pictured with Professor Walsh and Associate Lecturer Dr Lucy Welsh, a Law Clinic Solicitor who specialises in all matters of criminal justice.

Meghan and Feryel (pictured with Graham Robson, Co-Chair of the Client Interviewing Competition), competed against eight teams in the final, hosted at Irwin Mitchell LLP’s offices in Sheffield. The Law School has established a very successful track record of reaching the national final of this competition over the last four successive years, finishing equal 9th in 2015, 5th in 2014, and 7th in 2013.

the Marshall Islands initiative will prove to be a significant and decisive step in ending the nuclear arms race and in achieving a world without nuclear weapons.’

Research contributes to new Renting Homes Act in Wales Research on housing law reform by Kent academic Professor Helen Carr contributed to a new law aimed at protecting the rights of both tenants and landlords in Wales. The new Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 was granted Royal Assent in January and described ‘groundbreaking’ legislation by the Welsh Government. It will improve the lives of more than one million people who rent their home in Wales, replacing complex pieces of existing legislation with one clear legal framework.


News

Kent hosts UK final of National Student Negotiation Competition The final of the 2016 National Student Negotiation Competition was hosted this year on our Canterbury campus. The honour of hosting the national final was given to Kent after law students Tomi Popoola and Sean Wells won the title of best student negotiators in the country in 2015. This year, final-year Law LLB students Kojin Mirzayi and Claudio Storelli from Kent (pictured with Negotiation Director Janie Clement-Walker) finished sixth out of 12 teams who reached the national final. The annual competition, open to all law schools in England and Wales, is sponsored each year by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) with support from the College of Law, London. This year’s winners, a team from the University of Law, were the first to receive the new Kent Trophy donated by Kent Law School.

Launch of second volume of Kent Student Law Review The second volume of the Kent Student Law Review, a student-led publication showcasing critical legal scholarship at Kent Law School, is now available to read online. The journal provides a platform for undergraduate and postgraduate law students to have their work peer reviewed and published. Editorial Board members Patrik Jacobsson and Cynthia Lei have been working hard behind the scenes, with support from Kent Law School Lecturer Dr Sinéad Ring and Nick Piska, to produce a volume that reflects theoretically informed scholarship. The aim of the journal is to enhance the presence of critical legal thought within academia and to further the philosophy of teaching at Kent Law School. The journal is available to read online at: https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/kslr

Unique new specialisation in Law and the Humanities for Kent LLM students A unique new specialisation in Law and the Humanities is now on offer to graduates studying the Kent LLM, a one-year taught Master’s in Law. Law and the Humanities is one of 12 LLM specialisations to be offered as part of the Kent LLM programme at Kent Law School. The new specialisation, the only one of its kind in the UK, sits within a distinct field of interdisciplinary study of growing significance. Although students are taught at Kent’s Canterbury campus, the programme also includes two modules taught at Kent’s Paris Centre (pictured), located in the historic heart of Montparnasse. The two modules taught in Paris are delivered during intensive one-week courses of study. The Law and the Humanities specialisation draws upon the theoretical and methodological richness of the humanities, including history, political and social theory, literature, theatre and visual culture studies. A dedicated Law and the Humanities blog offers further insight into the content of the programme: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/lawandthehumanities

Student society to host summer conference on migration and refugee law The European Law Student Association (ELSA) Kent is hosting a one-week summer conference on Kent’s Canterbury campus for law students across Europe with an interest in migration and refugee law. The conference, which is supported and partially funded by Kent Law School, will run from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June. The penultimate day of the conference coincides with the expected announcement of the result of the Brexit referendum in the UK and there will be a discussion of the impact of the results led by a panel comprised of EU law experts at Kent Dr Tobias Kliem and Martin Hedemann-Robinson. ELSA Kent, one of seven student law societies at Kent, is a local group of ELSA, the world’s largest law student and young lawyer network. The network offers students the opportunity to attend sessions (as delegates) at institutions such as WIPO, UNCITRAL and the Council of Europe. Additionally ELSA runs a Student Traineeship Exchange Program (STEP) which offers ELSA members exclusive internships in a huge variety of legal fields twice a year.

University of Kent Kent Law School 5 1 Employees in the patent office file room in Washington DC in 1940 2 The US Patent Office in 1925

Feature

Specialise in Intellectual Property Law A new specialisation in Intellectual Property Law is available to students studying the Kent LLM, our one-year Master’s in Law programme. Intellectual Property (IP) Law equips students with the knowledge to practise IP law or work in creative industries. It also provides a foundation for those who wish to pursue a research degree in the field. Students benefit from a uniquely contextual and critical approach to the study of IP related problems, with modules taught by distinguished academic specialists. This latest specialisation is one of 12 available to Kent LLM students. Other subject areas include: Criminal Justice; International Commercial Law; Medical Law and Ethics; and Human Rights Law. The innovative nature of the Kent LLM programme means that students can leave their choice of specialisation open until after they arrive at the School. No prior knowledge of law is required to study the Kent LLM; the programme is open to graduates from across all disciplines: www.kent.ac.uk/law/postgraduate/taught

In an interview with the Co-Director of the newest Kent LLM specialisation in Intellectual Property Law, Dr Hyo Yoon Kang explains what is meant by ‘intellectual property’ and how studying this area of law can be of benefit to students… What is intellectual property? It would be perhaps more accurate to talk about intellectual properties – plural. There are many forms of intellectual property, but what they have in common is that they are concerned with products of intellectual or knowledge labour. The essence of the property is something intangible, whereas in real property, the objects of property rights are tangible: think of car, house, land. In law, intellectual property usually encompasses copyright (for literary, artistic, musical works, for

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example), patents for inventions, trade marks for signs and design rights. But intellectual property also includes rights which are not clearly defined in these legal categories, such as the notions of know-how and trade secrets. Plagiarism cases are also essentially about whether or what can be understood as another person’s intellectual ‘property’ – this often raises questions of proper and improper conduct. What modules can students study? Currently (and in response to growing student demand reflecting the importance of intellectual property issues in today’s economy and society) we offer modules in: Intellectual Property 1: Copyright and Breach of Confidence; Intellectual Property 2: Patents and Trade Marks; Contemporary Topics in Intellectual Property Law; Intellectual Property and Industry Practices; World Trade Organisation (WTO) Law and Practice 1; Privacy and Data Protection Law; Law, Science and Society; Cultural Heritage Law; and Economic Sociology of Law. Why is this a good time to be studying IP law? From economic and social perspectives, intellectual properties drive some of the most interesting market dynamics: think about the way iPod or smart phones have changed the way we listen to music or communicate. You are surrounded by trademarked signs. Copyright regime means that you have restrictions in what you can copy or not. Many people talk about today’s ‘knowledge economy’. Supposedly the value of IP intensive industries for the US

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economy was $5 trillion. Some of the most prominent ways by which knowledge is turned into a commodity, industrialised or monetised is through intellectual property law. Intellectual properties are little understood and often misunderstood by many people who don’t realise that intangibles are what drive postindustrial economies. On an intellectual, academic level many students have said that IP law was the hardest they have studied but also the most fun and rewarding. Making the intangibles tangible is what IP law does. You can expect a lot of challenging conceptual dilemmas and fascinating examples of legal creativity when you study IP. How can students use intellectual property law knowledge in practice as a lawyer? Students will benefit from the knowledge gained at Kent, particularly if you decide to specialise in copyright, trademarks or patent law after your qualify as a lawyer. Of course, the various professional requirements vary from country to country but regardless of these different regulations, you will have the advantage of an in-depth knowledge and understanding of intellectual property law. You will have acquired an awareness of intellectual property’s complex relationship to commercial, social and historical contexts. This is what makes our intellectual property programme special in comparison to other universities’ offerings.


Feature

Law clinic partnership with Sierra Leone of benefit to all

An ongoing partnership between Kent Law Clinic and a law clinic in Sierra Leone is helping to enhance the legal education of law students from both countries. The partnership began soon after the law clinic at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) was established in January 2014 and was cemented with a visit to Canterbury by Benedict Jalloh, the Head of the Law Department at UNIMAK. Sierra Leone has a Common Law jurisdiction, based on that of the UK, with the two countries sharing legal procedure, case-law and statute in common. Law students and Clinic staff at Kent were initially asked to help research a number of legal points relating to criminal cases being prosecuted by students and volunteer lawyers at UNIMAK. Discussions also began around the idea of a joint project on researching customary land law and the law regarding large scale leases in Sierra Leone.

A number of Kent law students chose to undertake research for Makeni that was subsequently assessed as part of their Clinical Option module. Working under the supervision of Kent Law Clinic solicitors, the students researched cases that included the publication of a photograph of a four-year-old Makeni girl in the Western press and the imprisonment of a 16 –year-old boy who had consensual sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

under the supervision of Clinic solicitor Hannah Uglow. In an email to Kent Law Clinic Director Professor John Fitzpatrick, he wrote: ‘The memos we have received from the students at Kent are simply excellent. I was extremely impressed, especially at how willing they were to put together case bundles and to really engage in helping us to find what are, in England, now moot statements of law but which still could have beneficial use here.’

Adam Goguen, a US lawyer who teaches law at Makeni and who helped establish the law clinic at UNIMAK, was enthusiastic about the quality of research work undertaken by Kent students

Professor Fitzpatrick said:

‘I am very proud of the collaboration that our students have been able to maintain with the Law Clinic in the University of Makeni. Both helping and learning from our counterparts in Sierra Leone has been an enriching experience for us.’

Following the outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone in the summer of 2014 students at Kent decided to form the Kent-Makeni Clinic Link group. The group held a pub quiz and a Christmas Dinner,


raising more than £1,000 for the stricken staff and students in Makeni. Since the end of the Ebola crisis, the group has continued its support work, and most recently organised a collection of more than 370 second-hand law text books for Makeni students (with more to follow). Group chair, final-year law student Comfort JarrettCoker, said: ‘When I joined this project, we didn’t know how much of a difference we would be able to make. It has been a real learning experience and a truly collaborative project; we pooled all our resources together to raise funds, send over books and take on legal research. What I have found hugely encouraging is how many people donated books and money and their time to help the project. It has been fantastic building a support network of people dedicated to Makeni and Sierra Leone at large. Staff and students have been immensely enriched through the link we have with Makeni. We are hoping to increase, ever more, our shared venture in the development of students and law clinic beneficiaries.’ The law text books are being sent to Makeni by the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network, an initiative that unites leading UK barristers, judges, solicitors’ firms and government lawyers in providing pro bono assistance to the legal profession and institutions of Sierra Leone. The books form part of a shipment of 125 boxes from various sources. Richard Honey, a barrister with Francis Taylor Building and Kent Law Clinic volunteer, is chairman of the Network’s steering group and visited the UNIMAK in 2012 and 2015. Richard said:

‘I was delighted when the Kent Law Clinic agreed to work with the law clinic at UNIMAK so enthusiastically. The law students at UNIMAK are incredibly grateful for the assistance from Kent, without which they would not be able to serve their clients so well. Kent students help make a real difference to the legal services available in Makeni.’

What is the Kent Law Clinic? First established at Kent in 1972, the Law Clinic is a partnership between students, academics and solicitors and barristers in practice locally. It has two objectives: to provide a public service for local people who need legal advice and representation but cannot afford to pay for it, and to enhance the education of students in the Kent Law School through direct experience of legal practice.

drafting statements of case, negotiating and appearing as advocates before the Employment Tribunal, the County Court and other forums. Students can also volunteer as receptionists, co-ordinate advice sessions and join one of a number of specialist teams: www.kent.ac.uk/law/clinic

What is the University of Makeni Law Clinic? Established in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone in January 2014, clinic paralegals work with pro bono barristers and students in providing representation in both criminal and civil matters. The Clinic runs two programmes: a Pro Bono Criminal Defence Initiative and a Women’s Rights Project. They have made a dramatic impact, not least because of the almost total lack of legal advice and assistance in the provinces of Sierra Leone.

How can students get involved?

How can students get involved? Under the close supervision of qualified solicitors, law students can have the full conduct of cases on behalf of clients. They can deepen and broaden their knowledge of law through the experience of working on live cases and through a structured reflection on that legal practice. Casework requires students to undertake such tasks as interviewing, legal research, corresponding,

Roughly 40 students a year enrol in the fouryear LLB programme at UNIMAK with about 60 students a year contributing to the work of the Clinic. Students work as paralegals and legal secretaries and, in addition to casework, help disseminate knowledge of the law in languages other than English which is spoken only by a small percentage of the population. By working to translate new laws and human rights treaties into local languages students gain a deeper appreciation of the effect that being deprived of rights has on a person. They also come to understand the ways in which the law can be used to remedy such violations.


Research

Prestigious £675k Wellcome Trust award A prestigious Wellcome Trust Investigator Award of more than £675k has been awarded to Kent academic Dr Emilie Cloatre for a project to explore the regulation of alternative medicines around the world. The five-year project will offer a unique in-depth socio-legal exploration of the effects of regulation on traditional, alternative or complementary medicine in practice. It will explore different regulatory strategies that states employ across the globe with a particular focus on case studies in Europe (France/England), West Africa (Senegal/Ghana), and the West Indian Ocean (Reunion/Mauritius). Dr Cloatre, Co-Director of Research and a Senior Lecturer at Kent Law School, will be working with two full-time postdoctoral researchers. The project team aims to encourage a new way of thinking about the relationship between law and medicine and to generate innovative scholarly knowledge that will inform policy debates.

Two SLSA book prizes for Dr Luis Eslava Law Lecturer Dr Luis Eslava has been awarded the Hart Socio-Legal Book Prize and the Prize for Early Career Academics for his book Local Space, Global Life: The Everyday Operation of International Law and Development. It is the fourth time that the Hart Socio-Legal Book Prize has been won by an academic from the School. Both prizes are awarded by the SocioLegal Studies Association (SLSA) in recognition of outstanding socio-legal scholarship. Luis says that, through his research for the book, he has tried to generate a richer understanding of international law and to offer a new image of international law that is ethnographically grounded, anthropologically informed, theoretically aware, and historically cognisant of the evolution of the international legal order.

£0.5m grant for biographical study of Abortion Act Professor Sally Sheldon has been awarded more than £0.5m to conduct a unique two-year biographical study of the Abortion Act. The grant of £512,000 has been awarded by the Arts and

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Humanities Research Council for a research project called ‘The Abortion Act (1967): a Biography’. The project will begin in May 2016 and its findings will be launched at the Houses of Parliament on 27 April 2018, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the date on which the Abortion Act came into force. Earlier this year, at a conference in London, Professor Sheldon called for statutory reform in abortion law. She argued that abortion legislation no longer makes sense in the context of modern medical practice. The conference, entitled ‘How Can a State Control Swallowing? Medical Abortion and the Law’, enabled Professor Sheldon to share findings from her current AHRC funded research project into the legal implications of abortion pills.

Grant for research into use of graphic design Kent Law School Professor Amanda PerryKessaris has been awarded a grant for an innovative research project that will explore the use of graphic design in the negotiations over the possible reunification of Cyprus. The grant for £2730 has been awarded by the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) for a project entitled ‘Graphic design, civil society and the current negotiations for the econo-legal reunification of Cyprus’.

Brown Foundation Residency Fellowship Kent Senior Lecturer Dr Simone Glanert has secured a Brown Foundation Residency Fellowship for one month at the Dora Maar House in Menerbes in the South of France. The residency is designed for mid-career professionals in the arts and the humanities and is directed by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. Dr Glanert will use the time to undertake final editorial work on papers that were presented at a two-day interdisciplinary workshop held in Oxford last June. The workshop ‘Law’s Hermeneutics: Other Investigations ‘ was jointly organized by the Maison Francaise d’Oxford and the Kent Centre for European and Comparative Law.

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Dr Emilie Cloatre Dr Eslava's book Professor Sally Sheldon Professor Amanda Perry-Kessaris Dr Simone Glanert Dr Donatella Alessandrini's book Professor Davina Cooper Dr Sara Kendall's book

New book examines contemporary production of economic value In Dr Donatella Alessandrini's new book, Value Making in International Economic Law and Regulation (Routledge, 2016), she examines the contemporary production of economic value in today’s financial economies. She reflects on the regulatory response to the global financial crisis and argues that much of that response has been based on the assumption that speculative ‘excesses’ in the financial sphere need to be curbed in order to restore a healthy economic system endowed with real values.

Feminist Theory Annual Essay Prize 2016 Law School Professor Davina Cooper has been awarded the Feminist Theory Annual Essay Prize 2016. In selecting Professor Cooper’s essay ‘Bringing the state up conceptually: Forging a body politics through anti-gay Christian refusal’, the judge commended her “excellent scholarship.” The essay was shortlisted by the editors of Feminist Theory from amongst all essays submitted in 2015 before its selection for the prize by an external judge. The judge said the article was a pleasurable read, a feature that was noted as a “rare achievement and an immense strength.” The editors and the judge acknowledged there had been many strong articles published in the journal in 2015 but noted that Professor Cooper’s work had stood out. Feminist Theory is an international interdisciplinary journal engaged in debates about the diversity of feminism. It incorporates perspectives from across the broad spectrum of the humanities and social sciences and the full range of feminist political and theoretical stances. Last year, Professor Cooper was awarded the Charles Taylor Book Award 2015 for her book Everyday Utopias: The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces.

New York Law School launch for book on International Criminal Court A launch event for a new book on the International Criminal Court (ICC), co-edited by Kent Law School lecturer Dr Sara Kendall, was hosted by New York Law School this month. The launch of Contested Justice: the Politics and

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Staff News

Practice of International Criminal Court Interventions was co-sponsored by the New York Law School’s Institute for Global Law, Justice and Policy as well as the American Society of International Law’s Transitional Justice and Rule of Law Interest Group.

Research conferences at Kent Three research conferences will be hosted by Law School academics on Kent’s Canterbury campus this year: the £0.5m Bingo Project (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council) will hold its final two-day conference on 23/24 June; the annual Critical Legal Conference will be hosted this year at Kent from 1-3 September; and the Law School’s Regulating Time research network (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) will hold its final international conference from 8-10 September.

Kent Critical Law Society annual conference Kent Critical Law Society (KCLS) held its annual conference at Kent in February. KCLS is a student-led critical lawyers’ group that holds a critical legal conference each year attracting academics, practitioners and students from across the UK. This year’s conference, focused on the theme of ‘limiting liberties’ and sought to critically examine the notion of freedom, rights and liberties and to consider their influence in shaping ideas and scenarios of socio-political disruption.

Law School Student Adviser wins Best Academic Adviser award Kent Law School Student Adviser Hattie Peacocke was named ‘Best Academic Adviser’ in the Kent Union Teaching Awards 2016. The Teaching Awards are held each year to recognise and reward members of staff who go the extra mile to enhance the student learning experience. Hattie was nominated for the award by students at Kent and was presented with a certificate at an evening ceremony held in March. Hattie is one of two dedicated Student Advisers at the Law School who provide confidential and personal academic support to law students. Her work forms part of a comprehensive support system for law students that also includes an Academic Adviser, module convenors, student mentors, academic peer mentors and the Kent Law School Skills Hub. More than 40 additional members of staff from Kent Law School were nominated by students for a Teaching Award this year. Law School Professor Sally Sheldon was amongst those nominated and was one of three academics across the University who made the shortlist in the ‘Fantastic Feedback’ category. Kent Union Law School Rep Osiyemi Osipitan, a final-year Law student, said: ‘We believe that excellent teaching and service should be recognised and appreciated and congratulate all the staff at Kent Law School who were nominated. We truly appreciate the part they play in the student experience.’

Leavers and joiners 2016

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Visitors We are grateful to the following visiting scholars for their contributions: Professor Helena Alviar (Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia); Charlotte Bendall (University of Birmingham); Andrew Bevan (UCL); Dr Adam Branch (Cambridge University); Dr Eddie Bruce-Jones (Birkbeck, University of London); Ruth Buchanan (University of York); Stephen Connelly (University of Warwick); Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE); Kathy Ferguson (University of Hawai’i); Professor Susana Galera Rodrigo (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid); Matthew Gandy (University of Cambridge); Professor Vanessa Gruben (University of Ottawa); Piyel Haldar (Birkbeck, University of London); Dr Gina Heathcote (SOAS); Eric King (Queen Mary University of London); Jennifer Koshan (University of Calgary); Dr Vidya Kumar (University of Birmingham);Professor Yves-Marie Laithier (Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne); Professor Christopher Newfield (University of California); Professor Johanna Niemi (University of Turku, Finland); Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School); George Pavlich (University of Alberta); Professor Nello Preterossi (University of Salerno); Professor Stefano Rodotà (Università di Roma “La Sapienza”); David Rolph (University of Sydney); Professor Davide Tarizzo (University of Salerno); Tiziana Terranova (University of Napoli l’Orientale); and Professor Franz Werro (Université de Fribourg).

We are sorry to say goodbye to Student Success Project Officer Dan Berry but are happy to extend a warm welcome to: Dr John Ackerman (joining us on a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship); Lecturer in Alternative Dispute Resolution Janie Clement-Walker; Kent Law Clinic Solicitor Vivien Gambling Lecturer; Dr Ed KirtonDarling; Lecturer Dr Rose Parfitt; Lorenzo Pezzani (also joining us on a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship); and Lecturer Gavin Sullivan. We are also happy to welcome back Lecturer Sian Lewis-Anthony.

PhD students successfully defend their thesis

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• Lucy Welsh: ‘Magistrates, Managerialism and Marginalisation: Neoliberalism and Access to Justice in East Kent’ • Jacqueline Wier: ‘Protecting the Public: The Current Regulation of Midwifery’

Our warmest congratulations to the following Kent Law School PhD students who have successfully defended their thesis this year: • Elena Vassiliou: ‘The treatment of children who kill in England by the criminal justice system, the press, politicians and public opinion: The role of differing concepts of childhood, 1800-2000’

A team from Kent Law School raised more than £1,100 for Canterbury Housing Advice Centre (CHAC) by cycling 100km in the KM Big BiKe Ride 2016 in April. Pictured (left to right) are the School's Research Support Administrator Sarah Slowe; Teaching Assistant Laura Binger; School Administration Manager Jill Holliday; and Business Analyst Kevin White (from Information Services).


Student Society News

Kent Critical Law Society Catalina Tretiacov, President 2015-2016

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Kent Law Temple Society Joe Chambers, President 2015-2016 After an interactive workshop on ‘How to Secure Pupillage’ by the University of Law we delved straight into our mooting season. As always, we ran a very successful and extended mini-moot competition, with the new format guaranteeing each team a minimum of three moots. This was a huge and well received improvement from the traditional design which saw half of the teams eliminated after one bail application round, and we were also very pleased to be returning to the Canterbury Combined Court for the final! Members proudly led the society to victory in both of the new mooting editions to our calendar – a one-off moot against the Kent Student Law Society Solicitor Advocates, and a new varsity series against our counterparts from Canterbury Christ Church Student Law Society. We took home both Shields and all ‘Best Mooter’ medals; our member participants should be very proud of their achievements! The Annual Dinner is always the highlight of the society’s calendar and this year I say with great pride that we exceeded all expectations in our new venue. Moving to the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, I have had feedback from a number of guests that the James Bond-themed banquet, followed by port, cheese and networking in our fun-casino made for one of, if not the best dinner to date. As another successful year for the society draws to a close I would like to thank the Law School, all of our members and supporters and all of the practitioners who give up their time to come and talk to students.

staff at Kent Law School for their support this academic year. During our second term, generally devoted to networking, we visited the University of Law in London and attended a networking event with solicitors in practice and students on the Legal Practice Course (LPC). In February we held our annual black tie dinner at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, with more than 120 students and professionals in attendance. The guest speaker was Martin Coleman, a partner at the magic circle law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in London. He implored our members to challenge themselves as they prepare for the legal career by being proactive and applying for vacation schemes and paralegal roles as they seek to gain entry to the legal sector. Our last significant event for the year was our inaugural mock training contract interviews held in conjunction with Furley Page Solicitors in Canterbury. Feedback from the students and the firm has been positive with one student being encouraged to apply for an actual training contract at the firm. I have had an enjoyable year as president and as I graduate I wish the society and the new executive all the best next year. If you are reading this and you are thinking about coming to Kent by all means make Kent Law School your firm choice. The experience is amazing and remember to join KSLS, the opportunities we provide are invaluable.

The aim of Kent Critical Law society is to interrogate the social, economic and political dimensions that shape legal doctrine and contemporary society. This term we have put all our efforts into providing our members with discussions around recent important issues. We pride ourselves in trying to offer students valuable skills and experience; social, political and legal awareness to sharpen critical thinking skills. We believe this term we have achieved a few of these goals. We have organised our Annual Conference, which this year was entitled ‘Limiting liberties’ and had as its keynote speaker Professor Sally Sheldon from Kent Law School. Kent Critical Law Society has implemented a new type of event which aims to inform members of ‘Alternative careers in law’. This term has been a term of collaboration with both legal and nonlegal societies. Together with the Kurdish Society and ELSA Kent, we jointly organised two successful events: ‘Freedom of women and Islam’ and ‘Extremism and its effects on the wider world’. As the year is coming to an end and it’s time to elect the next committee, we would like to wish good luck to everyone in achieving their goals and inspiring others to do the same.

European Law Student Association (ELSA) Kent Julia Kirchmayr, President 2015-2016 It has been a busy year for us, we have organized events on women’s rights, refugees, LGBTI prisoners and two trips to Parliament and the Supreme Court! For our members, one of the highlights was an in-part ELSA funded and organized conference in Warsaw. Benedetta Veneruso, who attended the event held in March with Stephanie Dadzie, Leigh Leach and Hannah Bristow, said: ‘We were amongst 280 Law students from 50 European committees who met for a two-day international conference on Comparative Law at the Ministry of Economic Development. The first day, dedicated to remedies in contract law and consumer contract, focused on German, English, French, Italian and Polish law. The second day introduced white collar crimes and discussed the differences

Kent Student Law Society Guevara Leacock, President 2015-2016 Our thanks to the committee who has worked hard to ensure that our members have been exposed to as many opportunities as possible to learn about entering the legal profession (with a specific view to becoming solicitors). We would also like to thank Professor Toni Williams and the 2

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Kent Law Temple Society Kent Student Law Society Kent Critical Law Society European Law Student Association (ELSA) Kent Kent Law Campaign Student Group Kent Canadian Law Society Nigerian Law Society

within English, Russian, Iranian, Italian and Polish law on topics such as law on murder, rape, pornography and the penalties related to those crimes. The conference was followed by social events organised by the ELSA committee at the University of Warsaw, that included a sightseeing of the old town and the National Museum, along with a karaoke night, pub crawling, and eating Polish specialties. The activities were a great opportunity to network and create connections within other ELSA groups. The conference closed with a Gala Ball. ‘ By far our biggest ELSA Kent event is still to come, our very own conference on Migration and Refugee Law in Kent from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June!

Kent Law Campaign Student Group Vinissa Arulanantham, Chair 2015-2016

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As the final Kent Law Campaign Student Group we have had many fundraising projects to help reach our target for this academic year. We held a Christmas Fair in December, with creative and exciting vendors selling gifts and decorations in Eliot Hall. The New Year was celebrated with a formal and fabulous Law Ball, where students dressed to impress in 1920s outfits. Guests were treated to a night to remember with plenty of laughter and fun, they had the opportunity to dance. For the third consecutive year we participated in the CASE Student Engagement and Philanthropy Month during February, asking the student body to send a message to our donors to show their appreciation for all their support. Other events have included a Mexican themed pub quiz and a sassy music and performance night held at the Ballroom in Canterbury. There were plenty of great raffle prizes donated for fundraising initiatives by companies such as Canterbury Historic River Tours and the Fudge Kitchen. As the year is coming to an end, the committee has decided to take on individual challenges to help reach our fundraising target. There are members ready to hold a bake sale, run a marathon and even bravely bungee jump from a 600ft crane! As a Committee we could not ask for a better end to our year. We hope to see you all at the grand opening of the new Wigoder Building, home to our Kent Law Clinic and Mooting Chamber, in October.

The Canadian Law Society (CLS) has been keeping busy with lots of fun and informative events for its members. In the British tradition, we had our first ‘Think While You Drink’ quiz night in November 26 where members were divided into teams and quizzed on topics ranging from movie facts and famous birthdays, to history and world geography. It was a really fun night and the winning team took home prizes of custom mugs filled with coffee, tea, and school supplies for upcoming assessments. We also designed and sold our first batch of CLS sweaters! We held four events in March to distract everyone from assessment anxiety, including our annual Potluck where students got creative with food and had a chill night away from essays to eat and make merry. To help prepare the first year students for impending exams, we held an annual exam prep session where we answered questions and addressed any concerns they had about their first exams of law school. We also held our annual NCA advice session with a past Kent alum; Caroline Fretwell was kind enough to come all the way from Canada to tell us about her experience upon returning to Canada. This year’s Canadian Negotiation was won by Akeem Gardner and Andrew Kirk and Gabriella Kratchanov was named Best Mooter

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Kent Canadian Law Society Cindy Lei, Director of Communications 2015-2016

at the Canadian Moot held at the Canterbury Crown Courts. It was a really great way to finish off the semester before Easter holidays and exam revision. It’s been a great year and with elections coming up, we’re super excited to meet the new incoming Committee!

Nigerian Law Society Ona Ehimuan, Secretary 2015-16 This academic year has proven a successful one for the Nigerian Law Society, we have held a variety of events in partnership with a variety of societies across Kent Union. Notable events throughout the year have been our debate night on the topic of Sharia Law in Nigeria which was hosted with Kent’s Religious Studies Society and our Christmas Social in partnership with the African and East African Society. The Spring term was also eventful for our society as we joined with the Feminist Society for an engaging and critical discussion on Feminism in Nigeria, teamed up with ELSA (Kent) for a joint trip to the Houses of Parliament in March and we were also fortunate enough to host a session with Professor Deji Adekunle who is the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Last but certainly not least, we also had our annual end of year ball on the 1 April 2016 which turned out be a great night. The outgoing committee would like to thank all the societies we have had the privilege of working with and wish the incoming committee success in the future.

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Alumni in the spotlight

Emily Smith, Kent Law School alumna feel to know the Wigoder Building, the new home for Kent Law Clinic, is now a reality?

You graduated from Kent Law School with a degree in English and Spanish Law in 2014 and are currently working as a trainee at De Pinna, a firm of Scrivener Notaries in London – can you tell us about the work you are doing?

I visited Canterbury in January this year and seeing the progress of the build was very surreal! I first saw the model of the Wigoder Building at the Campaign Launch at the Gherkin in November 2014; to be in Canterbury just over a year later and see the life-size building rising up from the ground was very humbling and made me reflect on the impact that the Campaign has had. The Campaign has brought people together from all branches of the legal profession and from all walks of life. There is a great community feel to the efforts of the clinic as well as the fundraising for the clinic and I’m honoured to have been a small part of the process.

How did your legal education at Kent Law School help prepare you for this role? My job involves working with different languages, understanding different legal systems and liaising with people from different cultures; my English and Spanish Law degree allowed me to do each of those things. Kent Law School’s (KLS) Spanish law modules meant I had a solid foundation in Spanish law and language, which helped me during my year abroad studying law at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) in Toledo, Spain. The opportunity to study a wide range of subjects at KLS and UCLM allowed me to understand law from a range of perspectives, and the analytical skills I developed in my studies at KLS are now key in my day-to-day work. Did you always have a clear idea of what career direction you wanted to take; how did you approach the process of finding employment after completing your studies? When applying to university, I was keen to combine legal study with my interest in Spanish language and culture. I envisaged my future self as a solicitor at an international law firm in the City using Spanish on a daily basis. After completing placements at law firms and with in-house legal teams, I found that many bilingual lawyers made little use of their language skills in day-to-day work. I began to consider notarial practice when my Spanish Law lecturer, Margarita Prieto-Acosta, arranged for us to meet with a Notary Public in Canterbury. Though I had some understanding of how notaries work in Spain, notarial practice is a niche (and often overlooked) branch of the English legal profession. I met a Scrivener Notary from De Pinna during a placement at an investment bank in the City in the summer following my second year at KLS, and my interest in and understanding of the notarial profession led to a summer placement at De Pinna. I quickly found myself drafting bilingual legal documentation and liaising with foreign counsel;

I realised that the notarial profession allowed me to combine my passions for law and language. I took up invitations to complete two further placements at De Pinna and was offered a traineeship shortly before graduating in 2014. Can you tell us why you chose to study your law degree at Kent? KLS is one of a handful of law schools that offers the opportunity to complete a qualifying English law degree while also studying the law of a foreign jurisdiction. I had been lucky enough to visit the University of Kent a few times while my cousin was studying at KLS (she graduated in 2010 just before I started). The stimulating and collegiate campus environment really appealed to me and I fell in love with Canterbury. The opportunities to get involved with mooting, the Kent Law Clinic and the student law societies meant I would be able to combine a diverse legal education with a community feel. During your time as a student at Kent Law School, what were the highlights for you? My main highlight as a student at KLS was leading the Kent Law Campaign Student Group to raise over £16,000. We were recognised for our hard work with various awards, but most importantly through our commitment to raising money for the Campaign we had a great time and all became very good friends. We received unfaltering support and guidance from Anna and Hils from the Development Office, and were given the opportunity to develop communication and business skills through organising high profile events and securing sponsorship from local and national businesses. As a former Chair of the Kent Law Campaign Student Group and a current member of the Young Alumni Fundraising Group, how does it

Would you recommend Kent Law School to prospective students? Why? Absolutely. KLS is at the very heart of the beautiful Canterbury campus. KLS is very inclusive; there’s something for everyone to take part in on top of their studies, from clinic work, mooting and mediation to taking part in or joining one of many law societies. The teaching at KLS transcends stereotypical legal learning; we were always encouraged to think critically and practically. The success of Kent and KLS is reflected in their positions in the league tables and this success is bound to continue, especially with the impending Wigoder Building opening which will offer a hands-on approach to learning the law to more students than ever before. It’s a very exciting time to be a student at KLS! What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “Don’t worry about things you can’t control”. Even though it’s difficult to follow, it’s still the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given! What advice would you like to share with law students at Kent? Do not let anybody tell you that you have been lucky to get where you are in life. If you’ve worked hard, been persistent and made the most of all opportunities available to you, luck has played no part in that. And finally, where do you see yourself in ten years? I look to qualify as a notary public in 2018 and as a scrivener notary by 2020. In ten years I plan to be a Partner at De Pinna. DPC 121544 4/16

At De Pinna, we offer notarisation, legalisation and translation services. Our client base ranges from private individuals to high profile corporate clients, so while my typical workload involves drafting bilingual corporate powers of attorney and liaising with foreign counsel, I also assist private clients who arrive at our office with little or no understanding of the notarisation and/or legalisation procedure required. The daily work is incredibly varied and that is what I enjoy about notarial practice.