JUNE 2015, Edition 4
INSIDE Welcome
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University of Law collaboration
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Student News
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Events
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Staff news
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Alumni news
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WELCOME Welcome to the fourth edition of the Law School Newsletter. We hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter and please do not hesitate to contact us if you want further information, or wish to be involved further with us in our events and activities! As an active and engaged School, we are delighted to be able to share some of the excellent work of our students, staff and alumni with you. I am particularly delighted to be able to inform you about one of our new members of staff, Christina Walton, reaching the finals for the Best Lecturer Award at the recent Guild Teaching Awards – a highly competitive category. This really highlights not only the significant contribution our School is making to our students’ experience and education, but also that it is being recognised and rewarded by them.
Professor James Devenney Head of Exeter Law School
UNIVERSITY OF LAW We are delighted to announce that the University of Exeter Law School and the University of Law (ULaw) have entered into a ground breaking collaboration that will enable law students to study a broader range of programmes at Exeter’s Streatham Campus. From September 2015, non-law graduates will be able to convert to law after completing a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL). In 2016, both GDL and LLB graduates planning a career in law will be able to round off the academic stage of their training with the Legal Practice Course (LPC), which is the next stage of training for graduates wishing to become solicitors. ULaw will be responsible for providing the educational content of both the GDL and LPC programmes, which includes face-to-face teaching, tutor support and an employability programme to boost workplace skills. Students will benefit from the campus experience offered
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at the Streatham Campus, including its recent £380 million investment and its status as one of the most beautiful campuses in the UK. Professor James Devenney said: “We are delighted to host ULaw within our Law School at Exeter. Students will benefit from ULaw’s considerable expertise in delivering the GDL and LPC while enjoying the excellent student
experience here on campus. This unique collaboration very much complements our innovative new LLB curriculum. We hope that the collaboration will attract new students to Exeter, whilst providing our own graduates with the opportunity to further improve their employability by acquiring the next stage of their legal training in Exeter.”
STUDENT NEWS
The Exeter Student Law Review is a new journal founded by Thomas Dwyer and James Perryman, final year LLB with European Study students. Its aim is to provide a platform for high quality academic and legal discussion, allowing students to showcase their talent, building upon the ever-growing and sustained reputation of the Law School and the University of Exeter. The founders have described the journal as an ‘exciting journey’ and wish to thank all who supported them in its creation, including Steve Edge (Law, 1972), Chair of the Alumni Network Group. You can view the journal online at: www.exeterstudentlawreview.org
NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYERS’ NETWORK
PhD student Mathilde Pavis wins 2015 Association of Teachers and Researchers in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) essay competition.
The New IP Lawyers Network is an endeavour to create a visible and vibrant hub for new lawyers and non-lawyers who share different interests spanning Intellectual Property (IP), culture, science, creativity and the law; drawing attention to and influencing the future directions of IP law.
The highly competitive essay contest is open to all early career researchers specialising in intellectual property. Mathilde’s winning essay challenged the current distinction intellectual property law makes between authors and performers, and argues for a revalorisation of performing artists’ rights. Her work was informed by academic disciplines beyond Law including performing art studies and creativity research. It’s also based on the artistic practice of disabled dance artists she interviewed when working with the InVisible Difference project www.invisibledifference.org.uk, and from a discussion on ‘embodiment’ within the SCulE research centre www.exeter.ac.uk/law/research/ groups/scule
The Network was founded with the support of the Law School’s Science, Culture and the Law at Exeter (SCulE) research centre by two PhD students, Mathilde Pavis and Hasan Yilmaztekin (pictured above) and is mentored by academics Professor Charlotte Waelde, Dr James Griffin and Dr Naomi Hawkins.
In February, the New IP Lawyers Network was honoured to receive a Researcher Development Research-led Initiative Award from the University for its Intellectual Property Conference. The collaborative nature of the initiative and the benefits it will bring to its target audience were praised by the judging panel. More information about the conference can be found on the Network’s website: www.newiplawyers.org or on Twitter: www.twitter.com/newipl For more information or to get involved, please contact: newiplawyers@gmail.com
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EVENTS
PATHWAYS TO LAW UPDATE Our first cohort of Pathways to Law students will graduate from the programme later this year. Teachers, student mentors, academics, placement providers and supporters are all invited to join the 26 successful uppersixth students and their guests at a special celebratory ceremony on the Streatham Campus. The early evening event will involve a welcome by the Law School, certificate presentation, and refreshments and canapés. To finish off an exciting programme, the students have recently undertaken the unique opportunity to visit the Inner Temple in London, networking with various high-profile legal professionals and participating in a panel discussion on ‘Life as a Barrister’. Students from our second cohort have also been busy learning mooting skills with Kubo Mačák, Lecturer in Law and Director of Mooting, followed by a visit to either the local Magistrates Court or the Combined Courts in Exeter, allowing them to witness mooting in action.
A huge thank you to all of the individuals and organisations who have helped make this programme a reality for these budding young lawyers. We wish them all the best in the future!
Please contact Kate Blackmore k.m.c.blackmore@exeter.ac.uk Projects Officer, for further information on the Pathways to Law programme.
38TH LASOK LECTURE ON EU LAW The Centre of European Legal Studies had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Norbert Reich (Emeritus Professor of German and EU Private and Economic Law, Bremen) to deliver the 38th Lasok Lecture on 29 April 2015. The annual lecture, held at Exeter since 1977, attracts eminent speakers to deliver a paper on an aspect of European Union law of current and significant interest to a wide public audience, and this years’ event was no exception. In his lecture EU Citizenship – Progressive Concept or Regressive Failure?, Professor Reich, a renowned expert on European private law, described the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) ‘indeterminate’ law on free movement and citizenship, and the problems in demarcating solidarity in the fields of education and social security. The lecture was well attended both by Law School staff and guests, and all were invited to a drinks reception afterwards. For further details and images from the event, please visit: www.exeter.ac.uk/ socialsciences/law/lasok
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EVENTS
UK IN EUROPE: LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS OUTREACH EVENT
BRACTON LAW SOCIETY END OF YEAR GALA The first of its kind, the gala was an evening to celebrate the achievements of the Society’s members, to announce the committee election results, and to reflect upon the successes and highlights of the year. Hosted by President Neil Tanna and Vice President Sophie Clarke, the ‘Midnight in Paris’ themed event brought together BLS members, non-members, Law School staff and sabbatical officers.
The Law School and the Outreach Team were delighted to welcome two prominent European speakers for a full-day seminar entitled UK in Europe: Law and Human Rights. The event engaged a variety of sixth form students from schools and colleges across the South West, including Bristol, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. This event was hosted by Kubo Mačák (Lecturer in Law and Director of Mooting)
and Dr Ana Beduschi (Lecturer in Law) and was co-delivered by Dr Colombine Madelaine (University of Tours, France) and Jiří Hladík (European Commission). The purpose of the seminar was to explore the relationship between the UK and the leading European institutions from the legal perspective. This included taking part in plenary sessions, a series of interactive workshops and a mini-referendum on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The Bracton Law Society committee were delighted that the event proved to be such a success and were honoured to have been joined by members of the Law School, including Head of School, Professor James Devenney. It was a wonderful way to celebrate what has been a strong relationship between the Law School and the Bracton Law Society this year, which we hope will continue.
MOOTING SUCCESS DEVON CHAMBERS MOOT COMPETITION UKLSA MOOTING FINAL GRAND FINAL, MARCH 2015 Kevin Ho and Spencer Lee recently The Devon Chambers Moot Competition 2015 was the largest and most prestigious internal competition at the University of Exeter, with the final being judged by The Right Hon Lord Toulson, Justice of the Supreme Court. It involved six rounds of challenging mooting, with problems ranging from Criminal Law and Administrative Law, to Land Law and The Law of Torts. The Final was a fantastically argued moot, with each finalist displaying their legal mastery and mooting flair as their submissions were challenged by Lord Toulson. With impressive moments of academic brilliance, it was no surprise that the moot was extremely highly contested. Congratulations to all four finalists for their exceptional performance throughout the competition!
represented the University of Exeter at the grand final of the United Kingdom Law Students’ Association National Moot Competition 2014/15, which took place in the Supreme Court. The prestigious tournament attracts the best and brightest advocates from all over the UK, with participants hailing from top universities and Inns of Court. For the final round, they faced Manchester Metropolitan University, and only narrowly lost out on the title by a margin of one point. The standard of mooting was extremely high and reaching the final of this competition was an exceptional achievement.
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STAFF NEWS DR ANDREA LISTA Dr Lista, Associate Professor in Commercial Law, spoke at two conferences. On 4 May, he delivered a lecture on Arbitration Clauses, the principle of Separability and third parties non-signatories in CIF Sales at the Annual ‘Ship Arrest’ Conference in Dubai, a very prestigious event within the international maritime commercial law community. On 23 May, he delivered a lecture on EU Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions at a conference organised by the international law firm Gaglione at the Law Society in London, in front of delegates from the UK and Europe.
DR STEPHEN SKINNER
DR KAREN MCAULIFFE Dr Karen McAuliffe gave a presentation at the European Parliament on the impact of language and multilingualism on the development of EU law in March. EU legislation is generally drafted by multiple authors, usually in a language (normally English) that is, for most, not their mother tongue. It is then translated into the 23 other EU official languages. Each version is considered authentic and the legislation should be applied uniformly throughout the 28 EU member states. The case law of the European Court of Justice is also multilingual – judgments are again drafted by multiple authors in a language that is not their mother tongue (French) and then go through many permutations of translation into and out of up to 23 other languages. Only one version of a judgment is considered authentic, but in most cases this is not the original, French, version, but a translation. Dr McAuliffe’s research investigates the cultural and linguistic compromises at play in the creation of that multilingual EU law, and thus challenges EU scholarship to look
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beyond conventional approaches to the development of a rule of law that draws on law alone. In 2013 she was awarded a research grant of €1 million by the European Research Council (ERC) to complete a project on law and language at the European Court of Justice. Her talk at the European Parliament showcased some of the early findings from that project in which she and her team have demonstrated that EU law is expressed in a new and unique legal language, which exists in 24 linguistic variations, and the impact of that language (as well as the drafting and translation process) on the development and substance of EU law. Attendees at Dr McAuliffe’s presentation included over 50 lawyer-linguists, who are responsible for drafting EU legislation. For more information about Dr McAuliffe’s ERC project, please see her personal website: www.karenmcauliffe.com or contact her directly on k.mcauliffe@exeter.ac.uk
In March, Dr Skinner convened a workshop at Doughty Street Chambers in London entitled ‘Lethal Force, Policing and the ECHR: McCann and Others v UK at Twenty’. The culmination of ten months of preparation, the workshop (a Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) event) focused on the significance and influence of the 1995 McCann judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, a landmark case in the Court’s interpretation and application of the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The event was attended by around 40 barristers, solicitors, academics, police officers and members of NGOs, successfully bringing together a range of perspectives. The workshop produced some robust discussions and provided the forum for valuable interactions among different stakeholders in the sphere of policing and human rights. For more information please visit the CELS website: www.exeter.ac.uk/ socialsciences/law/research/groups/ cels
ALUMNI NEWS LIFE IN GOVERNMENT LEGAL SERVICES Joining the Government Legal Services can be a rewarding job for lawyers who want to make a difference in society. In February we heard from Aidan Crook (BSc Chemistry and Law, 1999) about working for the Department of Work and Pensions, and from Steven Richards (BA Law, 2000) about life at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, outlining how law and policy really come together to provide a rich and varied working environment.
delighted to welcome back Andrew Hood (LLB, 1998) to the University of Exeter. Andrew started his government law career in the FCO and is currently Head of International and EU Law at the Attorney General’s Office. Andrew talked to current students about his career path and choices, and how valuable he found his experience of working for the EU. His inspiring messages were appreciated by students who attended this event.
Insights into research careers with the Ministry of Justice came from Natalie Cox (BA Law and Society, 2013). We were also
Students also benefited from the opportunity to network with the panel members at a drinks reception after the discussion.
HOW TO SOLVE A COMMERCIAL LEGAL PROBLEM Henry Maples (LLB, 2007, now a Corporate and Commercial Solicitor at Murrell Associates) delivered a workshop in early March focusing on the application form process. The session incorporated interactive group work and students were asked to consider the typical questions in application forms and the skills needed to answer those successfully. An impressive number of students attended to hear Henry’s advice about what makes a good commercial lawyer.
STEPHENS SCOWN NETWORKING EVENT
LEFT TO RIGHT: STEVEN RICHARDS, AIDAN CROOK, NATALIE COX, ANDREW HOOD, SOPHIE QUINTON-CARTER
Students were invited in February to the local Stephens Scown offices in Exeter where they heard from Partner and alumna Catherine Mathews (LLB, 2000) and also one of the firm’s trainee solicitors, both offering an insight into life at a regional firm. The event included a mock interview demonstration to give students a feel for what would be expected of them by an employer.
THERE’S MORE TO LAW To give our students a broad career perspective we ran a career panel in term two focusing on alumni who studied Law but chose to pursue careers outside the legal sector. Students heard from alumnus Rhiannon Evans (LLB, 2008), Abigail Philpotts (LLB, 2011) and Katia Petros (LLB European,
2012) who are now working at Transport for London, Cavendish Nuclear and Aplomb Translations respectively. Chaired by alumnus Steve Edge (Law, 1972, now a Corporate Tax Partner at Slaughter and May) the panel discussion demonstrated
how the skills from a law degree can be successfully transferred to other sectors. Our panellists talked openly about why they decided a career practising law wasn’t for them but how the skills they learnt whilst studying still helped their current careers.
LEFT TO RIGHT: STEVE EDGE, ABIGAIL PHILPOTTS, RHIANNON EVANS, KATIA PETROS
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