‘Public trust in lawyers is on the decline. Some of this is inevitable: Hackgate, the financial scandal and Hillsborough have all involved lawyers at pivotal moments. But are lawyers just doing their jobs in these cases or crossing ethical boundaries? An analysis of professional rules, lawyer psychology and economics suggest lawyers need to do some work to rebuild trust and behave more professionally.’

Date: 4th February 2014, 13.15-13.55pm

Location: Darwin Lecture Theatre, Darwin Building, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

‘What makes a criminal? Are they born or made? How do personality, social deprivation and upbringing affect criminality? Is crime due to economic need, a failure of conscience or a need for excitement?’

Date: 21st January 2014, 6:00pm

Location: Museum of London

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

‘Children in detention are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, and their removal from the community and into the secure estate compounds the disadvantages that many of them have previously experienced. Rights can therefore take on even greater significance for this group. Over the past 15 years, children and their advocates have sought to use the law in an attempt to protect those rights and to bring about improvements in how children deprived of their liberty are treated. But there are limits to what has been achieved and the proposed changes to legal aid, judicial review and the possible repeal of the Human Rights Act are likely to present even greater hurdles for the realisation of the rights of detained children. This lecture will examine the developing law in this area and explore the extent to which the concepts of vulnerability and best interests have shaped the legal and human rights of children in custody. It will then go on to consider whether other concepts – including home, care and responsibility – could be better used in order to understand and secure the rights of children deprived of their liberty.’

Date: Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 6:00 PM

Location: UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

‘The Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 are important legal, social and historical landmarks. For beyond their practical implications, same-sex relationship recognition, throughout the western world, has become a key site of political contestation rich in symbolic, material and cultural meanings. While fiercely opposed by many, within mainstream narratives they are often represented as a victory in a legal reform process that commenced with the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Yet, at the same time, for others they represent a problematic and ambivalent political engagement with the institution of marriage. Consequently, understood and labelled as ‘revolutionary’, ‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ these reforms provide a space for thinking about issues that arguably affect everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or relationship status.’

Date: 17th-18th January 2014

Location: 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

‘English contract law enjoys an enormous degree of rational strength, together with a practical and down-to-earth approach which is the envy of many civilian systems (and, of course, an attraction for business people for whom it exists). In doctrine and comprehensibility, however, its record is less impressive, as anyone will testify who has struggled to explain its workings in terms that make sense to a civilian audience. The aim of this lecture is to suggest that a codification of its rules from a purely English perspective would get rid of many of these difficulties, and would in addition avoid many of the problems inherent in proposals for a more or less pan-European codified contract law.’

Date: 16th January 2014, 6.00-7.00pm

Location: UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.