Achieving meaningful change through legal research – book now for one day conference

The last several years have been busy times for public lawyers. This will continue whoever becomes Prime Minister following Boris Johnson’s resignation.

It is, therefore, critical that researchers have a strong understanding of how they can best  engage with and influence politicians and policymakers, and that practitioners appreciate how litigation can best achieve practical change for clients and the broader community.

This is why Public Law Project (PLP) is holding a conference on “Legal Research for Social Impact” on 15 September 2022, hosted by the University of York. The conference will cover a range of topics, including:

• What the impact agenda is and why it matters to researchers, lawyers, civil society, and government;
• How to define and measure impact in the context of legal research;
• How to collaborate and build relationships, projects and co-produce impactful research;
• Identify what support is available for impactful research, from universities and funders, and how organisations might access this; and
• Discuss what to do when impact goes wrong or fails.

The day will run from 11:00 to 18:00, with a catered lunch and a drinks reception after, and will include speakers from academia, public bodies, NGOs, funders, and the legal professions.

Full price tickets for this event cost £95, with tickets for £45 available for postgraduate students and £20 for undergraduate students.

PLP can support a number of reduced price tickets and assistance with travel expenses. Please contact Ade Lukes at PLP for further information on a.lukes@publiclawproject.org.uk.

Individual sessions include:

• A conversation between Ariane Adam, PLP’s Legal Director, Lawrence McNamara of the Law Commission of England and Wales, and Habib Kadiri of Stopwatch;
• A panel on defining impact in the context of legal research, which will highlight several impactful research projects and their effects. The session will also look at theories of change and how to communicate with funders if impact is not as expected. Speakers include Professors Joe Tomlinson and Charlotte O’Brien of the University of York;
• A panel on influencing the law reform process using research. Case studies include influencing the Law Commission, the reform of court processes to help litigants in person, and influencing governments to comply with the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Speakers include Prof Grainne McKeever of the University of Ulster and Nannete Youssef of the Runnymede Trust;
• A panel on influencing Parliament, including how research and case studies can be used to communicate with MPs and peers and influence their work. Speakers include Joanna Dawson of Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit;
• A panel on impact through litigation, including how research can inform litigation strategies for test cases. This panel will look specifically at research and litigation teams working together in the Deighton Pierce Glynn and Child Poverty Action Group PAP project, the work of the 3million and the Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU);
• A panel on co-producing research between researchers and stakeholders;
• A panel on obtaining funding for impact research, including funding options in academia and the public and charitable sectors and what funders are looking for. Speakers include Chris Hewson of the Impact Acceleration Fund and Caroline Howe of the Lloyds Foundation;
• A panel on communicating research for impact, which will use real world examples of how complex ideas and research findings need to be distilled to be communicated to different audiences. Speakers include Grace Rowley, Head of Communications at the House of Commons Library; and
• A panel on law reform on an international scale led by Prof Jeff King.

Book your ticket here

This blog was written by Lee Marsons, who is a Research Fellow at Public Law Project and Co-editor of UKAJI’s blog.