Alex Batesmith discusses cause lawyering on the Ethics Untangled podcast

Legal Professions Research Group (LPRG) member Alex Batesmith recently appeared on the Ethics Untangled podcast, where he was asked to discuss the topic, "Should Lawyers Be Fighting For a Cause?"

Alex Batesmith’s diverse career journey began as a criminal barrister in Leeds before working as a United Nations prosecutor in Kosovo and Cambodia. There, he worked on high-profile cases involving genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. From there, Alex worked as a justice and rule of law consultant, working in post-conflict and authoritarian legal regimes to train judges, prosecutors and defence counsel. Now at the University of Leeds, Alex is researching the values and motivations of international criminal lawyers.

During the podcast, Alex explored the concept of 'cause lawyering' – a practice where lawyers engage primarily due to moral, political, or ideological commitments. This approach raises interesting questions about the ethical frameworks lawyers operate within, particularly the balance between duties to clients, the court, and the rule of law.

Currently, Alex is collaborating with fellow LPRG member Dr Ilaria Zavoli and Dr Nora Stappert from Copenhagen University on a Special Issue of the Journal of International Criminal Justice, focusing on Professionals and Professionalism(s) in International Criminal Justice. In particular, he is examining how emotional labour influences our understanding of legal professionalism in this complex field.

Listeners can tune in to the conversation here: https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/ethics-research-degrees/doc/ethics-untangled.

Learn more about the Legal Professions Research Group here.