Exploring inclusion and wellbeing initiatives in legal education and practice – register to attend

Anyone involved in the law or related sectors is welcome to attend.

In elite professions and disciplines like law often characterised by a lack of diversity (particularly in more senior positions), long working days, billable hours and significant pressures, inclusion and wellbeing are vital concerns. However, rarely are they considered together. This event, organised by Rachael O’Connor (Associate Professor in Legal Education, University of Leeds and LawCare trustee), builds on reverse mentoring research conducted within legal education, higher education and the legal profession. It aims to bring together an intersectional and diverse community of researchers, educators, practitioners, leaders and students to explore these topics and focus on improving experiences of studying, accessing and working in the law. This one-day event will be hybrid, with 50 in-person spaces available.

The focus of this free seminar is the intersection of inclusion and wellbeing in the law, at all stages of legal education and focusing primarily on junior lawyers in practice. Anyone who is working/living in the law (as an educator, student, researcher, practitioner or other role) or related sectors is welcome to attend.

Collaborative work between the University of Leeds and LawCare has highlighted a lack of research and evaluation around equity, inclusion and wellness initiatives and, particularly, the involvement of aspiring and junior lawyers in such conversations or initiatives. It has also been evident in our work that the firms, lawyers (at all levels of seniority) and students involved have valued being part of a community striving to make legal education, recruitment, supervision and practice more inclusive and healthier to work in. The more community-based, sectoral approaches we can develop in exploring this work, as opposed to firms and education providers competing with one another in this space, the more well-informed inclusion and wellbeing initiatives and their impact can be.

Whilst acknowledging that studying and practising law can be extremely challenging, a key aim of this event is to generate hope. At the event, we will share lots of experiences, practices and ideas to support us in making meaningful contributions towards more inclusive and healthy practices in the law going forward. We will also think about how we can influence others to make their own contributions, creating a snowball effect following the event.

Topics and registration

Please find a current list of speakers and their topics linked here – this promises to be a really interesting and insightful day with a selection of interactive sessions, short lightning-style presentations and opportunities to collaborate and get to know the group. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please join us if you can.

To register your attendance, please complete this short form by 11.59am on Tuesday 28th May 2024.

Funding

This event is free of charge to attend. With thanks to the Association of Law Teachers who have provided funding for this event via the ALT Annual Seminar Prize scheme, there is some funding available to contribute towards within-UK travel costs for those who do not have access to other funding to attend. If you would like to attend but do not have financial support to do so in terms of travel to Leeds, please indicate this when you complete the sign-up form above.

Contact

For any questions about the event, please contact Rachael (r.e.oconnor@leeds.ac.uk).