Making a difference through research: the University of Leeds hosts the SLS Annual Conference

Between 2 and 4 September 2025, the 116th Annual Conference of the Society of Legal Scholars was held at the University of Leeds.

Hosted by the School of Law’s Professor Duncan Sheehan, President of the Society of Legal Scholars, the conference reflected a desire to make a difference through research. Professor Sheehan says: 

As legal scholars none of us wish our work to disappear into the aether unnoticed. We do the research we do and the scholarship we do precisely because we want it to make some sort of difference.

School of Law involvement 

There was a very strong representation of School of Law colleagues: 

Professor Adam Crawford spoke in the first plenary - ‘’The Research User’: Engagement, Impact and Co-Creation’ - alongside Professor Alison Young (Law Commission), Alexander Hughes, Head Judicial Assistant (Supreme Court of the United Kingdom) presenting on ‘The Ethics of Research Engagement and Impact: Some Reflections on the Challenges of and for Co-Production in Policing.’ 

Dr Oriana Casasola appeared on a panel discussion in the Comparative Law stream – ‘Public interest, Local Government, Financial Distress and ESG considerations: A Comparative Perspective, and Lessons from Other Special Regimes.’ 

Dr Nick Cartwright spoke with Rita D’Alton-Harrison and Simisayo Olawore in a panel discussion in the Legal Education stream - ‘Studying Black in Law School: The Intersections of Black Student Life.’ 

Dr Clare James and Professor Ilias Trispiotis convened the Human Rights stream, and Dr Virág Blazsek and Clara Martins Pereira (Durham University) convened the Banking and Financial Services Law stream. 

Breadth of research 

Papers by School of Law members covered a wide variety of topics, such as: 

• Shihao Xu – ‘Red Card to Private Ordering: The CJEU’s Progressive Intervention in FIFA’s private ordering through Free movement and Competition.’ 
• Dr Laurene Soubise, Professor Anna Carline and Dr Sarah Singh (University of Liverpool) – ‘Navigating Loss of Control and Self-Defence: The Evidentiary Challenges of Rationality and Emotions.’  
• Professor Jose Pina-Sánchez – ‘What is the External Validity of Sentencing Research? A Multi-Level Meta-Analysis of Race and Gender Disparities.’ 
• Dr Igor Szpotakowski – ‘Ex ante Regulation of Generative Artificial Intelligence Models as an Example of Digital Market Governance in China.’ 
• Fawz Duwhy and Taylor Pearson (University of London) – ‘Free Speech and Orientalism: Shadow Banning, Instagram, and the Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Voices.’  
• Dr Zoe Tongue – 'Systemic Failings in the UK's Maternity Services: A Human Rights Response.’ 
• Dr Ilaria Zavoli and Mr Alex Batesmith – ‘Narratives of the Self: Professional Identity in the Autobiographies of International Criminal Lawyers.’  
• Rachael O'Connor – ‘Embedding Social Class Debates into Legal Education: a Case Study in Employment Law.’ 
• Mr Adam Baker and Dr Rosie Fox – ‘Actual Occupation Overriding Interests: an Equality Perspective.’ 
• Dr Federica Casano – ‘Tax Fairness after the EU List of Tax Havens.’  
• Dr Anna Tzanaki and Casimiro Nigro – ‘The Legal Determinants of Common Ownership: A Competition and Corporate Law Perspective.’ 
• Professor Marie-Andrée Jacob and Dr Priyasha Saksena – ‘Who’s Afraid of Physician Associates, and Why? The History and Regulation of a Profession at the Margins of Healthcare.’  
• Dr Kisby Dickinson – ‘An Historical Analysis of the Post Office as a Site of Private Justice: Private Policing, Prosecution, and Implications for Contemporary Reform.’  
• Dr Paolo Sandro – ‘On why the Rule of Recognition is not about Validity, and what follows from that.’  
• Professor Paul Wragg – ‘What does SLAPPs mean?’ 
• Dr Shouyu Chong – ‘Rationalising the ‘Strong Cause’ Test - Comparative and Transnational Principles for Ousting Jurisdiction Clauses in Commercial Contracts.’  
• Dr. Stuart Wallace – ‘The Lifecycle of a Declaration of Incompatibility under the Human Rights Act.’  
• Dr Carrie Bradshaw – ‘A Solution in Need of a Problem: ‘Good Samaritan’ Food Donation Laws.’ 

Building new connections 

By embracing such a broad and inclusive approach to legal scholarship, the conference allowed delegates not merely to get specialist feedback on their research and how to improve it, but also to build new connections across disciplinary fields to enable the research of the future to meet real-world challenges and advance the public good. 

Professor Sheehan reflects: 

The conference brought over 400 delegates from all over the United Kingdom and from across the common law world to Leeds. I was delighted to see how colleagues were building new connections with each other, enjoying the social events, and that they engaged so enthusiastically and constructively with the wide range of papers across all the different streams and the plenaries. There was a real excited buzz across all three days of the event.

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