In January and the beginning of February, the entire Criminal Law class (LLB Year 1) is migrating to the Old Bailey, under a new ‘Class in Court’ initiative co-designed by the Head of the Law Department at Goldsmiths, Prof Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, and recently appointed Visiting Professor in Law, HHJ Angela Rafferty KC, sitting on the South Eastern Circuit, based at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey).

Professor Giannoulopoulos’ lectures on the criminal process (that run alongside Dr Dymock’s and Dr Minetti’s lectures on substantive criminal law) would take place in the classroom, as in every other module, but under the ‘class in court’ initiative, lectures have now been transferred to Court 8 and the historic Court 2 at the Old Bailey (for the next 3 weeks).

This gives the Criminal Law class unprecedented access to our central criminal court and those who play leading roles in the criminal process, spatially situating their learning: the students learn about the ‘architecture’ of the Crown Court trial from within the Court, by looking around from where they sit, across the room, encountering key criminal process players in the professional environment from where they daily operate.

40 students attended the first lecture. The class arrived at the Court at 4 pm. Less than an hour earlier, the courtroom was still in operation. There were young individuals in the secure dock (with high walls, made of glass panels) there. As part of an exercise, our students were given access to the dock. HHJ Judge Rafferty asked them to stand up, read them fictitious charges and asked them to plead ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’. ‘I did not even do something, and I was sweating’, commented one student later, when Judge Rafferty asked them to reflect on the experience. This also led to a conversation about secure docks and the students were invited to look into existing research into the topic. “You don’t realise the power dynamic until you’re in (this Court)”, observed another student later. A little earlier, another student was invited to sit on the Judicial bench, on the Judge’s seat, and to react from there to a procedural point that HHJ Rafferty made from the floor.

The lecture started with a reflection by HHJ Rafferty on the ‘architecture’ of the Crown Court trial, explaining where each party sits and how the architecture influences the process, delving into some intriguing historical facts even. Prof Giannoulopoulos followed on, to compare and contrast with criminal trials in Continental European courts, highlighting the operation of hybrid/mixed tribunals that combine lay jurors with professional magistrates, explaining where they would sit, where the prosecutor would sit, how that differed from the common law model, how the architecture reflected diverging institutional structures, how the changing physiognomy of criminal courts even echoed changing socio-political conditions (taking the example of an investment programme in France that is placing emphasis not so much on ‘punishing in order to intimidate but to allow citizens to understand the demands of justice, and to integrate courts in the city’; an architectural focus on modern, transparent, efficient, ecological spaces had been adopted as the means to achieve this objective there, explained Prof Giannoulopoulos. The Old Bailey courtrooms were feeling radically different, from the angle of the main hall, with all its majesty for instance (‘The  Law of the Wise is a Fountain of Life’, you can read on the imposing ceiling), or from within the courtrooms, with their inherently austere character.

HHJ Rafferty then spoke about the role of the judge in the criminal trial and at sentencing, with illustrations, as well as the modern duties and responsibilities of the Judge. This included the selection process for Judges (HHJ Rafferty is a JAC commissioner) and the constitutional role of the judiciary in England and Wales. The tone was highly inspirational and it was no surprise that students were overheard after the lecture talking about careers in criminal law. They surrounded Judge Rafferty and kept asking her questions long after the end of the lecture.

The lecture also began to explore elements of the process in Crown Court trials. Judge Rafferty and Prof Giannoulopoulos went into conversation mode, about the significantly different role of Judges in Crown Court trials and hybrid tribunals in Continental Europe, and how criminal trials can impact, emotionally even, the key institutional players.

Week 2 of the initiative will concentrate on process. Deena Heer KC, of 5PB chambers, will address the prosecuting function. Deena is the barrister who prosecuted the horrific murders of Axel Rudakubana at Southport; the process concluded this week, just three days before our students will have the opportunity to meet her.

Danielle Manson of Matrix chambers will speak about criminal defence. Danielle has appeared as a led junior and as a single advocate in cases of murder, attempted murder, rape, serious violence, fraud, the sale and supply of drugs and firearms offences, as well as appearing in both the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Deena and Danielle will interact with HHJ Rafferty and Prof Giannoulopoulos for this second lecture.

LLB students participating in Pro bono training, ahead of undertaking social welfare placements across legal advice centres and charities in London

As part of our partnership with the Pro Bono Community programme, Law students from across our LLB programmes have now been placed with a range of legal advice centres, citizens’ advice bureaus, charities and NGOs, including: Age UK Islington, Age UK Lambeth, Citizens Advice Harrow, Citizens Advice Havering, Citizens Advice Kensington and Chelsea, Coram Children’s Legal Centre, Island Advice Centre (Tower Hamlets) and South East London Mind.

Activities undertaken vary but can include for example tasks such as: triaging new clients, signposting or referring clients, providing information and advice on next steps, form filling, assessing entitlements, liaising with third parties on behalf of clients, supporting supervisors with activities such legal research, analysis and preparing documents and bundles for Tribunal hearings.

The Pro Bono programme gives our students the opportunity to apply to work as a volunteer in social welfare agencies, legal advice centres and charities across London, putting theory into practice and gaining invaluable experience of advising clients, mainly around welfare law issues.

It involves volunteering for one day a week, for six months , and we give our students space to do that by freeing at least one day per week in their timetable, for volunteering and part time work as well as engaging with study trips and other ‘beyond the classroom’ activities.

You can find examples here of placements that students have done in the past in the context of this programme: https://lnkd.in/gTy5RVD

Pro Bono Community also provide the training that prepares our students for these placements.

The training was held across two Saturdays earlier this term. More than 30 students attended, half of them moving on to take the placement, while the other half used the training as an opportunity to obtain skills and relevant certification of attendance from Pro Bono and Goldsmiths.

The training programme provided volunteers with an overview of welfare benefits law, and included group work, exercises and case studies. It placed emphasis on interpersonal and practical skills as well as recent social welfare reforms, before focussing on a range of welfare benefits law topics serving to contextualise the work that students will undertake as volunteers.

The Pro Bono initiative at Goldsmiths Law offers an example of the dynamic career skills opportunities that our students are given during their studies. We trust these are then reflected, and explain, our outstanding graduate outcome survey results as well as our sector leading NSS results (on learning opportunities and the student experience).

credit: @facundoarrizabalaga

18 students from across a range of Goldsmiths departments, including Politics and International Relations, Sociology, ICCE and Law, attended the 2024 Orwell Memorial Lecture delivered by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, on ‘The Feeling of Freedom’. Nazanin was detained in Iran in April 2016 and was held hostage for six years. Many people campaigned for her during her incarceration, leading to her release in March 2022.

Nazanin delivered a powerful and uplifting memorial lecture, drawing on her harrowing experience of being incarcerated for 6 years in Iran (for having simply been a British-Iranian woman, in the wrong place at the wrong time). Only you would not know it was a harrowing and soul-destroying time, listening to her lecture; she instead chose to concentrate on the power of the human soul and mind, especially when it finds solace in community with others. Nazanin spoke from the heart about the relationships with other Iranian incarcerated women, and with books, with literature and philosophy, that allowed her to retain her strength and humanity, in the brutal and Kafkaesque world in which she found herself.

The visit was organised as part of the Beyond the Classroom initiative, which exposes students to a wealth of activities and opportunities, in cultural, political, legal and intellectual London.

Students’ reactions after the lecture included the following:

Khushi, an LLB Law student in her first year of studies, observed:

“The lecture was incredibly inspiring. What really struck me was Nazanin’s bravery in continuing to advocate for people who may be in a similar position or for people who don’t know much about experiences like these, as well as honouring people she met in prison. Hearing her story was a powerful reminder of how fragile freedom really is, and it was really impactful.”

A Politics and International Relations student, Chanel, commented that:

“The talk from Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is the type of lecture where you know you cannot possibly appreciate the complexity of it in the moment, but that you try to accomplish regardless, knowing that what she has said and is about to say is something that will stick with you indefinitely.” 

Chanel added:

“What stuck with me the most is how she somehow managed to stay incredibly stoic, but simultaneously very vulnerable and open in regard to her mannerisms and emotions.”

“Hearing from her, in such an incredible environment (such as the Southbank centre in collaboration with the Orwell Lecture organisation) was an amazing privilege to have, and one I might have stayed ignorant to, if it were not for the #BeyondTheClassroom initiative that Goldsmiths and the Faculty of Law have been running.”

Mariana, an MA student in the Sociology department, noted:

“After the lecture, someone from the audience asked Nazanin what students and young people could’ve done or can do to help with her case. Nazanin’s answer was simple and humane: she highlighted the importance of reminding people in prison that they have not been forgotten. She also talked about her time in isolation and how isolation is designed to break you as a human being, to make you think that you’re on your own. 

Nazanin’s answer really moved me. It reminded me that, although technical law analyses are important, us, as Law students, must always bring the humane answer to the table and trust in the power of collectivity. We must find creative ways to use our own privileges to demand protection of human rights, particularly the rights of people who have been systematically excluded and isolated. For me, the lecture of Nazanin was a reminder that we, as students, must insist on dialoguing about the injustices caused by prisons. But it was also an inspiring reminder about resilience, hope and the power of women speaking up about our own stories.” 

The Orwell Memorial Lecture is given annually in memory of the author, essayist, and journalist George Orwell and has attracted notable speakers over the years including Ian McEwan, Dame Hilary Mantel, Kamila Shamsie and Bill Browder.

The Department of Law works closely with the Orwell foundation, including in awarding the top student in the LLB Law with Politics and Human Rights the Goldsmiths Law-Orwell Award, which marks high academic achievement in law, politics and human rights.

The Law Department is thrilled to be hosting BILETA’s  (British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association)  annual conference 2025 on Accelerating Innovation & Strengthening Digital Governance, 2-4 April 2025, on campus and online. Our Dr Aysem Diker Vanberg  leads on the organisation of this important annual event in the area of law and technology.

On 9 September 2024, Mario Draghi, former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Central Bank, released a report titled ‘The Future of European Competitiveness’. In this report, Draghi outlines strategies to reignite economic growth across Europe, addressing critical issues such as accelerating innovation, closing the skills gap with the United States, sustaining long-term investment, overhauling competition policies, and reinforcing governance structures. As Europe seeks to enhance its competitiveness amidst the ongoing digital and green transitions, the BILETA 2025 conference will explore the intersection of law and technology, focusing on how they can contribute to resolving pressing issues like fostering innovation and strengthening digital governance, particularly in the regulation of artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and intellectual property rights.

Papers are welcome from academics, researchers, practitioners, postgraduate students, those in business or practice, activists and anyone else with an interest in technology in the law (broadly construed) and legal education.

Important Dates: Submission Deadline: 10 January 2025; Notification of Acceptance: 17 February 2025

For more information see Bileta’s webpage here.

For any inquiries, please contact the BILETA 2025 conference team at bileta2025@gold.ac.uk

We have recently announced the news of our partnership with Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance which will empower our students to explore outstanding opportunities in the commercial and corporate law world and their extensions.

On October 10th, the partnership launched with an invitation to 10 of our LLB students, the majority being from Years 2 and 3 of the LLB, to visit the firm’s offices at Canary Wharf, to be taken on a tour and participate in an orientation workshop with a trainee solicitor, before joining later in the evening the major “One Firm: A Showcase of our Global Strategy”, alongside students from across the UK.

The workshop with CC trainee solicitor, Sian Grady, gave students invaluable insights relating to the pathway into a successful training contract application with the firm. “Hearing Sian speak about her experience in applying to Clifford Chance was extremely motivating”, said Goldsmiths Law year 2 student, Mialyn, while Izzy, also a Year 2 students, added that “thanks to Sian, I now have a greater understanding of how to make a good application to a Magic Circle firm”. 

Everyone was impressed with Sian’s confidence and enthusiasm to share with our students the keys to her successful journey into the firm. “She was very knowledgeable and detailed in her responses”, said our student Fahima, who also admired “how Sian encouraged all students to always be motivated in their studies and to never let their social background or circumstances put them off from applying to top law firms or from reaching their goals”.

The “Showcase of our Global Strategy” event delved into the firm’s global capabilities and unified strategy, emphasising their commitment to working as a cohesive ‘One Firm’ to best serve their clients. Participants gained a deeper insight into the complex deals that span multiple jurisdictions and understand the pivotal roles that CC lawyers, from Trainees to Partners, play in these processes.

“Conversations with both senior and junior lawyers”, in the panel,  “highlighted the dedication required to advance through different levels in the profession” and “how critical hard work and persistence were to success”, commented Sadia.

The visit and showcase event came to an end with a networking networking session that followed the key presentations.

The visit to CC was “an invaluable experience for all the students who attended”, said PPE student, Dawood, who was “very thankful” for this “fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of lawyers”. The “tour and panel discussion unlocked a commercial lens that has allowed me to look at legal work in a new light”, added Year 3 LLB Law with Politics and Human Rights student, Sadia.

We are very thankful to Chloe Hatchett Sparkes, Early Talent Acquisition Specialist at Clifford Chance, for facilitating this visit.

The Head of the Law Department, Professor Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, led on the visit on Goldsmiths Law’s part.

“Graduate Student Outcomes” survey results are out, our first ever at Goldsmiths Law, and we’re delighted with them.

These Graduate Outcomes of our inaugural LLB cohort (class of 2022) showed some great destinations for our graduates.

Over 88% of the respondents were in work, further study or a combination of the two, with over 66% in highly skilled employment, working as trainee solicitors, paralegals and in policy.

The programme prepared our graduates for a range of legal professional areas including immigration, multi-discipline legal practice and tax law.

Our graduates were also recruited in a variety of industries outside of the legal sector including healthcare, consulting, recruitment and government showcasing the transferability of skills and knowledge gained throughout their programme and student journey.

The law graduates were also highly complementary about the meaningfulness of their work activities with 83.6% of graduates in work or further study strongly agreeing or agreeing that their current work was meaningful.

The graduates also recognised the programme as developmental towards their future plans with 80.8% of graduates and employed and in further study strongly agreeing or agreeing that their current activities fit with their future plans.

Having strategically aligned the design and delivery of the new LLB programmes at Goldsmiths with career development as an intrinsic element of the curriculum, these results offer validation that a jurisprudential, law-and-society, approach to teaching Law can harmonically coexist with offering students an employability-rich programme, all ultimately feeding into sector-leading student experience and satisfaction (as our NSS results proudly showcase 3 years in a row now).

The ingredients of achieving this result are to be found in our multi-dimensional approach which includes running frequent trips to law firms and legal institutions (as part of contact time in all our modules), working with eminent legal professionals (in Visiting Professor roles), integrating legal theory and legal practice, and substantive law with procedure, giving students access to a Placement module and guidance from a Lecturer in Legal Practice and Legal Practice Administrator, bringing leading law firms into the programme to deliver key elements of relevant modules, bridging law with technology and the creative sector and introducing one of the first SQE modules in the country, as well as using experiential techniques such as mock trials, debating, advocacy and legal drafting, and even exposing students to theatre, cinema, museums and exhibitions, to equip them with confidence in themselves and arm them with ambition, to pursue any career pathway that may attract them intellectually and that they may desire to pursue.

Onwards and upwards for all our graduates!

We are delighted to announce the launch, from the academic year 2024-25, of the Goldsmiths Law-Clifford Chance awards for best academic performance in our Commercial Law and Corporate Law modules.

The two students achieving the highest academic performance in the two modules will be awarded the Goldsmiths Law-Clifford Chance award, and will be invited to Clifford Chance, where they will meet with experts in the relevant areas and taken on a tour of their offices.

Clifford Chance, a ‘Magic Circle’ law firm, is one of the world’s largest law firms, with significant depth and range of resources across five continents.

The announcement of the two awards is part of our Department’s exciting new partnership with the firm and draws on a mutual passion for social mobility and enhancing the richness intrinsic in a more diverse legal profession.

This ambition will be pursued through bringing to the attention of our wonderfully diverse LLB Law cohort at Goldsmiths a range of opportunities to engage with pioneering career building initiatives at Clifford Chance such as:

‘SPARK’, a 9-month programme that allows participants to better develop their legal knowledge, commercial awareness, and core business skills over a continued period.

‘Black in Law’, a one-day insight day for students and graduates of Black Heritage who are interested in a career in law and are keen to hear from Black role models at Clifford Chance.

‘ACCEPT’, an insight day where students receive practical tips to build their confidence, meet exceptional LGBTQ+ professionals, and hear from the Early Talent team on how to approach the application process.

‘ELEVATE’, an insight day where students get a chance to network with like-minded individuals and firm representatives, including members of the internal social mobility action group (RISE), the Early Talent team, and lawyers from across the firm who all share a passion for social mobility.

‘Global Virtual Internships’, which aim to provide students with easy access to exceptional learning resources and opportunities, designed by Clifford Chance experts, to support the development of the future generation of world-class lawyers.

All feeding into applying for a ‘training contract’, for students interested in a career in commercial law.

Early Talent Acquisition specialist at Clifford Chance, Chloe Hatchett Sparkes, commented on the partnership with Goldsmiths Law: “We’re excited to be collaborating with Goldsmiths University and expand our reach in the UK. The way the University teaches and provides opportunities for their students was a key reason for this new partnership and we look forward to seeing Goldsmiths students participate in our programmes and events!”.

The Head of the Department of Law at Goldsmiths, Prof Giannoulopoulos, added: “We live and breathe aspiration at Goldsmiths; we want our students to know there are no limits to what they can achieve, if they set their mind upon it and invest the hard work required—they know we’ll be there to support them along the way. I am thrilled about, and thankful for, this dynamic partnership with Clifford Chance, which will generate invaluable, and in some cases life-shaping, I have no doubt, career development opportunities for our students”.

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My name is Eleni Alexia, I am an international student from Germany studying LLB Law with Politics and Human Rights at Goldsmiths and am about to enter my second year. I have chosen to do this LLB pathway, as I have always had a strong interest in Politics and aspire to one day be a part of it. For this reason, I have sought out the opportunity for an internship at NATO, specifically the JSEC (Joint Support and Enabling Command) Headquarters.

Before delving deeper into the JSEC department and its roles, it is essential to provide a brief overview of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its significance.

NATO consists of thirty-two member states that have come to an agreement of Military Alliance, if one of its member states should face the threat of an attack. NATO has long pursued its plan for expansion and strengthening as an international organization, particularly since the increase in terrorist attacks in Europe and Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. So far this has been accomplished through the member states investment in artillery, infrastructure and recruitment of soldiers, however also through NATOs expansion of its headquarters. Especially since the recent establishment of the Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC).

JSEC was established in Ulm, Germany in 2018 in direct response to Europe’s destabilizing security. The headquarters responsibility for now concern themselves with: Enablement, Reinforcement, and Sustainment. Thus, JSEC prepares for the instance of a crisis event in which soldiers, goods and equipment would need to be transported from several different member states to specific locations. However, this also includes making sure the relevant infrastructure is in place and clarifying military and civilian organizational relationships.

During my time at the Headquarters, I was able to explore departments such as the Political and Legal advisory. This provided me with an insight into how NATO is advised to proceed on decisions and relationships amongst member states. Beyond this I got to understand the intricate system of different personnel that NATO consists of such as, Civilian and Military staff and with that the many different occupations these take on.

This experience shaped my outlook on the changing of the political landscape in Europe and its future needs, and I will seek to draw upon it when taking the ‘International Law and Politics’ module, ‘Challenges to Democracy’ and other Law and Politics modules, in both the Law and Politics departments, as part of my academic study in Year 2 of my LLB pathway degree.