We are delighted to announce a virtual roundtable discussion (via Zoom) on Race and Policing in the US and the UK (June 25, 18:00-19:45 BST; 10:00-11:45 Pacific Time) in collaboration with Garden court Chambers, recognised as one of the leading civil liberties and human rights barristers’ chambers in the UK, and Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), home to world-renowned faculty, with a distinctive pro bono graduation requirement and a strong commitment to ethics, public interest and diversity. You can register with the event here.

The roundtable will offer reflection on how the tragic death of George Floyd has brought to the fore, with unparalleled force, the troubled relationship between race and policing in the US, and how it requires us to continue to ask serious questions, and take urgent action, about racialised police violence in the UK.

Prof Eric Miller (Loyola Law School)

This will be a unique opportunity to hear from leaders in the field: Eric Miller, Professor of Law and Leo J. O’Brien Fellow at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, former Charles Hamilton Houston Fellow at Harvard, and former joint fellow at the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute and the Harvard Civil Rights Project, whose work pays particular attention to the study of policing, race and problem-solving courts. 

Leslie Thomas QC (Garden Court Chambers)

Leslie Thomas QC (Garden Court Chambers), one of the leading authorities in the UK, in claims against the police and other public authorities, and claims against corporate bodies. Leslie is one of the top rated silks in the UK, and an expert in all aspects of inquests and public inquiries, having represented many bereaved families, in particular where there has been abuse of state or corporate power; he is currently representing 23 clients including survivors, bereaved family members and loved ones in the Grenfell Tower inquiry.

Maya Sikand (Garden Court Chambers)

Maya Sikand, the head of Garden Court Chambers’ Civil Liberties and Human Rights Team, who has an almost exclusively public law/civil liberties practice, primarily holding public authorities to account. Maya was shortlisted for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Junior of the Year by Legal 500 UK Awards 2020, and Public Law Junior of the Year by Legal 500 UK Awards 2018.

Goldsmiths’ Inaugural Chair in Law, Prof Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, chairing the event.