DeepMind experts visit our AI, Disruptive Technologies and the Law Year 3 class.

Last week, we welcomed Iason Gabriel and William Isaac from DeepMind’s AI Ethics and Society Team at Goldsmiths (virtually). William and Iason joined our ‘AI, Disruptive Technologies and the Law’ Year 3 class—to talk about their cutting-edge research on AI ethics, fairness and governance, and to answer our students’ questions.

DeepMind is one of the world’s leading AI companies, responsible for various innovative products such as AlphaGo (which beat former Go champion Lee Se-dol 4-1) and AlphaFold (AI designed to solve protein folding, one of the grandest challenges in science). DeepMind’s Ethics Team in particular, where William and Iason are senior research scientists, deals with the key ethical challenges raised by AI—its goal is to build safe, accountable and socially beneficial AI that works for all. William is an expert in the areas of fairness and governance of AI, and his work has been featured in leading publications including Science and the New York Times. Iason is a political theorist and philosopher, with expertise in AI ethics and distributive justice, whose work has been featured in Nature and recent European Parliament reports on AI.

In this session, Iason and William talked about their fascinating work in the area and discussed two of their recent papers with our students: ‘Decolonial AI: Decolonial Theory as Sociotechnical Foresight in Artificial Intelligence’; and ‘Artificial Intelligence, Values, and Alignment’. These articles aim to address a range of complex socio-economic challenges posed by AI—we reflected on decolonial theory in the context of AI and the key question of addressing algorithmic oppression, exploitation and dispossession through responsible and fair AI governance. We discussed the challenge of building ethically-aligned AI systems and the normative framework necessary to achieve this, emphasizing the importance of establishing a fair, robust and genuinely inclusive process for identifying such principles.

The session thus exposed our Law students to world-leading research on AI ethics and governance and allowed them to reflect on the future of artificial intelligence more generally.

Goldsmiths Law’s Dr Plamen Dinev, a leading expert on the relationship between the Law (particularly Intellectual Property law) and technology is teaching and coordinating the AI, Disruptive Technologies and the Law module, which embeds a number of thought-provoking encounters with industry experts and academics.

We are thrilled to welcome Jessica Simor QC and Schona Jolly QC as VisitingProfessors in the Department.

Jessica Simor QC is a founding member of Matrix Chambers. In 2016, she was a UK nominee for Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, and is recognised as one of the country’s leading specialists in public law, EU law and human rights law. From 1993-1997, she worked in the Environment Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels, the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg and then as legal adviser to the Human Rights Ombudsman in Bosnia.

Jessica was counsel in numerous landmark cases, including Smith and Grady v UK (ending the ban on homosexuals in the Armed Forces), R (Wright) v Home Secretary (the first case in which the Home Secretary was ordered to initiate a public inquiry into a death in custody) as well as the historic R (Miller) v Prime Minister case; she represented the second claimant there, Dos Santos.

Jessica’s work on Brexit continues to attract significant engagement from legal and policy experts in the area. She is also currently acting in the judicial review challenge to the decision of UK Export Finance Department and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to provide UK financing of $1.15bn in respect of Total’s liquid natural gas development in Cap Delgado in Mozambique, and is leading a project to advocate for EU legislation with extra-territorial effects to ensure a living wage for workers in the garment sector.

Schona Jolly QC is the Chair of the Bar Human Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) (which means Goldsmiths Law now has as Visiting Professors the current and former Chairwomen of BHRC; Kirsty Brimelow QC was the first Chairwoman of the BHRC) and Head of Human Rights Practice Group at Cloisters Chambers.

Schona is bringing to Goldsmiths her unique insight and leading expertise in international human rights law and the rule of law internationally.

Over the last decade, Schona has been at the forefront of international human rights and rule of law work in countries around the world, including Central Asia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Turkey and across South Asia. Her dynamic and practical contributions to the field engage law and policy.

She has deep expertise in equality and discrimination law, with an international focus on minority rights.

Students and academics at Goldsmiths work closely with our eminent Visiting Professors, who teach our students, support our research and join forces with our academic team in much needed public and community engagement.

The learning never stops in our programme, and we continuously link our students with relevant events in central London (in addition to embedding field trips to legal institutions, law courts and law firms in London as part of curricular activity). We invited our students to attend a film screening, Q & A and launch of a Legal Empowerment project at global law firm Simmons and Simmons, on October 25. We were delighted to hear that a few of them managed to attend in person, while others watched the livestream.

The event was put together by Lawyers Against Poverty (LAP), Simmons & Simmons, The Alliance for Lawyers at Risk, Action4Justice and Peace Brigades International UK. The wider project aims to bridge the gap between the climate justice and human rights movements and the international legal community, and asks the question of whether tackling climate change can be seen as a human rights issue (we asked the same question in our annual human rights lecture 2021, with the UK Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Tim Eicke QC).

Year 3 student, Olivia Burns, who attended the event from the offices of Simmons and Simmons, explained that the event “drew a parallel between human rights and climate justice” that would be “useful to reference in work [she] will be submitting in the Human Rights Law & Clinic module this year”. Olivia added that the event “raised some interesting discussions about the realities/difficulties of enforcing human rights rulings in isolated and exploited communities – particularly when your fight is against states and powerful corporations”, and that it also “looked at our spiritual connection with land and how that may impact how ownership is viewed by indigenous communities versus the corporations trying to use the land”.

This academic year we appointed Dr Sally Adams as our first Lecturer in Legal Practice, Law Clinics and the SQE (to cite the full title, which shows the breadth and depth of this exciting new role).

In the Q & A below, Sally speaks about her prior experience, and reflects on her ambitions in the new role.

You’re joining the Law department as the first Lecturer in Legal Practice, with special responsibility for Law Clinics and the SQE, a particularly wide-ranging and ambitious role. Tell us a little bit about how the role appealed to you, and specific elements of your professional and research experience that you’re seeking to bring to Goldsmiths in performing this role?

I was excited by the opportunity to join Goldsmiths’ Law department.  As Goldsmiths’ law degrees have been designed from the outset with a focus on experiential learning and an eye to the SQE, the Lecturer in Legal Practice role seemed a perfect fit with both Goldsmiths’ approach and my background and interests.

Where did you work, and where did you study, before joining Goldsmiths?

For the past year, I have been a visiting lecturer at the University of Law teaching law and sociology to undergraduates.

In 2019 I completed a PhD in Law at King’s College London.  My thesis considered how immigration law regulating high-skilled migration to the UK informed and was informed by mainstream migration narratives and how, in turn, these narratives contributed to highly skilled migrants’ identity formation.

Before starting my PhD, I was a solicitor in practice. I completed my training contract at a legal aid firm in Newcastle upon Tyne and stayed with the firm post-qualification to specialise in immigration law.   I subsequently joined the Immigration Department at London firm Kingsley Napley where I worked for some ten years, initially as a solicitor and then as a partner.

The Department of Law is very passionate about connecting legal theory with legal practice. What are the key challenges and opportunities in doing that?

In my experience of legal practice, law was understood almost exclusively as an instrument or tool to be used to achieve client objectives. In the academy however this instrumental view of law is but one of many ways to conceptualise law. Nevertheless, the practice of law and academic law or legal theory are closely connected. Indeed, the links and tensions between theory and practice and the extent to which one informs the other was something that I only appreciated fully when undertaking my doctoral research.

Integrating theory and practice is challenging.  Concepts of morality for example may seem far removed from litigating a claim in negligence. However, by studying legal theory alongside aspects of practice, that is, by ‘doing’ law with reference to contemporary real-life issues, not only helps to highlight the connections and ruptures between specific laws and their theoretical underpinnings but also helps to encourage students to interrogate commonplace legal and social assumptions and practices.

What would you advise students joining Law School right now? How can they strike a good balance between pursuing academic excellence, on the one hand, and building a solid CV, demonstrating close engagement with the external world, on the other?

There is no right answer to this. We each have strengths and weaknesses, different needs and priorities and competing demands on our time. Noting that there is no single approach to studying law, I think students should understand what they most want to achieve during their time at Goldsmiths and try to allocate their time accordingly.  This should not be a one-off exercise but rather an on-going conversation between students and staff in recognition that students’ focus and aims and therefore the balance of their activities can and undoubtedly will change over time.

Year 1 LLB students participating in a debating exercise during welcome week (September 2021). The SQE2 module enables students to practice legal skills central to the examination for qualifying as a solicitor.

Goldsmiths Law takes a very proactive approach to the SQE, embedding some preparation for this radically different new examination for qualifying as a solicitor into the degree. This includes a Year 3 specialist module, SQE2 Practical Legal Skills in Context, that you’ll be leading on. Tell us about your plans for this module.

The SQE 2 module will not stand alone but will build on the substantive and practical skills that students will have already developed during their time at Goldsmiths. My aim is for the module to support students in developing some of the key skills and know-how that lawyers need to succeed in their professional lives. The module’s content and methods of assessment will be closely aligned to those of the SQE 2 itself to enable students to prepare for the real thing. The emphasis will be very much on ‘doing law’: students will practise their skills – client interviewing, legal drafting, case analysis and so on – with reference to scenarios similar to those encountered in practice.

 More broadly, what are you looking forward to the most being at Goldsmiths?

I am really looking forward to engaging with students and members of the department to both support and learn from them. Although I enjoyed teaching online last year, perhaps more than I expected, it will be good to be back in the classroom face to face.

What hobbies are you leaning into?

After 18 months of intermittent lockdowns, I am tentatively rediscovering London’s cultural riches. I have also just started a wine tasting course so hope to be able to distinguish between red and black fruit aromas by the end of the year.

Other than that, I enjoy walking – both hiking across fields with the dog and strolling around unfamiliar parts of London and other cities.

Goldsmiths Law is very excited to welcome several new colleagues to our department this September.

Dr Sheri Labenski joins us from the LSE, where she has worked as a Research Officer in the Centre for Women, Peace, and Security, as part of the ERC funded project Gendered Peace. Sheri’s research cuts across the areas of gender, armed conflict, peace and international law, and is a wonderful addition to the expertise that will inform the development of LLM programmes at Goldsmiths Law. In the LLB programme, Sheri will be leading on the English Legal System in a Global Context module (and looks forward to injecting a feminist approach to the international law perspective that is central to teaching in it). She will be also making a substantial contribution to Contract Law and will be convening final year dissertations across our three programmes among other things. 

Dr Miranda Bevan also joins us from the LSE. Miranda spent two years at the Law Commission as lawyer with responsibility for the Unfitness to Plead Report published in 2016, and, more recently, 12 months as a Policy Associate at the Howard League for Penal Reform, where her work focussed on reducing the imprisonment of women. She had previously practiced as a criminal barrister at 2 Hare Court (2000-2012). Miranda’s teaching focus at the LLB will include Criminal Evidence, 21^st Century Legal Skills and Criminal Law, and she will also assume responsibility for coordinating activity in the LLB Law with Criminal Justice and Human Rights as director of the programme. Her expertise in criminal law and criminal evidence is a great fit with Goldsmiths Law’s strengths in this area.

Dr Aysem Diker Vanberg joins us from the University of Greenwich, where she was a Senior Lecturer specialising in EU Competition Law and IT Law. Aysem has previously worked at Anglia Ruskin University and Essex. She holds a PhD from the University of Essex, an LLM from the University of Bremen and an LLB (Hons) from the University of Ankara (Turkey). She is a recognised authority on competition law, digital markets and online platforms and data protection law. Her work has been cited by academic and legal practitioners in the UK and internationally. Before moving to the UK, Aysem had qualified as a lawyer in Turkey and worked as a lead in-house counsel for multinational companies including MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG and Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal. Aysem will assume the responsibility to design and deliver the first elements in our commercial/corporate law offering as a programme, convening ‘Commercial Law and International Trade Agreements’ as well as Company Law while looking after other commercial/corporate law relevant aspects (at LLB and LLM level).

Finally, we’re also very excited to welcome to Goldsmiths our first Lecturer in Legal Practice, Law Clinics and the SQE, Dr Sally Adams. Sally joins us from the University of Law, where she was teaching academic writing, foundations of law and foundations of social science. In 2019, Sally completed her PhD in immigration law at King’s, where she was also a visiting tutor. Previously Sally practised immigration law for over 10 years, most recently as a partner at the law firm Kingsley Napley LLP. Sally will be convening the SQE2 module, and the Placement module in Year 3 of the programme and will be assisting us with embedding elements of professional legal practice and the SQE exam across our modules and enriching our professional networks and provision of pro bono legal services.

Goldsmiths Law students, from Year 1 and 2 of the LLB programme, have been offered some exceptional opportunities to partake in social justice placements across London this academic year, as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Pro Bono Community organisation. Pro Bono Community are seeking to improve access to justice by providing specialist training in legal advice and social welfare law to lawyers, trainees and students and then placing them as volunteers at Law Centres and advice agencies.

Naomi (a Year 1 student) is volunteering at University House Legal Advice Centre. She is volunteering with their employment team and is assisting with their Virtual Lawyer project, helping to reach people who need employment advice via an app.

Dominica (Year 2) is volunteering with the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, (IWGB) assisting their Cleaners and Facilities Branch. Dominica’s fluency in Spanish has been a great advantage to her when providing support with employment law issues.

Meylssa (Year 2) is volunteering with Age UK Lambeth, working with a specific neighbourhood team to support their residents.

Rianna (Year 1) is working with Justice for Tenants, supporting those living in rented accommodation in London whose homes are under threat. Volunteering is invaluable to organisations active in this area, given the increasing challenges that those renting accommodation face in the capital.

Finally, Martyna (Year 1) and Mohammed Junaid (Year 2) are volunteering with Sufra, supporting their Advice Triage and Signposting Services. This is what Martyna had to say on her experience there:

“Sufra NW London Foodbank provides a range of services to their guests. I am a signposting volunteer, volunteering every Wednesday from 10-2 pm.

The role consists of managing cases of the food bank’s guests, checking in and signposting guests to other organisations which can aid them with hardships such as debt or homelessness – the work is mainly done via telephone, and occasionally by email.

A normal volunteering day consists of contacting a few guests. Before the initial calls, the volunteers have to cross-reference various managing systems such as the internal management hub, spreadsheets, and the database where the cases are input and stored by the volunteers and Sufra.

The interaction with the guests in this placement is highly rewarding; a few weeks ago, I was able to help a man who had recently been allocated to a flat after being homeless, by facilitating access to food and employment.

In addition to taking part in Pro Bono Community placements, Goldsmiths students are  also partaking, in the current academic year, in the inaugural cohort of the Refugee Law Clinic at the University of London (along with students from the LSE, King’s, UCL, Queen Mary and other University of London Law Schools) while also supporting the Exclusion Advocacy Clinic, coordinated by Southwark’s Community Harm and Exploitation Hub, where they are given the unique opportunity to offer confidential representation at the point of school/college exclusion.

David Malone, Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division at the CPS, with Prof Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, in the criminal practice lecture on “criminal trials”.

David Malone, Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division at the Crown Prosecution Service (and leading barrister at Red Lion Chambers), introduced Goldsmiths students to guiding principles on Prosecuting in criminal trials, as part of criminal practice lectures that run parallel to lectures on the theory of criminal law in Year 1 of the LLB.

David touched upon what verdicts mean for victims, and how important it is for them to have their “day in court”; the  central role of the Full Code Test for prosecutions; rules of evidence in criminal trials; the importance of creating a rapport with the jury in the environment of the criminal trial; and the challenges in prosecuting (or defending) historic sexual offences, among other topics that he discussed.

David also spoke with great enthusiasm about the CPS as an employer, particularly its strong desire for diversity and inclusion, stressing the unique career opportunities available there, strongly encouraging our students to consider a future at the CPS.

Earlier on in the term, Mr Curt Wise, Senior Specialist Prosecutor at the CPS (Specialist Fraud Division), spoke to students in detail about initiating criminal prosecutions, providing analysis of the various factors that prosecutors must take into account, and drawing, on the (virtual) whiteboard, the various steps in the thought process that prosecutors must undertake before making up their mind about whether to proceed with a prosecution.

Our law programme is delighted to inject views from the CPS, and draw on their experience, when teaching criminal law theory and practice to students at the LLB Law and LLB Law with Criminal Justice and Human Rights programmes.

We are very thankful to the CPS for their interest in our programme and are greatly looking forward to seeing this collaboration progress further.

Our Lecturer in Law, Dr Fatima Ahdash, was recently cited in the Annual Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-terrorism and Human Rights, presented to the UN Human Rights Council’s forty-sixth session.

The report, which addresses the impact of counter-terrorism laws and policies on the rights of women, girls and the family, mentions Ahdash’s ground-breaking analysis of family law’s recent interaction with counter-terrorism in the UK, including a term that she has developed: the familialization of terrorism.