The Faculty of Law has a thriving calendar of lectures and seminars spanning the entire gamut of legal, political and philosophical topics. Regular programmes are run by many of the Faculty's Research Centres, and a number of high-profile speakers who are leaders in their fields often speak at the Faculty on other occasions as well.
Many such events are recorded in either audio or video, and subject to speaker consent. The introductions and Q&A sections are not usually included to encourage frank and open discussion.
Audio recordings are made available in a range of podcast collections, whilst videos are published to playlists via our YouTube channel.
The collections available currently are as follows:
Faculty and research centre events
Collection |
Description |
Availability |
Public Lectures from the Faculty of Law |
A general collection of public lectures either given at, or by members of, the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. This collection is a superset of other collections, including major public series such as the Sir David Williams Lecture and the Mackenzie Stuart Lecture, but also smaller series such as the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture, and individual one-off events. |
|
Law in Focus |
Law in Focus is a collection of short videos featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty. |
|
Cambridge Law Eminent Scholars Archive |
The Eminent Scholars Archive is an expanding archive developed by Lesley Dingle and Daniel Bates in which we document the careers and achievements of eminent scholars associated with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The archive includes biographies, bibliographies, photographs, recorded interviews and many other resources. |
|
Centre for Public Law (CPL) |
A collection of recordings from lectures, seminars and other events held by the Centre for Public Law (CPL) at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. |
|
The David Williams Lecture: The Centre for Public Law |
The Sir David Williams Lecture is an annual address delivered by a guest lecturer in honour of Sir David Williams, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of English Law and Emeritus Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. The lecture series is hosted by the Centre for Public Law (CPL). |
|
Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) Seminar Series |
The Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, runs a series of lunchtime seminars during the Michaelmas and Lent Terms. These seminars provide a platform for the presentation of new ideas by leading scholars from inside and outside the University. The lunchtime seminars address topical issues of European Union Law and Comparative Law, with a view to using collective debate as a forum for developing and disseminating ideas, and producing high quality research publications which contribute to an understanding of major issues in the European Union. |
|
The Mackenzie Stuart Lecture: The Centre for European Legal Studies |
The Mackenzie Stuart Lecture is an annual public lecture in honour of Lord Mackenzie-Stuart, the first British Judge to be President of the Court of Justice. The lecture is hosted at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, by the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS). Among the eminent scholars of European legal studies invited to give the lecture are Professor Joseph Weiler, former Judge David Edwards of the European Court of Justice, and Advocate-General Francis Jacobs of the European Court of Justice. |
|
EU Internet Regulation After Google Spain |
In March 2015, the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge held a major international conference on EU Internet Regulation After Google Spain, supported by the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) and Hogan Lovells. The theme for the Conference was to explore the implications of C-131/12 Google Spain; Google v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), Mario Costeja González (2014), the Court of Justice of the European Union's long awaited "right to be forgotten" case. Although directly focused on search engines, this key judgment had wider implications. Sessions therefore, explored not only the future of search engines’ data protection obligations but also the general shape of EU regulation of the internet, questions related to jurisdiction and applicable law and the historic pathway to the Google Spain judgment. |
|
3CL Travers Smith Seminar Series |
The Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law (3CL) at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, was formally opened by Lord Mustill at the conclusion of its first conference on 'Shareholder's Rights and Remedies' (held on 12 April 1997). The 3CL has links with similar institutions in universities around the world, and through the Faculty's Herbert Smith Visitor Programme, it is able from time to time to invite leading international corporate and securities lawyers to Cambridge. The 3CL is a member of Cambridge Finance which coordinates the programmes of research and study in all areas of finance across the University of Cambridge. 3CL is grateful to Travers Smith for the generous support of the seminar series. |
|
Centre for Criminal Justice Lectures and Seminars |
The Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice (CCCJ) brings together members of the Faculty, students and visitors researching into all aspects of criminal justice. |
|
CIPIL Intellectual Property Seminar Series |
The Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) was founded in 2004. Through its activities, CIPIL aims to promote the investigation, understanding and critical appraisal of these important fields of law. The CIPIL Intellectual Property Seminar Series brings together specialist speakers to discuss prevailing issues in relation to copyright, patents, trademarks, design rights, and other subjects. The Centre brings together a group of legal academics already recognised for their historical and inter-disciplinary, as well as doctrinal, research. Drawing on the resources of Cambridge University, CIPIL is ideally positioned to carry out and promote well-informed interdisciplinary work. |
|
Private Law Centre Lectures and Seminars |
The Cambridge Private Law Centre (CPLC) facilitates research and informed debate across all branches of private law including obligations, property, family and private international law. The Centre supports the wide dissemination of rigorous and useful research, broadly informed by a variety of doctrinal, theoretical, empirical, historical and comparative perspectives. |
|
Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences Lectures |
The Cambridge Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences (LML), led by Professor Kathleen Liddell (Director) and Dr Jeffrey Skopek (Deputy Director), advances research and teaching on legal and ethical challenges at the forefront of medicine and the life sciences. This collection contains lectures and other events held by the LML. |
|
Centre for English Legal History (CELH) Events |
The Centre for English Legal History (CELH) was formally established in 2016 to provide a hub for researchers working in legal history across the University of Cambridge. The Centre supports researchers in any discipline whose interests touch upon English legal history, whenever or whatever their focus might be. It runs a fortnightly seminar series during each term of the academic year, and an annual lecture in Michaelmas term. |
|
LCIL International Law Seminar Series |
The Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (LCIL) is the scholarly home of International law at the University of Cambridge. The Centre, founded by Sir Elihu Lauterpacht QC in 1983, serves as a forum for the discussion and development of international law and is one of the specialist law centres of the Faculty of Law. The Centre holds weekly lectures on topical issues of international law by leading practitioners and academics. |
|
The Goodhart Lecture |
The University of Cambridge established the Arthur Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science to commemorate the eightieth birthday of Arthur Lehman Goodhart, who was, at the time, Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University, retired Master of University College Oxford, and Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall and Trinity College Cambridge. In January 2023, Goodhart Professor Professor Campbell McLachlan KC reinstated the annual Goodhart Lecture as an event in the Faculty calendar. |
|
Cambridge Socio-Legal Group (CSLG) Events |
The Cambridge Socio-Legal Group (CSLG) is an interdisciplinary discussion forum promoting debate on topical socio-legal issues and empirical research methodology. It is affiliated with several departments across the University, including the Faculty of Law, the Institute of Criminology, the Centre for Family Research and Physiology, Development & Neuroscience (PDN). The Group serves to bring together people from within Cambridge and farther afield from different disciplines, including Law, Criminology, POLIS, Sociology, Psychology, Psychiatry, PDN, Biology, Economics, History and Social Anthropology. This collection contains lectures and other events held by the CSLG. |
|
International Surrogacy Forum 2019 |
In June 2019 the Cambridge Family Law Centre (CFL) together with the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Family Law, held an event which explored a range of issues and challenges surrounding the law and practice of national and international surrogacy from a practical perspective. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics and other participants discussed the legal consequences of the rise in surrogacy arrangements and, in particular, reproductive tourism. |
|
Institute of Criminology
Collection |
Description |
Availability |
Institute of Criminology |
This collection comprises lectures and seminars from the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, UK, which has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both research and teaching. The Institute, founded by Sir Leon Radzinowicz 50 years ago, was one of the first criminological institutes in Europe and has exerted a strong influence on the development of the discipline. Many of the academic staff are international leaders in their fields. Staff hail from multidisciplinary international backgrounds and their interests cover a broad range of topics. In recognition of their outstanding research, Cambridge criminologists have been awarded numerous prestigious international awards. |
|
The English Riots in 2011: A Discussion from Different Criminological Perspectives |
In March 2012 the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge held a special public seminar which comprised a panel discussion based on the central topic of 'The English Riots in 2011: A Discussion from Different Criminological Perspectives'. |
|
Student organisations and events
Collection |
Description |
Availability |
Trinity Hall Law Society Speakers |
Trinity Hall Law Society (THLS), at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, hosts a range of educational, professional and social events for students interested in the law. |
|
Wolfson Sir David Williams Law Society Speakers |
Wolfson Law Society (WLS), at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, hosts a range of educational, professional and social events for students interested in the law. |
|
Cambridge University Law Society Speakers |
The Cambridge University Law Society (CULS) is one of the oldest and largest student run societies in the University, the country and indeed the world. With a membership base of over a 1000, its aims are manifold and its enterprises diverse. Each year, the Law Society invites eminent speakers to address its members. The events are an exciting chance to hear from leaders in their respective fields about issues crucial to the modern legal world. This collection includes the student-led CULSCast Conversations episodes. |
|
Cambridge Students Explore the Law |
Legal academics spend their waking hours studying the law. But what exactly does this involve? Join three law students in chats with Cambridge academics about their research interests, career pathways and things they find exciting. Whether you’re a student considering studying the law, a law student yourself, or just someone curious about the mystifying world of legal academia, this is the podcast for you. |
|
Cambridge Pro Bono Events |
The Faculty has hosted student-run Pro Bono organisations over the years. The Cambridge Pro Bono Project (CPP) was established within the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge in 2010, and launched by Professor Philippe Sands KC. It is administered by an Executive Committee, consisting of Faculty members and graduate law students. Since its inauguration, the CPP has partnered with dozens of bodies, including NGOs, charities, barristers’ chambers and courts. The CPP is a research centre, not a legal clinic. It works on a model which draws on the subject-matter expertise of graduate doctoral researchers, masters students, and Faculty experts, to produce reports on a wide range of public interest matters, including in the fields of public international law, criminal law, and domestic British public law. Events held by CPP are included in this collection. |
|
Information on upcoming lectures and seminars can be found in the Events Calendar.