Category Archives: Law

Law on Trial 2023: free, public talks based on topical themes

Professor Adam Gearey is a Professor of Law at Birkbeck’s Department of Law. In this blog, Professor Gearey explores this year’s themes of Law on Trial, the School of Law’s annual week of free, public events taking place from Monday 19 to Friday 23 June.

This year’s Law on Trial takes place at a special time. We are celebrating the 200th anniversary of Birkbeck, University of London and the 30th anniversary of Birkbeck’s Law School. It is also more or less 191 years to the day that the legal philosopher John Austin finished his lectures on jurisprudence, the philosophy and theory of law, at the University of London, and in a fit of melancholy, immediately left for France. It might seem a little strange to link these two moments together. But perhaps George Birkbeck, John Austin, and Sarah Austin did share a similar concern. The education of the working classes.

John and Sarah, like George, worried that the multitude were condemned to their own “doom” (Austin 1986). Compelled to earn a “precarious livelihood” they could not develop their “childish and imbecilic intellects” (Austin 1986). More worryingly, rather than obedience to the law, the working class appeared to be sympathetic to criminals and were bent on causing trouble (Austin 1986). It was imperative that the “multitude” should grasp the “leading principles” of the moral sciences and apply them to the conditions of their own lives. Only then would the masses be willing to accept the “authority of others” (Austin 1986).

No doubt George Birkbeck did not share all these sentiments. He probably disagreed with Austin’s bizarre idea that teaching jurisprudence would provide the very “rationale” of the law that would legitimise authority to those who were all but ready to tear it all down.

Which, by an interesting coincidence, is almost the title of a Dexys Midnight Runner’s song. A song that, one might think, is the opposite of John Austin’s stuffy defence of the establishment. Kevin Rowland’s ‘Burn it Down’ is a call to be creative: to think, to act differently. Perhaps things now are not that different from 1831: the precarious are required to accept their precarity. However, an education in soul music, rather than jurisprudence, might now be the key to the moral sciences.

Indeed, if there was a “wild philosophy” that so upset Austin, you will find it in the panels and talks that will take place in Law on Trial 2023. Law on Trial kicks off on the 19th June. The first panel is an engagement with intellectual property (creations of the mind). Tattoos and patent drawings will be discussed by Fiona Macmillan, Henrique Carvalho and Guido Comparato. The next panel, on the 20th, celebrates 30 years of Birkbeck graduates. Daniel Monk will chair a panel tracing the diverse paths taken by Birkbeck students from the classroom to practice. On the 21st June, the panel on the social and political lives of trials, reminds us that the old order is very much in place: disciplining bodies and minds. As Allison Tait, Mayur Suresh and Basak Ertur will remind us: what else can you do but resist injustice? Just after the solstice, on the 22nd June, Alex Sharpe summons the presence of the great David Bowie for a spirited discussion about the three love lessons apparent in Bowie’s work. Finally, on the 23rd June, ecological destruction and climate litigation are put on trial by Stewart Motha and Fleur Ramsay. A fitting conclusion for a panel taking place as London heats up for the hottest summer since 1884.

Further information

References

John Austin, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (London: Hackett, 1986) Pages 64, 65, 66, 70.

Dexys Midnight Runners, Burn it Down, on Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, EMI/Parlophone, 1980.

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“Birkbeck understood my background and circumstances, and granted me the chance to achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer” 

Gladys Paulsen has just graduated with an LLB Law and Commercial Law degree and is embarking on a new career in law after a 20-year career in sales. This is her story. 

pic of graduate, Gladys Paulsen

I was only 18 years old and finishing my second year of law school in Brazil, when my father informed me that I couldn’t continue studying because of our financial situation. I was heartbroken. 

I decided to embark on a different career and entered the aviation sales industry, working tirelessly to improve our family’s circumstances. Over 20 years, I worked my way up the ladder to a Regional Sales Manager position.  

After a prosperous career, three years ago I decided to pursue my ambition of becoming a human rights lawyer once again. I chose Birkbeck because it was rated as one of the best universities for law in England, and it’s well known in the law field as being one of the best. It was an easy decision! Fortunately, Birkbeck understood my background and circumstances, and granted me the chance to achieve my dream, whilst continuing to work full time.  

Being a Birkbeck student has been fantastic for my career. I’ve been introduced to great law firms through pupillage seminars, and I was able to serve as a volunteer for the Refugee Law Clinic during my studies, as well as being a policy researcher for the Environmental Law Foundation Policy Clinic. Birkbeck provided me with an exceptional mentor who guided me through the process of becoming a commercial lawyer. I’ve found that having a University of London degree adds huge weight to my CV as the University of London is one of the most respected universities in the country. As well as setting me up for my future, through Birkbeck I’ve made friends for life, from a variety of cultures and ages, who I go out for dinner and drinks with, as well as going to the opera house.  

Studying wasn’t without its challenges – English isn’t my native tongue; I was diagnosed with dyslexia during my studies; and my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in my second year. However, Birkbeck provided me with the necessary assistance. I am so appreciative of the mental health, disability support and learning support help I received, which has meant I’ve earned a first-class degree in Law! 

pic of Gladys and family

My entire family is flying over from Brazil to attend my Graduation, as well as my sister, who has won her fight against cancer. I am forever grateful to Birkbeck for providing me with the opportunity to study and assisting me in achieving my dream.  

Further information 

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“Birkbeck opened the door to my new life”

Catherine Bourne’s life was changed when she witnessed the exploitation of human rights in Georgia. It led her to study MA Human Rights 33 years later and embark on a career change. This is her story. 

Catherine Bourne

The moment that changed my life 

It was 1989 and I was 18 years old, studying Foreign Languages at university and living in the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. I was participating in a peaceful demonstration for independence, but we were met with violent retaliations by the Soviet Army which left 21 people dead, mainly young women aged 16 and 18. Witnessing these events unfold in front of my eyes was when I first questioned the understanding and laws of human rights.   

10 years later, I moved to London to start a new life  

I give birth to a girl and a boy and then in 2005, I accepted a job in my son’s school, working with autistic children and supporting them. It felt so rewarding to be able to help them.  

In 2012, I filed for a divorce because of domestic violence 

This personal experience ignited something inside of me and it was a similar feeling I had back in 1989 at the demonstration: I felt I needed to do something and be an advocate for the rights of women and children. In 2019 I decided to take the leap and I was accepted to study MA Human Rights at Birkbeck. 

I was so scared to start studying again after 20 years 

My children were my biggest supporters and they encouraged me to persevere, even though I was frightened I wouldn’t be able to do it. I even ran away from the Library on my first day. 

The course was everything I could have hoped for 

I found the lectures so stimulating and especially enjoyed the module on the future globalization of human rights. I was pleased to make friends on the course who I still keep in touch with now. My application to the Birkbeck Hardship Fund also meant I was given a personal laptop which I’m so grateful for. 

Volunteering with Afghan mums  

I’m building up my confidence to work in the field of human rights, by volunteering every week with Afghan mums and assisting them with questions about living in the UK and teaching them English.  

I’m so excited for the future and embarking on a new career in human rights. I was uncertain about doing a degree aged 49 but Birkbeck offers the chance for everyone to study and change their lives, regardless of age, background or circumstance. For others who are my age and wondering if it is the right thing to do, I’d say go for it!  

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“It’s never too late to achieve your goals and ambitions and don’t let anything get in the way.”

Netty Yasin spent her life advocating for her daughters and her community, before deciding to pursue her life-long ambition of a legal career. This month she graduated from the Qualifying Law Degree (LLM); this is her #BBKgrad story.

Netty Yasin

Netty always had ambitions of a career in law, but life got in the way of her dream. She had intended to return to education once her two daughters (born 16 months apart) were in nursery, however when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning difficulties and a speech and language disorder, Netty channelled her energy into ensuring her daughter was able to thrive.

When her daughter was of school age, she found that the independent special school she was attending was not helping her progress, so she took matters into her own hands. “I could not find a school that suited her complex needs, so I found an American programme that really resonated with me because it didn’t set unjustified limits on what she could achieve. I did it myself, set up a classroom for her in one of our bedrooms and I taught her all day everyday while my other daughter was at school and she started to make really amazing progress.”

After home-schooling her daughter for six years, Netty was able to secure funding from the local council that meant that she could hire people to take over the day-time teaching. She then set about finding a role for herself, taking on a series of volunteer roles and eventually a full-time position as a Special Education Needs and Disabilities advisor, a job which she describes as rewarding. However, for Netty, her love of the law was never far from her mind and it was a conversation with her eldest daughter that spurred her back on to the path she had always intended to take. “We were talking about careers, one of those deep mother-daughter chats, and I was encouraging her not to limit herself and to pursue her dreams… she turned to me and said well, why don’t you just take your own advice. It was a lightbulb moment!”

Although she describes Birkbeck as a welcoming place, she recalls the challenges of her first year, having to balance studying with full-time work, and caring for her daughter and her mother who has Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to that she felt nervous about starting education at that stage of her life. “I had the sense that maybe I had left it too late. In the beginning I was so insular and nervous.”

To get past this, Netty threw herself into university life wholeheartedly. She  spent the weekends on Birkbeck’s mooting programme, even after initially suffering from a bout of stage fright in a practice session, she went back again and again, eventually entering two competitions and achieving second place out of six teams in the sole team competition.

Netty Yasin throwing up her capNext, she took hold of her fear of public speaking and made her debut at the Bloomsbury Theatre in the play, Othello on Trial, as part of a week of events for the School of Law’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Also, through her Birkbeck contacts she even spent some time volunteering with the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, an experience that she describes as ‘profound’, and took up the opportunity to have career coaching sessions that boosted her resolve in her future plans.

In her second year, Birkbeck’s careers service Birkbeck Futures put her in contact with Aspiring Solicitors, a leading diversity platform that helped her get commercial legal work experience at American Express and Sky while she was studying.

When asked about her favourite modules, Netty exclaims, “I am the nerd who enjoyed everything!”, even taking the time to voluntarily audit other modules in an effort to soak in as much as she could.

For many 2020 was defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, however for Netty, it was an unexpected illness that further tested her resilience. “In February 2020, I was hospitalised after suffering a sudden terrible headache and lost vision; it was really terrifying.” With doctors unable to provide a diagnosis, she suffered debilitating headaches for six months, while still being determined to finish her course. “I worked when I could, even if that meant waking up at 2:30am and working for four hours, taking a nap and then getting up with my daughter. I just did what I could to get through it and then, in a completely unexpected scenario, I got my highest ever mark in one of my exams.” In the end Netty surpassed her own expectations and achieved a distinction overall.

With her illness now behind her and her Master’s degree in hand, Netty is looking forward to qualifying as a commercial solicitor. This summer she’ll be completing a summer vacation scheme at a global law firm with the hope of obtaining a sponsored training contract at the end of it.

Undeterred by her age or circumstances, Netty believes that pursuing her ambitions came at the right time in her life and in closing reflects, “I can look my daughters in the eye and say I am doing what I am telling them, it’s never too late to achieve your goals and ambitions and don’t let anything get in the way.”

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