Following the success of last year’s symposium, the Centre for Legal Education and the Legal Profession at Westminster Law School hosted its second annual symposium, The Law School of the Future, bringing together legal educators, academics, practitioners and sector stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of legal education and the legal profession.
Held on 8 September, the symposium, through a range of engaging sessions and discussions, offered an important space for collaboration, reflection and the exchange of ideas on how law schools can best prepare the next generation of lawyers in an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving world.
Professor Alex Nicholson from the University of Leeds kicked off the event with a welcome address and opening keynote titled What If Our Assessments No Longer Drive Learning?, which introduced a manifesto for the law school of the future. Four parallel sessions were held with four panels in each one, allowing speakers to share research, practical approaches and best practice while strengthening connections across the legal education community.
Across the day, speakers from universities in the UK, Europe and Australia explored themes including artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, alternative assessments, resilience and belonging, access to justice, ethical AI use, curriculum design, employability and the role of technology in shaping future legal practice. Presentations examined generative AI adoption, algorithmic justice, interdisciplinary teaching, widening participation, authentic assessment and decolonising the curriculum, alongside discussions on how AI is reshaping legal writing, legal ethics, dispute resolution, student support systems and the skills required of a lawyer in an AI‑enabled profession.
The symposium concluded with a networking reception over refreshments.
About the symposium, Dr Marloes Spreeuw, Director of the Centre for Legal Education and the Legal Profession at the University, said: “The legal profession and higher education are changing rapidly and generative AI is inevitably part of that conversation. But the Law School of the Future is about much more than technology. It is about asking what it means to educate a lawyer for the future: what and how we teach, how we assess, the knowledge and skills our students will need, and how we ensure that their experience, wellbeing, sense of belonging and future careers remain at the heart of what we do.
“What made the symposium particularly valuable was the breadth of perspectives and the willingness of colleagues to share ideas, challenge one another and learn from each other. These are not questions that any one law school, academic or part of the profession can answer alone. My hope was that everyone would leave with at least one new idea, one new connection or one thing they wanted to try, and the conversations throughout the day made me feel that we achieved exactly that.”
The symposium directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education, 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Learn more about Law courses at the University of Westminster.
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