Law School Bulletin November 2024

Welcome to our November newsletter! I hope you have made the most of the many events that have been organised within the Law School so far this term. We’ve had two very high-profile lectures, namely, the Hamlyn lecture entitled ‘Frail Professionalism: Lawyers’ ethics after the Post Office and other cases’ delivered by Professor Richard Moorhead and the lecture delivered by lawyers Mark Aldred and Joanna Dimmock in discussion of their landmark case, the Unaoil trial and appeal. Attending such events is not only thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating, it can also enhance your employability perspectives as the guest speakers discuss their career path.

In this edition we have details of other events and opportunities taking place in the Law School as the first academic term comes to a close including our end of term celebration on Wednesday 11 December.

Best wishes,

Caroline

Professor Caroline Fournet, Head of Law School

📖Education Matters ✒️

We hope that this term has been enriching for you academically and personally. Around this time, you should be receiving feedback on your first formatives.

Please take time to consider all of the feedback available, whether individual or general (to the whole cohort):

• We'd encourage you to seek clarifications on the feedback with academic staff during their office hours.
• Ask yourself if there are common themes across the feedback you receive in different subjects, or from last year to this year.
• Book an appointment to see your academic tutor to discuss these and plan how you can address any areas for improvement.

Try not to worry about your feedback, it’s there to help you improve. If you find you are, it’s best to speak to your seminar tutor, module convenor and/or academic tutor as they will be able to go through it with you.

Don’t forget we also have support available to you:

• Our wellbeing services and team
• Your Pastoral Mentors, Sarah and Jay: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/pastoral-mentors/ 
• The Education Welfare team – there for you If your mental or physical health or wellbeing is affecting your ability to study, or your studying is creating health problems.

Now is also an important time to reflect on career planning. Seek support from the Careers Zone on whether and how to apply for vacation schemes and training contracts – as well as opportunities outside of law if that is your goal. We also recognise that students may not be ready to commit themselves to a particular career path, and that is OK too! Whatever stage you are at, and whatever your goals, do make use of all of the support available, whether that’s the Careers Zone or your academic tutor.

Kind regards,

Richard Bowyer and Dr David Yuratich, Co-Directors of Education and Student Experience

📰News ⌨️

Congratulations to all eight finalists who took part in the Client Interviewing Competition last Wednesday at Foot Anstey LLP. The winners were second year students Renee Trestyen and Atticus Walton-Hayfield.

Congratulations also to Renee and Atticus who won the recent Negotiation Competition. So this means the Client Interviewing runners-up, Emilia Hanusiak and Julia Gadek, will now represent the University and Law School at the National Client Interviewing Competition 2025. 

If you're interested in developing your skills in arbitration, we've just posted a new opportunity on the website here.

Researchers from Exeter Law School have won the “outstanding societal impact” category at the Economic and Social Research Council’s Celebrating Impact Prize 2024. The Awards recognise and reward ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved impact through exceptional research, knowledge exchange activities, collaborative partnerships and community engagement. The team are Professor Richard Moorhead, Professor Rebecca Helm, Sally Day 

Our news pages give you an insight into the research that is taking place in the Law School. Recent reads include the impact of extended reality technology, protecting children through age assurance systems and a call for papers to mark writer Jane Austen's 250th birthday. 

If you're looking to network with our academics and gain an insight to their work, join our new LinkedIn page. Recent stories include Professor Kubo Mačák's visit to Geneva where he has been working alongside other international humanitarian law experts in Geneva. Dr Christine Bicknell was in Worcester where she was invited to speak on the question: "Does the United Kingdom's reception of International Human Rights Norms weaken its status as a liberal democracy?". 

🔬Spotlight on Charlie Bishop 🎓

I (re)joined Exeter Law School in October after two years away and am delighted to be back.I have been here, teaching and carrying out research since I started my PhD in 2010. I teach Family Law and Criminal Law and in the past also convened the Gender, Sexuality and Law module. I research legal responses to gender-based violence from a feminist and socio-legal perspective, with a particular focus on domestic violence and/or abuse and coercive control. I advised the Law Commission on the recent reforms to the law on intimate image abuse in the context of domestic abuse, and these reforms are now included under the Online Safety Act 2023.

I am currently writing a paper on intimate image abuse as an emerging, and extremely concerning, strategy of coercive control as it affects private family law proceedings such as protection orders, child contact arrangements, and financial settlements following relationship breakdown. I am also in the early stages of a project exploring cases where domestic abuse victims are criminalised for ‘allowing’ their abusive partner to kill or seriously injury their child under s 5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act.

The final research project I am currently undertaking is interdisciplinary and aims to develop the first typology of homicides and homicide/suicides perpetrated by carers against the disabled person they are caring for. This has been a fascinating project so far, although very emotionally challenging at times due to the types of cases we have had to look at. You can read the project lead’s response to a recent case here.

Please do get in touch if you are thinking of doing a dissertation or further study in this area - I’m always happy to talk to students about issues related to my research and teaching.

📆 Events

Come and celebrate the end of term!

• Date: Wednesday 11 December 2024
• Venue: Amory 417
• Time: 3.30 - 6 pm

There is space for up to 100, so please book ahead. Full details here

📆 Opportunities

Our Opportunities page is regularly updated with employability events, Mooting opportunities, competitions and other items you may find of interest. Check out these recent additions: Employability workshop for alternative careers, our end of term celebration(See below in Events), a research seminar by Exeter Centre for International Law(ECIL). and an Arbitration Competition in London next year.

REMINDER: HRDF Poster competition

The timer is ticking to enter our poster competition marking Human Rights Day in December. The competition is open to all students, and your entry needs to reflect on the following: UDHR in 2024: existing rights and new rights for the future. Submissions need to be put on the padlet on ELE by Friday 29 November at 4pm.The winner will be announced at the Law School end of term celebration and awarded a first prize of £50 with two runners-ups receiving £25 each. See the winning entries at the end of term event.

📢Your Voice 

Academic Representation 

Don't forget to get in touch with your Student Reps who are working to make a positive difference to your studies. They gather and represent all students' views and share them with leadership team in the Law School. By working together we can make positive changes on many different things ranging from supervision, teaching and assessment, to course administration, learning resources and personal career development. Discover your reps on the Students' Guild website button below.

🤳 Law School Socials: Links below 😍​​​​

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER LAW SCHOOL

If you would like to see previous editions of the bulletin, they sit on our Law webpages here.  And if you have any suggestions for future editions, or would like to share a story with us, please email lawcomms@exeter.ac.uk. Fin