ALBA Summer Conference 2024

We can now announce the full programme for the ALBA summer conference being held from 12 to 14 July 2024 at Downing College, Cambridge.  And there is still time to book with the 15% early booking discount before the end of March.

The full programme can be found here

The key speakers will be:

• The keynote speaker on Saturday morning is Lord (Charlie) Falconer, Shadow Lord Chancellor and partner at Gibson Dunn, and former Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Solicitor General and Minister in three Departments.

• The after dinner speaker on Saturday evening is Sir Jonathan Jones KC (Hon), former Treasury Solicitor and now senior consultant at Linklaters and senior fellow at the Institute for Government.

Panel session chairs will be Sir Rabinder Singh, Dame Elisabeth Laing DBE, Sir Clive Lewis, Sir Jonathan Swift, Dame Karen Steyn DBE and Dame Henrietta Hill DBE.

The topics and speakers for the panel sessions are:

(1) Judicial review challenges to primary and secondary legislation

• Tom De La Mare KC (Blackstone)
• Alistair Mills (Assistant Professor, Magdalene College, Cambridge & Landmark)

(2) Resource constraints in public law litigation

• Martin Westgate KC (Doughty Street)
• Catherine Dobson (39 Essex)

(3) The legacy of the Rwanda litigation and legislation for public law

• Sonali Naik KC (Garden Court)
• Lord (Simon) Murray (39 Essex)

(4) National security judicial review

• Jonathan Hall KC (6KBW & Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation)
• Dr Daniella Lock (Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Oxford)

(5) The next decade in public law

• Prof Alison Young (Public Law Commissioner, the Law Commission & Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law, Cambridge)
• Prof Tom Hickman KC (Blackstone & Professor of Public Law, UCL)
• Dr Eloise Ellis (Associate Professor & Associate Pro Vice Chancellor, UEA)
• Dr Lewis Graham (Law Society Fellow in Law, Wadham College, Oxford)

(6) Practice and procedure update

• Rose Grogan (39 Essex)
• Shanthi Sivakumaran (Doughty Street)
• Emma Dowden-Teale (DLA Piper)

The ALBA summer conference is held annually and brings together practitioners, academics and others with an interest in public law for a series of sessions on topical issues within the sphere of constitutional and administrative law.  The conference runs from the late afternoon on Friday 12 July, through to lunchtime on the Sunday.  The conference is returning to Cambridge this year, for the first time since 2018.

Not only will the conference offer interesting and useful sessions on a wide range of topics of interest to public law practitioners, it also provides an unparalleled opportunity to spend time, in relaxed and informal circumstances, with colleagues working in public law, including leading practitioners, academics and judges.  Above all, the conference is intended to be fun.  As usual, on Saturday afternoon, there will be the opportunity for a walk to Grantchester along the River Cam, via The Meadows (about 2 hours).

The conference presents exceptional value for money and is heavily subsidised by ALBA, especially for junior practitioners.  The price for the full weekend includes two dinners and overnight accommodation on Friday and Saturday at Downing College (en suite), and breakfast and lunch on both days.  The Saturday dinner will be a gala dinner held in Downing’s Hall.  The conference itself will be held in the Howard Theatre at Downing College.

The dress code for the weekend will be casual, with the Saturday evening dinner being smart casual.

You can choose to stay at Downing on Friday and Saturday nights, or just on Saturday night, or opt for no accommodation.

The prices for the conference are as follows:

A 10% group booking discount applies for bookings of five or more places made between 1st and 30 April 2024.  The two discounts are separate and not cumulative.  All bookings for 5 or more people should use the group booking form.

This is something of a make-or-break year for the future of the summer conference in Cambridge, post covid.  We are therefore very keen to make the conference a success, to ensure that there is scope for it to continue in Cambridge in the future.  Please do attend if you can.

Please note you need to be an ALBA member to qualilfy for a place at the conference. If you have any queries about the conference, please contact ALBA at administrator@adminlaw.org.uk.

Now fully booked. Please email: administrator@adminlaw.org.uk if you wish to be added to a waiting list.