We are pleased to announce the full programme for the ALBA summer conference being held from 10 to 12 July 2026 at St John’s College, Cambridge.
The full programme can be found here
The keynote speaker will be Professor Alison Young, Law Commissioner for Public Law and the Law in Wales, and the Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law at the University of Cambridge. Alison will speak on:-
“AI, Algorithmic decisions and Judicial Review: a manageable evolution or an existential crisis?”
Panel session chairs will be Sir Rabinder Singh, Sir Clive Lewis, Dame Heather Williams, Dame Karen Steyn, Sir Martin Chamberlain and Dame Judith Farbey.
The topics and speakers for the panel sessions are:-
- Substantive grounds of challenge: judicial overreach or return to orthodoxy?
- Kate Grange KC (39 Essex)
- Tom Kickman KC (Blackstone)
- Professor Joanna Bell (Oxford University)
- Are procedural challenges dead in the water?
- Maya Sikand KC (Doughty Street)
- Zoe Leventhal KC (Matrix)
- Professor Joe Tomlinson (KCL)
- Discrimination law for public lawyers
- Sarah Hannett KC (Matrix)
- Julia Smyth KC (Landmark)
- Khatija Hafesji (Monckton)
- The hopes and limits of law in times of international uncertainty
- Zac Sammour (11KBW)
- Jessica Wells (Essex Court Chambers)
- Practice and procedure update
- Zoe Gannon (11KBW)
- Katherine Barnes (39 Essex)
- Cliodhna Kelleher (Monckton)
- Public law outside of Part 54
- David Blundell KC (Landmark)
- Louis Biggs (Hogan Lovells)
- Tim Johnston (Brick Court)
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 10 July, through to lunchtime on the Sunday, with panel sessions starting on Saturday morning.
The conference is returning to St John’s College, Cambridge this year, for the first time since 2018. The conference will 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 St John’s College, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday dinner will be a gala dinner held in St John’s Hall. The conference itself will be held in the Main theatre at St John’s College on Saturday and Sunday.
The dress code for the weekend will be casual, with the Saturday evening dinner being smart casual.
You can choose to stay at St John’s College on Friday and Saturday nights, or just on Saturday night, or opt for no accommodation.
We are 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.
If you have any queries about the conference, please contact the ALBA Administrator: administrator@adminlaw.org.uk.
A 15% early booking discount applies for all bookings before 5 May 2026 and booking will close on Friday, 26 June.