Some reflections on hosting the 2025 Association of Law Teachers Conference

By Michael Randall - posted on 14 April 2025

It is quite well-known among my colleagues that I don’t really like conferences. I recognise their value and know we need to engage with them. And to be clear, in saying this, I am not criticising the work of any organisers. I don’t really like travel and being away from home comforts. I’ve found it tricky to break in to established groups. I’ve fretted about my paper – will I remember everything? Have I got too much, or not enough detail? Have I timed this appropriately? Will there be an audience there? I’ve then dreaded some questions where I potentially get told that I’m wrong by someone who is trying to be constructive but doesn’t feel it at the time. You then attend other papers where you might not be exactly sure what is being said because it is not your specific area.

For all the benefits of conferences, it has historically meant days away from home, trying to present a version of myself that I hope other people will like (which is exhausting and means pretending I’m a tea drinker while wearing a blazer and tie, rather than a ‘shacket’ and a decent t shirt) and many occasions where I’ve left feeling dejected that work I’ve put in hasn’t always been received well.

Yet we need to do them. In April 2023, I attended The Association of Law Teachers annual conference at the University of Westminster. It was my first ALT conference.

The Association of Law Teachers as an organisation stands out. It is a professional organisation for individuals involved in legal education, including academics, professionals, and practitioners. It aims to support and advocate for these individuals by providing resources, networking opportunities, and a platform for sharing ideas and expertise. It provides additional support for early career academics as well.

Everything was the polar opposite of my previous negative experiences. Everyone was nice, and there were no egos or cliques. I could relax and be more like myself. When I went to other sessions, I understood what was being said, and I learned a lot. I came away inspired, not upset. Everyone was there with a common goal which is ultimately to make us better at our day jobs. And in true Goldilocks style, the duration of the conference, and the number of delegates was just right. So the things that I don’t like about conferences either were not an issue, had been seriously mitigated, or the pay-off meant it was worth sitting backwards on a train for 4 hours in an aisle seat. The conference even inspired an earlier post on the Strathclyde Law Blog, about AI and assessment.

While looking ahead to try and find conference dates for the 2024 conference in Swansea (my family are based down in Pembrokeshire, and we were trying to work out likely Easter plans early), the Call for Expressions of Interest to host the 2025 annual conference was released. 2024-25 is the 60^th Anniversary year of the Law School. 2025 is also the 60^th anniversary of the ALT.

So I had an idea. And in November 2023, on a dark and wet Glasgow afternoon, I tentatively knocked on the Head of School’s door to make a pitch – what if we put a bid in to host the conference?

We could bring a renewed focus to Scottish legal education and make links with others who both want to help us and learn from us. This would be invaluable as we are embedding a new core LLB curriculum. I’d also be able to attend the conference, and then go back to my own bed (this wasn’t a disclosed justification).

Within 30 minutes, we had agreed an initial plan, plus a ‘dream team’ of colleagues who would form the organising committee. The day after, I went around to knock on Roddy Cairns’ door and present the plan, asking him to co-lead the organisation of the conference – thankfully, he said yes. And in April 2024 in Swansea, it was announced at the conference dinner that we would be hosting in 2025.

The annual conference was held in Glasgow in 1998/9. Its 40^th anniversary conference was held in Edinburgh in 2005. It was scheduled to be at the University of Stirling in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that event from taking place. And so on the 10 and 11 April 2025, ALT finally came back to Scotland.

The way in which we convey legal principles and develop transferable skills to our students is fundamental. Our foundation principle at Strathclyde, from the bequest of John Anderson, is to be a place for “useful learning”. And so our conference theme was set – “The Law School as a Place for Useful Learning”. This matters, and as a community we have to recognise the value in what we do as educators and the positive impact we have in law schools.

What struck us as organisers was not only the diversity in ideas and discussion points in the abstracts, but the actual quality of them and how we were able to group papers together. There were so many times where we wanted to attend specific papers and sessions, but realised we had a schedule where we wanted to attend everything. A double-edged sword, it made our job significantly easier forming the programme, but more difficult when we realised we weren’t going to physically see everything in the conference come together.

There were some wider activities put on for delegates as well. So in glorious sunshine, the festivities kicked off the day before the conference with a legal history walking tour around Glasgow City Centre, with a different member of staff leading people through a case/the legal significance of the institutions around us. Stories of Donald Dewar, the reason why ‘Nelson Mandela Place’ is so named, Walter Scott, the Ramshorn and an unassuming tailoring shop which used to be another shop were delivered before an evening of drinks and folk music (with a Strathclyde connection) at Sloans.

The bulk of the conference programme comprised of six sets of 90-minute parallel sessions. Four sessions ran at the same time, with one room dedicated to workshops and roundtables. Papers were both presented in person, and online via Zoom, increasing our range of speakers. Almost all sessions comprised of 3 papers, rather than cramming in 4 per session and rushing people through. This gave time for the ideas to be articulated and good discussion. I can’t fully do justice to the range of papers here, but they focused on areas including the use of generative AI in assessment, recognising and supporting neurodivergence to allow all students to thrive in a University environment, the use of language and the way we communicate with students, experiential learning, and (noteworthy for me) the use of popular culture to engage students in understanding law. There were some special sessions as well, though.

Day 1 kicked off with a welcome from Adelyn Wilson as Head of School, before pivoting to an introduction to Strathclyde Law School and the conference theme led by yours truly. This was also the point at which people found out that I had been coming down with a scratchy voice which had been slowly getting worse during the week. And so the ongoing dramatic narrative of “will his voice be OK?” was launched. The stance on “it’s more of a comment than a question” was also made clear.

We then welcomed Dr Larysa Zhdankina as our opening keynote speaker. Larysa is an International Law expert and Constitutional Law expert who worked in the Constitutional Court in Ukraine. Larysa and her daughter, in the most difficult of circumstances, were forced to relocate and have made Glasgow their second home (you can read more of her story on the Law Society of Scotland website). This provided a thread from the previous conference: Swansea’s final keynote speaker in 2024, Lord Lloyd-Jones, had discussed the importance of continuing to teach International Law.

In an era where the values that we want to see upheld – the importance of the rule of law, accountability, morality and ethics – are being seemingly undermined, Larysa’s keynote showed how law schools in Ukraine have adapted and learned lessons quickly that they did not want to have to learn. Initial student motivations of money and commercial gain have given way to engagement with human rights, genocide and war crimes content and a fight for justice. The resilience of law schools in Ukraine and their students was inspirational. A heavy and poignant opening to the conference, there was a clear reinforcement that law still matters, and that law schools are at the heart of this. We could not have asked for a better opening address.

Day 1 also saw a special ’60 years of ALT’ panel, featuring Nigel Duncan, Penny Booth and Alison Bone (all ‘legends’ of ALT past and former chairs of the committee), Cameron Giles and myself. This session reflected on the origins and achievements of ALT, some landmark moments, and the challenges and opportunities that ALT needs to navigate into the future. The session was recorded, and we will send this on to the ALT Committee for their use/distribution.

As part of this panel, I made the point that ALT needs to ensure that it does not forget the Scottish legal education sector.  It is partly incumbent on us to make sure that we provide a legacy. We have so much to continue to offer to the legal education sector. We show innovation in Scotland – we have new programmes coming on board, for example the University of the West of Scotland undergraduate programmes and Strathclyde’s own postgraduate offerings (including Maritime Law from September 2025). If the function of ALT is to provide resources, share expertise and build solidarity, it needs to continue to actively push to include Scotland in its activities.

Day 1 saw two post-conference activities. Firstly, a civic reception at Glasgow City Chambers where the office of the Lord Provost welcomed us all to the city in the grand surroundings of the council buildings. Stuart Kelly provided the response on behalf of the school. He highlighted in particular the contributions of Jean McFadden to public life in Glasgow and to legal education, recalling innovative teaching from her time teaching at Strathclyde with modules in public law in which students were required to meet and engage with their local council members.

Following this, the conference dinner took place at the National Piping Centre, where we received a warm welcome from the staff. I have been to a lot of these events in my time and have to say that the quality of the food and the service from the staff/organisers at the venue was top tier. This was followed by a ceilidh which risked the shins/Achilles/eyes of those taking their first steps at a ceilidh (including me) but was a unique experience that those in attendance will remember for years to come, thankfully not through a debilitating injury.

And then I went home, had a bowl of overly sugary American cereal and watched The Apprentice interviews episode on catch up. Which was a nice wind down before doing it all again on day 2.

Day 2 started at 8:30 (I know, the day after the conference dinner and drinks – what were we thinking?) with a specific session for Early Career Researchers to meet each other, to learn more about the work of ALT and the support available to them. It is vital that we pay our experience forward to help others, and several Strathclyde PhD students were in attendance throughout the full conference.

The final keynote was Lindsay Jack. Lindsay is the Head of Diversity, Careers, and Outreach at the Law Society of Scotland, where she leads efforts to improve access, diversity, and inclusion within the legal profession. She previously served in a variety of roles at Edinburgh Law School as Director of Student Experience, alongside taking on Office Bearer roles such as Disability Coordinator, and Director of Equality and Diversity. Her address, ‘Allyship Through Amplification’ sought to show the impact that small steps that all of us can introduce into our own practices and ways of doing things can cumulatively cause a cultural shift in what a law school is to make it inclusive for everyone. Delivered not just with authority and experience, but with a genuine passion, Lindsay’s keynote alone would have been an ideal way to end the discussion at the conference.

However, we were able to go one step further. Alannah McPhee, a Law and French LLB graduate of ours and a current PhD student acted as a discussant. Alannah is in the first year of her PhD researching widening access, following on from a stint as a research assistant on a project led by Stuart Kelly and Chris McCorkindale. This was also Alannah’s first academic conference. She provided a personal insight and gave a specific Strathclyde context to what widening access really means. We’d had a meeting about a week before the conference to discuss what the discussant role meant and Alannah, by her own admission, was incredibly nervous and anxious about it. She had no need to be – she was spot on. It feels disingenuous to say that she has established herself in 5 minutes as an emerging star and ‘one to watch’ – early career academics are present, not future – but I am certain she will be a mainstay in the legal education community long-term.

The absolute final point before drinks was the final thanks and the announcement of prizes, where there were Strathclyde successes.

The Chris Gale prize for Best Joint paper was awarded to Cameron Giles and Yue Ang for their paper ‘We’re All Elective Now: Surveying the Core Curriculum in Legal Education in England and Wales’.

The Stan Marsh poster prize was awarded to Strathclyde’s own Erini Yemenitzis for ‘Bridging Research and Teaching: The Role of PhD Tutors in Curriculum Development and Legal Education’. As a personal note, I taught Erini as an undergraduate and postgraduate student. She has now progressed to PhD level, has been tutoring on banking law modules with me for a couple of years, and with a bit of encouragement to share her experience of tutoring with me at the conference on what she’s added to the modules, it is an absolute career highlight to see her win this award.

In the best overall paper competition, a rare ‘highly commended’ award was given to Elisabeth Griffiths for ‘'A Place for Us' Supporting Disabled, Dyslexic and Neurodivergent Students in Law School’.

The Stan Marsh Best Overall paper prize was shared between two papers: Nichola McNulty’s ‘Designing and Developing Innovative and Authentic Assessments in Legal Education’ and our own Jonathan Brown’s ‘When in Law, Do as the Natural Scientists Do? On Institutional Writings and taxonomy as a Tool in Legal Pedagogy’.

As the saying goes, “it takes a village”. While Roddy and I have the privilege of being the leads on this, it does not just happen, and there are many, many people to thank. I’ll try not to go full ‘Adrien Brody Oscars Speech’ at this part, but I am not known for brevity. And I’m sure I’ll forget someone.

To the ALT Executive Committee – thank you for trusting us and awarding us the conference. It has been an honour to host and work with you in a landmark year. We’ll be back to work with you again, I’m sure. Specifically thanks to Emma Jones as Chair of the ALT Committee – her term finished up at the conference. Congratulations to Mark O’Brien on his appointment to the role, and good luck (Emma is a hard act to follow!). Thank you also for providing bursaries to staff to attend who would otherwise not have been able to.

To Roddy Cairns – I’ve been fortunate to co-organise this conference with you. While we’ve not always agreed on everything, it was always a suggestion in making something better to help, rather than try and pick the other idea apart. There have also been times where another commitment has come up  and we needed the other person to step in for a bit and lead (whether moving house, or falling over and bashing up an elbow limiting comms). It is what group working should be about, and I’m certain we’ll work together again – just let’s enjoy some annual leave and then continue our debate in the pub about whether rugby is a posh sport or not before we come back to this.

To our keynote speakers Larysa Zhdankina and Lindsay Jack (and Alannah McPhee) – We could not have asked for more from our keynote speakers. Larysa’s presentation touched so many people at the conference and put our work into perspective. You were discussing pressures in the most testing of circumstances for legal education in Ukraine, but also personal experiences that we do not take for granted in being willing to discuss them publicly so eloquently. Lindsay and Alannah I need to thank together. Lindsay responded to a random query from someone she hadn’t met before and agreed to come and present, actively asking to close the conference on a message of optimism – all of this while having booked annual leave. But you were also so kind to Alannah and helped her out greatly. Alannah, I know I had to do some convincing to act as a discussant, and I know how nervous you were. I never had any doubts on how you would get on, you were an absolute star, and this means you’re going to have to work with us more now!

To the Organising Committee at Swansea and Exeter next year – For the Swansea crew, you set the blueprint for an excellent conference. We always wanted to have it as a Strathclyde conference that played to our strengths, but we couldn’t do that without your support in handover and being an ideal group to follow on from. To the Exeter group, we will look to pay it forward – congratulations, and anything we can do to help, please let us know. You’ll be brilliant though, and we’ll see you there.

To Adelyn Wilson and the Law School Staff – thank you for supporting the bid, and finding ways to give Roddy and I space to work on this. I don’t think we’ll ever (or should ever) know what was asked of colleagues to help take on some of our day-to-day duties in the school to allow us to put the conference together. To those colleagues (many of whom chaired sessions), Roddy and I are so grateful to be part of an incredible community of staff that has valued our work.

To our admin support – we could not have put the conference on without the support of the HaSS Faculty Research Knowledge and Exchange Team. Specifically, we need to thank Jan who kept Roddy and I on track throughout and ensured we were set. Her influence was there throughout the whole conference. From the Law School admin team thank you to Rosie who was excellent, patient and understanding through the conference itself – a few frantic text messages as things popped up which were either already resolved by the time I’d messaged, or were fixed within minutes. Also thank you to Natasha, who normally works with a specific postgraduate cohort – to help us out, there was a concerted push to free up your diary by getting other tasks ticked off, and we hope that you enjoyed the experience. We were also lucky to have our student conference assistants Grace and Freya providing further support. Both of you are a credit to the School and helped to generate the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere we wanted at the conference. We’ve also had support from Estates in helping get things set up/de-rigged, Marketing and the Web Team, and even the Terrace in the Student Union for reserving us a space for post-conference drinks.

To our sponsors – the conference could not be put on without you. You were all professional, supportive, and in some cases outright led on some of the conference ‘fun’ wider activities. We need to thank Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Convention Bureau in particular for helping us pull the bid together, and for organising the civic reception.

To our students – a lot of students will be sick of hearing me say “we’re organising a conference…”. Dissertation supervisees have been understanding on meeting availability, and some emails have maybe taken a little longer to reply to than normal. You have all been very understanding and supportive as a community, whether you realise it or not. To the Graduate Entry students on the Third Year Reflective Report module, thank you for letting us borrow your research posters to display during the conference.

Lastly, and most importantly, the conference is only as good as its delegates. Whether presenting, or just showing an interest and attending (in person or online), we are so grateful. We can’t control those aspects of the conference. That makes the biggest difference. ALT is an exceptional community. The quality and variety of papers stood out. The engagement with all the activities was top tier. We couldn’t have asked for more. We also know that, in being hosted in April, people have given up time away from friends and family, and that can be a real challenge for all involved. We cannot thank you enough for putting your trust in us that your time commitment would be rewarded. You were also kind and professional to all our staff and support team – that might seem the minimum standard expected, but it makes such a difference.

We’ve made so many new friends and met a lot of people whose opening line is the ever ominous “I know you from LinkedIn”. Going beyond this, without naming names here (mainly because I’m pushing the word limit for this blog anyway), the experience has solidified that we have true friends in the legal education community, and not simple acquaintances. These are people who, whether they know the full extent of it or not, have been some of the most supportive people in the process. When working late of an evening and getting bogged down in discussions on programme order, session titles, lanyard design, entertainment plans, and QR codes, they have shown us that the time spent was worth it and were consistently assuring us through the conference itself that it was all going to be OK.

If you are involved in teaching law in any capacity, join ALT. It is absolutely worth it, and if you are new, the first year is free (direct sign up at SheepApp).

If you are at an institution and are thinking about submitting a bid to host the conference, go for it. While I’m tired now, it has been incredibly rewarding. We are more than happy to speak to anyone that is contemplating a bid if that would help.

I’ll close with an analogy which probably explains my experience of hosting. I really like cooking – I look up lots of recipes and plan ahead when cooking for myself. And I like talking about food and cooking. Hosting a dinner party is something very different. I’m happy to do it and want to, but I’m frazzled as it is happening, because I know what is going on in the kitchen. There’s a point in the evening where it has been nice to see people, but I just want them to go home. Then I’ve got some washing up to do. But a few days or a week later, you appreciate it and realise what you achieved.

And then you start thinking about when you might host the next event. So keep your eyes peeled.