The British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) has opened its Call for Papers for the 57th BIALL Annual Conference and Exhibition (#BIALL2027). The conference will be held from Wednesday 9 to Friday 11 June 2027 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton, United Kingdom.

The BIALL conference brings together legal information professionals, law librarians, knowledge managers and suppliers of legal information. The programme is planned by the BIALL Conference Committee.

Theme

The theme of the 2027 conference is Brighton Bound: Leading Legal Information into the Future.

Topics invited

BIALL members have expressed interest in the following topics, and the Conference Committee invites submissions on:

AI in practice: case studies
Core skills: collaboration, resilience, presentation, negotiation, critical thinking
Foreign (non-British and Irish) legal systems and resources
Academic sector developments
Knowledge management (KM)
Training: trainees and apprentices
Competitive intelligence
Intranets
Taxonomy

Session types

The proposal must state whether it is for a Plenary/Parallel session or a Lightning talk. The conference programme has three session types:

Plenary session: an in-depth presentation to a larger audience, of 1 hour including Q&A. BIALL also accepts 30-minute talks. Plenary sessions can include panel discussions.
Parallel session: a practical session for smaller groups, of 40 minutes including Q&A, ideally interactive or workshop-based to encourage discussion.
Lightning talk: a quick talk of 15 minutes or less to a larger audience, an informal format for sharing projects, case studies and best-practice tips. BIALL does not accept more than one speaker for a lightning talk.

Who can submit

The call invites proposals for conference sessions. BIALL states that it welcomes proposals from new conference speakers and from people from diverse backgrounds. The topic list expressly includes foreign (non-British and Irish) legal systems and resources, which makes the call relevant to law librarians, legal information professionals and legal researchers working on Indian and other jurisdictions.

What the proposal must contain

Presentation abstract: an outline of the proposed conference session, including the type of session, key learning points, any activities or discussions, and any tools required to deliver the session.
Speaker biography: a short biography of the speaker outlining relevant professional experience and any publications or papers delivered at other conferences or training events.

How to apply

Complete the online Speaker Proposal Form by Monday 12 October 2026. The official Call for Papers also allows the proposal form to be submitted by email to Tonia Sexton, Chair of the BIALL Conference Committee (conference@biall.org.uk), or to any of the Programme Coordinators, by the same date.

Before submitting, you may contact any of the Programme Coordinators (Ruth Fegan, Shannon Hiday and Caroline Sandilands) to discuss your ideas and ask questions about the proposal.

Fee and speaker package

The call does not mention any fee for submitting a proposal.

For an individual Plenary or Parallel speaker, BIALL offers a one-day delegate package plus a speaker's honorarium: one day's conference attendance, one night's hotel accommodation, up to GBP 150 travel expenses and a GBP 100 honorarium.

For an individual Lightning speaker, BIALL offers the one-day delegate package: one day's conference attendance, one night's hotel accommodation and up to GBP 150 travel expenses. No honorarium is offered for lightning talks.