Call for Papers: 7th Annual Diversity, Dilemmas and Discoveries Conference on Shaping the Legal Professions at The Open University Law School, UK [Online; 27 November 2026]

The legal histories research cluster of the Open University Law School (UK) is hosting the 7th annual Diversity, Dilemmas and Discoveries conference, a free, online event on Friday 27 November 2026. This year’s theme is “Shaping the legal professions”.

The conference explores the intertwined histories of legal education and the legal professions. Law schools, professional bodies and the people who made them have played a central role in legal history: legal education shaped professions and people who in turn contributed to the development of legal practice, procedure and the law itself.

Both legal education and the legal professions now face fresh challenges. New technologies are changing the way law is taught and practised, and institutions must respond to shifting political, social and economic contexts while remaining profoundly shaped by their pasts. The organisers see this as an opportune time to consider those histories and how they are used.

Proposals are welcome for any time period and any jurisdiction. Themes may include, but are not limited to:

• Histories of legal education in the academy
• Histories of professional education and training
• Histories of any aspect of the legal professions
• Legal biography
• Legal education and empire
• Women, working class and ethnic minority students and lawyers
• Perceptions and reputations of the law and the legal professions
• Uses of legal history by lawyers and judges
• The significance of legal history for the professions

The call is open and does not restrict who may submit. Because proposals may address any jurisdiction and the event runs entirely online, researchers and scholars based in India can take part without travelling. The organisers particularly welcome proposals that address the central theme of diversity, dilemmas and discoveries.

• 15-minute papers; or
• 15-minute presentations in alternative formats

• Abstracts must not exceed 300 words.
• Abstracts should relate to the conference theme, the intertwined histories of legal education and the legal professions.

The conference is free. No registration or participation fee is mentioned in the call.

Email your abstract (not exceeding 300 words) to OULS-legalhistory@open.ac.uk by Friday 16 October 2026. As the organisers are based in the UK, it is safest to send your abstract a day or two early.