Call for Papers: Developing Research on the Legal Profession, a Paper Development Workshop for Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers (University of Leeds, 20 January 2027)
Society of Legal Scholars and School of Law, University of Leeds.About the workshop
The Practice, Profession and Ethics Section of the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) and the Legal Professions Research Group at the School of Law, University of Leeds invite submissions for a one-day paper development workshop designed specifically for Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) and Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The workshop will be held on 20 January 2027 at the School of Law, University of Leeds.
The event offers a supportive and collaborative setting in which participants present research at any stage of development, receive constructive feedback from peers and established scholars, and develop their ideas for future conference presentations, publications, grant applications and doctoral projects. Participants new to legal professions research, or exploring innovative theoretical, interdisciplinary, empirical or methodological approaches to legal practice and professional life, are particularly welcome.
Workshop objectives
- To support the development of PGR and ECR research on legal professions and legal practice.
- To build a network of emerging scholars working in this field across disciplines and institutions.
- To assist participants in developing papers for future presentation at conferences, including the SLS Annual Conference, and for eventual publication.
Participants are not expected to present completed research. Work in progress and developing papers may later be submitted for presentation at the SLS Annual Conference in 2027.
Themes and topics
Submissions are welcome on any aspect of the legal profession and legal practice, including but not limited to:
- Globalisation and legal practice
- Legal professionalism and professional identity
- Lawyers and post-colonialism
- Professional regulation and governance
- Technology, AI and the digital transformation of legal services
- Changing business models and alternative legal service providers
- Professional culture and wellbeing
- Recruitment, education and social mobility
- Ethics, integrity and professional responsibility
- High-profile scandals, accountability and the importance of public trust
- Diversity, inclusion and inequality within the profession
- Access to justice and the role of lawyers in wider society
- Comparative and international perspectives on legal professions
- Historical studies of lawyers and legal institutions
- Methodological and theoretical innovations in researching legal practice
- Lawyers, courts and the administration of justice
- Cause lawyering, public interest law and legal activism
Doctrinal, theoretical, empirical, historical, comparative, socio-legal, qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research are all welcome.
Who can submit
The workshop is interdisciplinary. It welcomes PGRs, ECRs and recently appointed academic staff or researchers working in legal practice, policy, regulation or related fields, from disciplines including Law, Ethics, Legal History, Sociology, Socio-Legal Studies, Psychology, Business and Management, Organisational Studies, Criminology, Legal and Regulatory Policy, Political Science and Regulatory Studies.
Submissions are welcome at any stage of development: initial research ideas, doctoral projects in progress, literature review papers, methodological reflections, pilot studies, early empirical findings, draft conference papers, and work being prepared for publication.
Workshop format
Participants will be allocated to small groups in which they will present their research ideas or papers, receive detailed feedback from peers and mentors, discuss methodological and theoretical challenges, and explore opportunities for publication and future collaboration.
The day will also include two plenary sessions led by established scholars, on researching the legal profession across disciplinary boundaries, and on methodological approaches and challenges in legal professions research.
Submission guidelines
Submit an abstract of up to 300 words outlining:
- The proposed topic
- Research question(s)
- Theoretical or methodological approach (where relevant)
- Current stage of development
Both individual and multi-author papers, as well as works in progress, are welcome.
How to apply
Email your abstract, and any enquiries, to karen.nokes@ucl.ac.uk or lucinda.soon@kcl.ac.uk by 18 November 2026. Notification of acceptance is due on 18 December 2026.
The official call does not mention a registration or participation fee, travel funding or an online attendance option.