This Inaugural Event addresses the important question of “The Role of Lawyers in Regulating the Police and Criminal Justice System”

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At a time when confidence in the police is extremely low the criminal justice system is at breaking point it is vital to consider the role of lawyers in challenging systemic inequity and institutional bias and corruption. This event brings together distinguished academics and practitioners who have dedicated their professional lives to that challenge, and we look forward to hearing their thoughts on this topic and to lively discussion of present issues and potential reforms.

Professor Joanne Conaghan who has written extensively about issues relating to gender and law and is globally recognized as a leading scholar in the field of feminist legal studies. She is author of Law and Gender (2014) and more recently co-author of Sexual History and the Rape Trial (with Professor Yvette Russell, 2023). Joanne has been a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences since 2011 and of the British Academy since 2021.

Rodney Wilson who is director of Elite Solicitors in Bristol. He has been in the legal profession for more than 30 years and was the first local black man to be admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court and a High Court Advocate. A specialist in Criminal defence and Immigration Law, recent cases include defence of an allegation of Assault by Beating an Emergency Worker, where the defendant had himself been Pava sprayed and tasered 5 times, (once to the lower eyelid), and separately a multi-million pound OCG drugs investigation where encoded devices were used. 

Harriet Wistrich who is founding director of the Centre for Women’s Justice and whose cases include acting for two of the victims of the notorious taxi driver John Worboys, and leading a claim on behalf of eight women who were deceived into relationships with undercover police officers. She has over thirty years represented a number of women in appeals against convictions for the murder of their violent partners, most recently relying on new evidence of coercive and controlling behaviour. Her recently published  book - Sister in Law: Shocking true stories of fighting for justice in a legal system designed by men will be available for purchase at the event.

The evening will begin at 5:30 pm with informal meeting and drinks The Speakers will begin and 6 pm each speaking for approximately 15 minutes. There will then be a short break for refreshments followed by a panel session from 7 pm to 7:45 pm and an opportunity for further informal discussion afterwards.