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Opening of the Moot Court
I am delighted to be able to invite you to a reception and public lecture to mark the formal opening of our new Moot Court Facility by Fiona Woolf CBE on Monday 18th March at 5.30pm.
Keele School of Law has a proud history of innovation in legal education, and has always striven to deliver excellence in the student learning experience and in research. The establishment of a high-specification Moot Court Room, with the generous support of our alumni, has further enhanced the experience and learning environment for our students and manifests the School’s commitment to a legal education that engages with the world around us.
The reception which begins at 5.30pm will be a fantastic opportunity to engage with many of our alumni and other members of the regional legal community, alongside leading civic figures and members of academic staff from across the University. We work hard to ensure that you are able to maximise your opportunities to strengthen your connections with the legal profession (including, for example, last night's dinner organised by the Bar Society) and this event will enable you to learn from the experiences and insights of professionals at various career stages (and in various careers). Please do make the most of this opportunity. 
Fiona's lecture in the Westminster theatre is entitled -
"The Opportunities and Educational Challenges of the New Legal Landscape
The legal landscape is not simply affected by the downturn in the economy and cuts in legal spending, notably on legal aid. Barristers and solicitors are under greater competitive pressure as a result of globalisation, the reforms of the Legal Services Act which, amongst other things, bring in "alternative business structures", more modern business models, increasing demands of corporate clients, capped fees and standardisation of some services where software provides greater quality assurance and lower prices. These pose threats but also opportunities for practitioners and law graduates.
Fiona Woolf's lecture will focus on the opportunities for law graduates in a world that is adjusting to "The New Normal", the challenges of the "Triple Bottom Line" (people, planet, profit) and the need for long term value creation. She will also discuss the challenges for Keele and other educators in achieving the potentially conflicting twin peaks of academic intellectual ability and employability and whether universities are right to focus on teaching soft skills."
This promises to be a fascinating lecture from a very senior figure in the legal profession, and I do hope that you take the opportunity to come along. As with Tom Obokata's inaugural, the event is free and unticketed, but for catering purposes it would be helpful if you could email events@keele.ac.uk to let them know if you are thinking of coming. You can, of course, still attend, even if you don't remember to email the events team.
I do hope to see as many of you as possible at this event. It is a significant milestone in the School's history and it is important that our students play a prominent part in the event. There are plans to try and make the recording of the ceremony (taking place earlier in the day) to formally 'open' the Moot Court more widely available and I will update you when I have that information.
And finally, on a related matter, could I urge as many of you as possible to take advantage of the various Careers & Employability sessions organised by the School of Law, the Careers Service and the Student Societies? For example, Allen & Overy are in on Monday (see Careers Website for sign-up). This is one of the world's leading law firms. If there is poor attendance, they are unlikely to feel that it is worth their while visiting us in future years.
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