Professor Thom Brooks, a leading authority in legal education and public policy at Durham University, is set to address one of the UK’s most significant gatherings of legal educators in London. The high-profile event will bring together academics, practitioners, and policymakers to debate the future of legal training and the profession’s evolving role in society. Brooks’s participation underscores Durham University’s growing influence in shaping national conversations on how law is taught, learned, and applied in an era of rapid social and regulatory change.
Thom Brooks to deliver keynote on the future of legal education at London gathering of leading scholars
Durham Law School’s Professor Thom Brooks, an internationally recognised authority on legal education and public policy, will address a select audience of academics, policymakers and professional regulators at a landmark London event dedicated to rethinking how law is taught and practised. His keynote will examine how rapid technological change, evolving regulation and shifting social expectations are reshaping what future lawyers need from their training, with particular attention to the balance between doctrinal depth and practical skills. Hosted in the heart of the capital’s legal district,the gathering aims to spark concrete proposals for curriculum reform and new models of university-profession collaboration.
In conversation with leading figures from universities, law firms and professional bodies, Brooks is expected to outline a roadmap for building more inclusive, globally aware and ethically robust legal education. Key themes to be explored include:
- Digital conversion – integrating AI, data literacy and legal tech into core study
- Access and diversity – widening participation and addressing barriers to entry
- Professional readiness – embedding advocacy, negotiation and client-care skills
- Global outlook – preparing graduates for transnational practice and regulation
| Event Focus | Brooks’s Contribution |
|---|---|
| Curriculum reform | Proposes skills- and values-driven frameworks |
| Technology in law | Assesses AI’s impact on teaching and practice |
| Student experience | Highlights mentoring and experiential learning |
Durham University professor to outline innovative teaching methods and curriculum reform priorities
Speaking to an audience of academics, practitioners and policy-makers, Professor Thom Brooks will showcase a series of evidence-based approaches designed to make legal education more practical, inclusive and globally oriented. His presentation will highlight classroom strategies that move beyond the traditional lecture model, emphasising live case simulations, cross-disciplinary modules and the use of real-time policy debates to sharpen critical thinking. Attendees can expect a detailed look at how formative feedback, co-created assessments and digital tools are being integrated into modules to mirror the complex decision-making environments that graduates will encounter in practice.
- Skills-first teaching that embeds advocacy, negotiation and policy drafting into core modules.
- Experiential learning through clinics, pro bono projects and community partnerships.
- Global perspectives via comparative law projects and international collaboration.
- Data-informed reform grounded in student outcomes and employer feedback.
| Priority Area | Key Change | Intended Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum Design | Integrate ethics across all stages | Stronger professional judgment |
| Assessment | Shift towards portfolio-based work | Richer evidence of competence |
| Access | Expand flexible learning routes | Wider participation in legal study |
| Technology | Embed law-and-AI literacy | Future-ready legal graduates |
Policy focused session to explore practical steps for integrating ethics technology and global justice into law training
Drawing on his experience advising governments and professional bodies, Professor Thom Brooks will lead a policy-oriented conversation on how law schools can move from abstract discussion of ethics and technology to measurable change in classroom practice. Participants will examine how emerging tools such as algorithmic decision-making, predictive analytics and AI-driven legal research can be taught alongside questions of global justice, professional responsibility and access to justice. The session will spotlight concrete reforms that can be adopted within existing regulatory frameworks, with a focus on how curriculum design, assessment and accreditation standards can evolve in step with rapidly changing professional realities.
The discussion will feature contributions from legal educators, policy-makers and practitioners, who will work together to identify immediate and medium-term priorities for reform. Themes will include:
- Embedding ethics-by-design into core and elective modules
- Integrating technology labs that test legal tools against fairness and bias benchmarks
- Linking global justice case studies to public international law, human rights and commercial practice
- Developing regulatory guidance on minimum digital and ethical competencies for graduates
| Focus Area | Practical Outcome |
|---|---|
| Curriculum Reform | New ethics-tech learning outcomes |
| Teaching Practice | Live policy and justice simulations |
| Regulation | Draft proposals for competency standards |
Recommendations for law schools on strengthening professional skills diversity and public engagement in legal education
Brooks is expected to urge law schools to move beyond a narrow focus on doctrinal mastery and cultivate a richer ecosystem of skills, voices and community partnerships. He argues that legal education should embed experiential learning at every stage of the curriculum, not just in optional clinics, so that students regularly practice interviewing clients, drafting clear advice, mediating disputes and communicating law to non-specialist audiences. Faculties are encouraged to form co-teaching teams pairing academics with practitioners, community organisers and technologists, ensuring students encounter a wider range of professional identities than the traditional barrister-solicitor divide. This shift, he contends, demands changes to recruitment, assessment and timetabling so that public-facing work and innovative pedagogy are recognised and rewarded.
- Curriculum design: integrate live client projects, policy labs and impact-driven research seminars into core modules.
- Assessment: balance examinations with reflective portfolios, advocacy simulations and community presentations.
- Partnerships: develop sustained collaborations with NGOs, local authorities, law centres and in-house legal teams.
- Diversity of roles: highlight alternative careers in compliance, legal tech, regulation and public policy.
- Public engagement: embed outreach in staff workloads, recognising media commentary, podcasts and public lectures.
| Focus Area | Traditional Model | Brooks’s Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Skills | Exam writing | Client-facing problem solving |
| Teaching Team | Academics only | Academics + practitioners + community partners |
| Engagement | Occasional pro bono | Structured, credit-bearing public projects |
| Career Imagery | Courtroom advocacy | Plural careers across sectors |
To Wrap It Up
As legal education continues to grapple with the demands of a rapidly changing profession, Brooks’s intervention in London is expected to resonate well beyond the conference hall. Organisers say they hope his contribution will help catalyse further collaboration between universities, regulators and practitioners on the future of legal training.
The event’s outcomes, including any proposals for reform or new models of professional advancement, are due to be published later this year. For Durham Law School, Brooks’s appearance underscores its growing influence on national debates about how the next generation of lawyers should be educated-and who that education should ultimately serve.
