Legal Education Research Network LERN

Much of the work of LERN is informal support for members and others in the practical undertaking of research. LERN has supported and co-ordinated many projects over the last thirty years, many of which have led to major publications and have had considerable impact on aspects of legal education. These include the three major studies of UK law schools, a number on  student expectations of legal education,  an important project on what  employers in the legal profession want from their recruits, an investigations of more specialist aspects of legal education, such as the role of external examiners.

LERN has two major areas of formal activity:

1. Regular interactive Workshops
2. Provision of Research Grants

Our activities go wider than these two core ones. We intend the website itself to be a major source of both information and support. We will be adding:

• Information sources shortly, including digital information
• Adding more Information and examples of different ways of researching legal education
• Publications, especially research reports or abstracts of them
• Outcomes of projects-see information on reports from the 2014-15 LERN Grant-holders at ‘Grants’
• Useful events beyond LERN events

Please let us know if there is other information or activities that you would find useful.

More information on: projects currently being undertaken by LERN members and completed projects.

LERN is grateful for the support it receives from:

• Association of Law Teachers (ALT)
• Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA)
• Society of Legal Scholars (SLS)
• Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS)
• Law Publishers Association
• Open University
• Oxford University Press

LERN now has over a 100 members drawn from all parts of higher education in the UK and an increasing number from overseas.

Patrons

• Professor Avrom Sherr, Emeritus Professor, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London
• Professor William Twining, Emeritus Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London

The Co-directors

• Professor Lisa Webley, Chair in Legal Education and Research, Birmingham Law School; and,
• Professor Anthony Bradney, Law School, Keele University, UK

Steering Group
LERN has a Steering Group of experienced and active legal education researchers. They are:

• Graeme Broadbent, Kingston University, UK
• Professor Jane Ching, Nottingham Trent University, UK (LERN Membership/Team LERN Co-ordinator)
• Professor Fiona Cownie, Keele University, UK
• Dr Egle Dagilyte, Anglia Ruskin University, UK; Fellow of the Centre of European Law at King's College London, UK
• Caroline Gibby, Newcastle University, UK (LERN Treasurer)
• Jessica Guth, Leeds Beckett University, UK
• Emma J. Jones, The Open University, UK (LERN Secretary)
• Dr Debra Malpass, SRA
• Professor Hilary Sommerlad, Leeds University, UK
• Caroline Strevens, Portsmouth University, UK

We are always seeking active researchers willing to support LERN in a practical way especially in terms of its activities and future direction. Please contact our administrators if you would like to join the Steering Group.

In order to contact the LERN Administrator with any queries regarding our events, grants or subscriptions, please write to legaledresearch@gmail.com

TEAM LERN is a mentoring and collaborative initiative whereby members of LERN would help one another with helpful feedback and support so as to produce higher quality research outputting.

Join Team LERN

The personal data you provide to LERN will be held and processed only for the purposes of LERN activities including the mailing list, events, the website, Team LERN and research grants.  The lawful basis on which LERN collects and processes your data is that of your informed consent obtained through your completion of an application form or event booking form.  

Where LERN is not itself the data processor, its data processor is Mailchimp, Dropbox or GoogleDocs although other data processors may be used for event bookings, in which case further information about them will appear in the details of the event. LERN does not use automated data processing. LERN does not share personal data with other organisations or to third countries although external organisations may ask LERN to share information with members through its existing mailing list.

Your personal data will be retained for 12 months (mailing lists); 2 years (research grants) or 2 months (events).

You have the right to object, to restrict LERN’s processing of your data, the right of access to your personal data held by LERN, to rectify it and to withdraw it at any time without detriment. To exercise any of these rights you should contact LERN.  No charge will normally be made for such requests, which will be actioned within no more than a month after receipt of the request.  LERN reserves the right to refuse such a request, or to levy a charge, if it is manifestly unfounded or excessive and will provide, within one month of such a request, reasons for its refusal together with details of your rights to complain to the supervisory authority and to seek a judicial remedy.

The supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner’s Office who can be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or on +44 (0)303 123 1113