Southampton Law School is a global Law School, firmly rooted in the UK with an international reputation for excellence in education, research and enterprise.
We are a law school global in our reputation, networks and horizons. We are grounded in our locality and responsive to the major challenges facing humanity.
We pursue solutions to global challenges at international, regional, national and local levels. We treat these as opportunities to achieve excellence. This infuses our research culture and approach to education. We equip our students with the skills needed to engage in the fundamental questions facing society.
Our courses are challenging and inspiring. They provide students with the legal knowledge, critical thinking and communication skills needed to succeed in the legal profession. We aim to develop graduates who are curious, critical, ethical and environmentally responsible.
Our proximity to London gives us access to major law firms and other organisations. This means we can offer our students opportunities for networking, internships, and professional growth. As leading experts in our fields, our academics collaborate with a wide range of national and international stakeholders, policy makers and legal organisations.
Students explore our law library collections.
Research
Our academics are recognised experts in their field. Our work covers a wide range of specific areas, and approaches, within legal scholarship. It includes:
close doctrinal analysis of legal developments
application of socio-legal, arts and humanities, philosophical and political science approaches to the law
direct engagement with urgent policy questions
We are proud of our high quality research. The Research Excellence Framework 2021 judged 81% of our research outputs to be world-leading or internationally excellent.
Global collaborations
Our academics regularly work with stakeholders including:
government departments
international bodies
law reform organisations
charities
Inns of Courts
international law firms
leading policy makers
We are also involved with a range of national and international collaborative research activities. Recent projects have been funded by the ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust.
Research centres and institutes
Our research centres underpin our research culture. Reflecting our areas of critical mass, the centres engage in a lively programme of research seminars, work-in-progress sessions and engagement with stakeholders. We also hold annual public lectures. Our research centres are:
We have extensive law library collections at the University’s Hartley Library. In addition, we are home to the Philippa Kaye Library, an award-winning specialist maritime law library.
Our commitment is to excellence, research-led, and small group personalised learning.
All of our courses reflect the importance of global challenges, delivering curious, engaged, articulate, ethical, culturally aware, enterprising, problem-solving, as well as socially and environmentally responsible graduates.
The Legal Clinic offers free confidential advice to the public as well as University staff and students. Since the introduction of funding cuts to legal aid, few individuals have access to legal advice and assistance. Consequently, the Clinic aims to promote access to justice to the community by providing students with the opportunity to deliver pro bono advice and assistance to those who need it the most.
Why take part in the Clinic?
Taking part in the Clinic can help you:
Apply the law in a practical context.
Develop your communication and interpersonal skills.
Gain invaluable experience of working with clients.
Our Institute of Maritime Law runs the Maritime Law Short Course for practitioners. The institute has provided innovative maritime law training to delegates from around the world for the last 48 years. The course was the first of its kind worldwide. It is the only comprehensive residential course available on maritime law in the UK and at the international level.
This short course combines a top-quality learning environment with world-leading expertise. It fuses academic excellence and practical insight provided by our leading scholars, industry professionals and legal practitioners. This ensures an in-depth dissection of the legal issues affecting today’s shipping industry, as well as a crucial pragmatic advantage for the delegates.
We are committed to expanding our portfolio through recruiting leading scholars and high quality early career researchers. We are also committed to delivering high quality legal education. Find out about opportunities within Southampton Law School.
