Working Group of the Legal Profession meeting Rotterdam 22-23/06/2026 - call by 31/01/2026
Emilie BILAND-CURINIER
Pour information : cet appel à communications pour la prochaine conférence internationale sur la "legal profession", aux Pays-Bas.
La date-limite de réponse est vendredi : les contacts des différents "subgroups" se trouvent au bas du message.
Bien à vous,
Emilie
Van: Nina Holvast <hol...@law.eur.nl>Onderwerp: WGLP meeting rotterdam - reminder and practical informationDatum: 13 januari 2026 om 09:34:24 CETAan: Nina Holvast <hol...@law.eur.nl>Kopie: Avrom Sherr <avrom...@gmail.com>
Dear Friends,
We would like to start the new year by providing you with some additional information regarding the working group meeting in Rotterdam 22-23 June. Please find attached some practical information to start planning your visit. We are working on arranging everything in Rotterdam and hope to be able to open registrations soon.
For now, please remember to contact the relevant subgroup chair if you're interested in presenting your work by 31/01/2026. We have again attached the notice about the meeting to this message, including the email addresses. Additionally, below are two specific calls for abstracts from the Sub Group Legal Professional Values and Identities and the Sub Group Judiciary.
We look forward to seeing many of you in June.
Best wishes,Avrom and Nina
CALL for abstracts for Sub Group Legal Professional Values and Identities, to be sent to Hilary Sommerlad: h.a.k.s...@leeds.ac.uk by 31/1/26.The Conference focus on what it means to be a lawyer under crisis and pressure is a good fit for this sub-group’s theme, and I therefore invite abstracts which generally reflect on professional identity and professional values in these turbulent times. However, I suggest that the group might focus particularly on what it means to lawyer in jurisdictions which are on ‘the approach’ to right wing authoritarianism. For instance, while the UK government and political and legal system could not currently be described as authoritarian, majoritarian, nationalistic narratives, in which human rights lawyers are depicted as unpatriotic, are increasingly prevalent. Papers looking at how this impacts on lawyers’ values, identities, working lives would be most welcome.
CALL for abstracts for Sub Group Judiciary, to be sent to Nina Holvast and Luca Verzelloni (hol...@law.eur.nl, luca.ve...@unimib.it) by 31/1/26.
In addition to the option to present in a regular session of the subgroup we organise a specific session about Judiciary and politics. We invite submissions for this paper session that examines the evolving relationship between judicial institutions, judges, public prosecutors and political processes. Although courts are often portrayed as neutral guardians of the rule of law, recent developments – ranging from constitutional reforms and judicial backlash to strategic litigation in fields such as environmental law, diversity and inclusion rights, and migration and the politicization of judicial appointments – highlight the need to understand courts not only as legal institutions but also as proactive actors within the political and social arena. This session seeks contributions that illuminate how courts, judges, and public prosecutors within them navigate, shape, and are shaped by political and societal dynamics across diverse systems and contexts. We particularly welcome theoretically grounded and empirically informed work that advances our understanding of judicial behaviour, institutional design, and the political roles of courts in contemporary governance.
Working Group of the Legal Profession Meeting 2026, 22-23 June, Rotterdam. Lawyers and the Rule of Law Under Pressure
Notice of Meeting
In an era marked by global crises, shifting societal expectations, and rapid technological change, the legal profession and the nature of lawyering are under unprecedented pressure. Lawyers are navigating shifting conceptions of lawyer behaviour and involvement, with complex ethical dilemmas, increasing workloads, a growing demand for faster, more accessible justice and the benefit or pressure of an uncertain digital intrusion. As a result, what it means to be a lawyer must be continually reexamined and redefined. Our next working group meeting will be in Rotterdam at Erasmus University from 22nd to 23rd June 2026 (please put these dates in your calendar), thanks to Nina Holvast, who will co-host the Meeting. As an Organising theme, we aim to discuss what it means to be a lawyer under crisis and pressure: -What do these developments tell us about the nature of lawyering itself? -How do lawyers uphold the rule of law when the systems that support it are strained? -What reforms are needed to sustain the profession without compromising its core values? -Can lawyers continue to serve justice while also protecting their own well-being? -How have lawyers managed with crises in the past? -Can we educate Lawyers for turmoil and change? As usual, these themes are not intended to be prescriptive and all issues, themes and approaches are welcome. Sub-group leaders will wish to develop their own group themes and interests. A list of sub-groups and leaders with emails is included below. The Working Group Meeting will open with a Plenary session based around Rick Abel’s five books on “Defending American Democracy- Resistance to Trump and Trumpism”: How Autocrats are held Accountable; How Autocrats Subvert Elections, How Autocrats Seek Power , How Autocrats Abuse Power and; How Autocrats Attack Expertise (all Routledge, 2023-5). The author will present the series in the context of the Working Group interests. Rick asks for comments on autocracy from other countries. The Working Group sessions will be divided as usual into sub-group sessions and sub-group leaders will organise how many sessions their group needs depending on the number of papers. We will be asking for Abstracts together with an indication of attendance by 31st January 2026. Registration will be by 28th March 2026. Further information will be provided on travel, accommodation and Meeting venue Closer to the time as well as opportunities for local areas of interest.
Sub- Groups and Leaders
Sub-group 1: Ethics and Deontology Chair Tamara Butter: <t.t.b...@uva.nl>
Sub-group 2: Family, Policy and the Law. Bregje Dijksterhuis <b.m.dijk...@uva.nl>, Marotta Julieta <julieta...@maastrichtuniversity.nl>
Sub-group 4: Judiciary. Chairs Nina Holvast and Luca Verzelloni: hol...@law.eur.nl, luca.ve...@unimib.it
Sub-group 6: Access to Justice and Legal Aid. Chair Alan Paterson: prof.alan...@strath.ac.uk
Sub-group 7: Legal Education. Chair Avrom Sherr: Avrom...@gmail.com
Sub-group 8: Legal Professional Values and Identities. Chair Hilary Sommerlad : h.a.k.s...@leeds.ac.uk
Sub-group 10: Women/Gender in the Legal Profession Chair Ulrike Schultz: ulrike....@fernuni-hagen.de
Sub-group 12: Histories of the Legal Professions Chair Eyal Katvan: drka...@gmail.com
Sub-group 13 Lawyers and Imperialism Chair Sara Dezalay: sara.d...@gmail.com