Key facts

Overview

About Southampton Law School

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 huddle around laptop in the library law collection
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:

Research facilities

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.

Clinical Legal Education

The University of Southampton Law School’s Clinical Legal Education programme offers students the opportunity to engage in experiential learning through its Legal Clinic.

The Global Legal Clinic

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.
  • Make a positive contribution to the community.
  • Network and raise your personal profile.

Book an appointment at the Southampton Legal Clinic here.

Professional courses

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.

Our courses

Research, engagement and enterprise

Read about our research in more depth and learn about our partnerships.

Our research community

Explore the work of our research centres and institutes, each devoted to a particular specialism in law.

People

We are a research intensive, innovative and value-driven global Law School with a strong focus on pastoral care.
Head of School
Our academics are producing cutting-edge research, and influencing national and international debate, on pressing global challenges.
Deputy Head of School (Research)
Fostering learning through research led and small group teaching is an important hallmark of the successful approach Southampton takes to education.
Senior Lecturer

Work with us

  • A student in the mooting room at Southampton Law School

    Jobs at Southampton

    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.

Contact us

Talk to us, we're happy to help

You can contact us by:
Southampton Law School, Building 4 University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ UK
We're open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm UK time

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