The Society of Legal Scholars
The Society of Legal Scholars is the learned society for those who teach law in a university or similar institution or who are otherwise engaged in legal scholarship. As of the beginning of 2016 the Society had over 3,000 members consisting of academic and practising lawyers in a wide variety of subject areas. It has charitable status.
The SLS publishes one of the UK's leading generalist peer-reviewed law journals, Legal Studies.
The Society was founded in 1908 by Edward Jenks as The Society of Public Teachers of Law and changed its name to the SLS in 2002.
List of presidents
President of The Society of Public Teachers of Law- 1997–1999: Margaret Brazier
- 2000–2001: Joe Thomson
- 2008–2009: Sarah Worthington
- 2010-2011: David Feldman
- 2011–2012: Keith Stanton
- 2015–2016: Andrew Burrows
- 2015–2017: Imelda Maher
Prizes and awards
The society awards the Peter Birks and Margaret Brazier Prizes for Outstanding Legal Scholarship, annually. The Peter Birks award is given to scholars who have been in full-time academic employment for not more than 6 years and were not a professor on the date of publication of the book. The Brazier prize is awarded to scholars who have been in full-time academic employment for more than 6 years but not more than 15 years, and were not a professor on the date of publication of the book.Birks Book Prize Winners
2025
Shortlisted:- Dr Haim Abraham, Tort Liability in Warfare: States’ Wrongs and Civilians’ Rights, Oxford University Press, 2024
- Rachael Blakey, Rethinking Family Mediation: The Role of the Family Mediator in Contemporary Times, Bristol University Press, 2025
- Professor Jordan English, Discharge of Contractual Obligations, Oxford University Press, 2025
- Dr Victoria Hooton, Free Movement and Welfare Access in the European Union: Re-Balancing Conflicting Interests in Citizenship Jurisprudence, Hart Publishing, 2024
- Dr Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Biotechnology, Gestation and the Law, Oxford University Press, 2025
2024
Shortlisted:- Deval Desai, Expert Ignorance: The Law and Politics of Rule of Law Reform, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
- Gabrielle Golding, Shaping Contracts for Work: The Normative Influence of Terms Implied by Law, Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Timothy Liau, Standing in Private Law: Powers of Enforcement in the Law of Obligations and Trusts, Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Vilija Vėlyvytė, Judicial Authority in EU Internal Market Law: Implications for the Balance of Competences and Powers, Hart Publishing, 2022.
Second prize was awarded to Vilija Vėlyvytė, Judicial Authority in EU Internal Market Law: Implications for the Balance of Competences and Powers, Hart Publishing, 2022.
2023
Shortlisted:Dr Alysia Blackham, Reforming Age Discrimination Law: Beyond Individual Enforcement
Dr Philippa Collins, Putting Human Rights to Work: Labour Law, The ECHR and the Employment Relation
Dr Jodi Gardner, The Future of High-Cost Credit: Rethinking Payday Lending
Dr Joshua Jowitt, Agency, Morality and Law
Dr Jaime Lindsey, Reimagining the Court of Protection: Access to Justice in Mental Capacity Law
Dr Sharon Thompson, Quiet Revolutionaries: The Married Women’s Association and Family Law
The winner of the Peter Birks Prizes for Outstanding Legal Scholarship is Dr Alysia Blackham for Reforming Age Discrimination Law: Beyond Individual Enforcement.
Second prize was awarded to Dr Sharon Thompson for Quiet Revolutionaries: The Married Women’s Association and Family Law.
2022
Shortlisted:Dr Beverley Clough, The Spaces of Mental Capacity Law: Moving beyond Binaries
Dr Dominic de Cogan, Tax Law, State-Building and the Constitution
Dr Richard Martin, Policing Human Rights: Law, Narratives and Practice
Dr Natasa Mavronicola, Torture, Inhumanity and Degradation under Article 3 of the ECHR: Absolute Rights and Absolute Wrongs
Professor Natasa Mavronicola is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2022 for Torture, Inhumanity and Degradation under Article 3 ECHR.
The runner up was Dr Dominic de Cogan for ''Tax Law, State-Building and the Constitution.
2021
Shortlisted:The Anatomy of Administrative Law, Dr Joanna Bell
Reconceptualising Corporate Compliance: Responsibility, Freedom and the Law, Dr Anna Donovan
Human Rights Imperialists: The Extraterritorial Application of the European Convention on Human Rights, Dr Conall Mallory
Capitalism before Corporations: The Morality of Business Associations and the Roots of Commercial Equity and Law, Dr Andreas Televantos
Respect and Criminal Justice, Dr Gabrielle Watson
Dr Andreas Televantos is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2021 for Capitalism before Corporations: The Morality of Business Associations and the Roots of Commercial Equity and Law .
There were two joint runners up: Dr Joanna Bell for The Anatomy of Administrative Law and Dr Anna Donovan for Reconceptualising Corporate Compliance: Responsibility, Freedom and the Law .
2020
Shortlisted:Intersectional Discrimination, Dr Shreya Atrey
Child Perpetrators on Trial, Dr Jastine Barrett
Values in the Supreme Court: Decisions, Division and Diversity, Dr Rachel Cahill O’Callaghan
Art and Modern Copyright: The Contested Image, Dr Elena Cooper
The EU as a Global Regulator for Environmental Protection: A Legitimacy Perspective, Dr Ioanna Hadjiyianni
Legal Validity: The Fabric of Justice, Dr Maris Kopcke
A Case for Shareholders’ Fiduciary Duties in Common Law Asia, Ernest Lim
The Construction of Guilt in China: An Empirical Account of Routine Chinese Injustice, Dr Yu Mou
Dr Yu Mou is the winner of the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship 2020 for The Construction of Guilt in China: An Empirical Account of Routine Chinese Injustice.
There were two joint runners up: Dr Shreya Atrey for Intersectional Discrimination and Dr Ernest Lim for A Case for Shareholders’ Fiduciary Duties in Common Law Asia.
2019
Dr Oisin Suttle is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship for Distributive Justice and World Trade Law – A Political Theory of International Trade Regulation.There were two joint runners up: Dr Noam Gur – Legal Directives and Practical Reasons and Dr Hélène Tyrrell – Human Rights in the UK and the Influence of Foreign Jurisprudence.
2018
Dr Nimer Sultany is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship for Law and Revolution: Legitimacy and Constitutionalism After the Arab Spring..Runner-up: Dr Lydia Hayes for ''Stories of Care: A Labour of Law. Gender and Class at Work.''
2017
Devyani Prabhat is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship for Unleashing the Force of Law; Legal Mobilization, National Security, and Basic Freedoms..Runner-up: Alysia Blackham for ''Extending Working Life for Older Workers: Age Discrimination Law, Policy and Practice.''
2016
Jason Varuhas, is the winner of the Peter Birks Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship for Damages and Human Rights.There were two joint runners up: Janina Dill, for Legitimate Targets? Social Construction, International Law and US Bombing and Sandy Steel, for Proof of Causation in Tort Law.
2015
Katja LH Samuel, University of Reading – Judging The OIC, the UN, and Counter-Terrorism Law-Making: Conflicting or Cooperative Legal Orders?,Runners-up: Paul S Davies,University of Oxford, Accessory Liability.
2014
Dr Jeff King, of UCL, Judging Social Rights.Runners-up: Dr James Goudkamp Tort Law Defences ;
and to Dr Jure Vidmar, with his book Democratic Statehood in International Law: The Emergence of New States in Post-Cold War Practice.
2013
Erika Rackley, “Women, Judging and the Judiciary: From Difference to Diversity”,.Brazier Book Prize Winners
2025
Shortlisted:- Dr Jennifer Aston, Deserted wives and economic divorce in 19th Century England and Wales, Hart Publishing, 2024
- Dr Thomas Muinzer, Major Cases in Climate Law: A Critical Introduction, Hart Publishing, 2025
- Ailbhe O’Loughlin, Law and Personality Disorder: Human Rights, Human Risks, and Rehabilitation, Oxford University Press, 2024
2024
Shortlisted:- Foluke Adebisi, Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge: Reflections on Power and Possibility, Bristol University Press, 2023
- Joshua Paine, The Functions of International Adjudication and International Environmental Litigation, Cambridge University Press, 2024
- Brian Tobin, The Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships: Emerging Families in Ireland and Beyond, Hart Publishing, 2023
Second prize was awarded to Joshua Paine, The Functions of International Adjudication and International Environmental Litigation, Cambridge University Press, 2024