Legal Practice Conversation Series: David Ruebain in Conversation with Daniel Monk
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
No booking required
The Legal Practice Conversation series aims to provide students with first-hand insight into how law works in practice – and an opportunity to ask a legal practitioner about careers in law.
At this event, David Ruebain will be talking with Professor Daniel Monk about his varied and distinguished career and legal practice and the role of law as a tool for change.
About the Speaker
After qualifying as a Solicitor in 1989 David was first employed by the Inner London Education Authority and was subsequently the Senior Solicitor and Principal Legal Officer in Education and Administrative Law at the London Borough of Southwark. In 1995 he moved to private practice and was a partner and Founder Head of the Department of Education and Disability Law with Levenes Solicitors, specialising in education law, public law, disability law, human rights law and equalities law. For over a decade he was an acknowledged leader, listed in the top rank of experts in Chambers and Partners: A Guide to the Legal Profession and in The Legal 500. In 2007 he left private practice to take up the position of Director of Legal Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, where he led the Commission’s work to support the Single Equality Bill (now the Equality Act 2010). In 2010 he left legal practice to take up the position of Chief Executive of Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), a strategic research and policy agency supporting the UK and overseas research, higher and further education sectors to advance equality and diversity for staff and students. In October 2018, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama.
David has published and taught extensively and has a number of other roles, including Equality Adviser to the English FA Premier League, a member of the Rights & Justice Committee of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, a trustee of Action on Disability and Development and a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board of the Wellcome Trust. He is the winner of RADAR’s People of the Year Award for Achievement in the Furtherance of Human Rights of Disabled People in the UK, 2002, shortlisted for the Law Society’s Gazette Centenary Award for Lifetime Achievement – Human Rights, in November 2003, listed as one of 25 Most Influential Disabled People in the UK by Disability Now Magazine, listed in the Disability News Service’s “Influence Index”, and listed in the all three Disability Power Lists, latterly here.
Part of the conversation will focus on two aspects of his practice while employed as the Director of Legal Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR).
1. A high profile Supreme Court school admission case, which the ECHR participated in as an ‘intervener’. The case is R (on the application of E) (Respondent) v Governing Body of JFS and the Admissions Appeal Panel of JFS (Appellants) and others [2009] UKSC 15. It can be accessed here.
2. Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 which introduced a new ‘positive action’ provision regarding “equally qualified candidates. Information about the provision can be accessed here.
This event will be of interest to anybody interested in equality and human rights and education law and to anybody interested in thinking about both a career in law and the role of law in general. This event is open to Birkbeck students and alumni. It is free, however booking is required via this page.
Latecomers to the event are not guaranteed entry. Please be advised that photographs may be taken at the event.
Bookings for this event are being taken via Eventbrite. Eventbrite is a privately run platform for event booking. By completing this booking, you will become an Eventbrite user, and your data will be processed by them as described in their privacy policy. Any data you provide will be passed from Eventbrite to Birkbeck and processed in line with our privacy notice.
Please contact us if you have any access requirements. More details of accessibility at Birkbeck venues can be found here.
Contact name:
School of Law