The Dickson Poon School of Law is the law school of King's College London, itself part of the federal University of London, and serves as one of the nine schools of study within the college. It is situated on the Strand in the East Wing of Somerset House, in close proximity to the Royal Courts of Justice and the four Inns of Court in the heart of London's legal quarter. Among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world, it is currently ranked in the global top 15[3][4] and fifth in both Europe and the UK.[5]
Following a donation of £20 million by Dickson Poon in 2012, the school was renamed in his honour.[6] The current dean of the school is Professor Dan Hunter.[7]
History
Law has been taught at King's College London since 1831. It was originally taught within the Senior Department.[8] In 1839, teaching transferred to the Department of General Literature and Science in response to the need for a greater differentiation of the syllabus for students of the Senior Department at the King's.[8][9] Law became part of a broad faculty of subjects and classes that provided a core liberal syllabus in the arts and sciences available to all students of King's.[9] From 1893, it was known as the Division of Laws and Economics under the Faculty of Arts.[8]
The Faculty of Laws was founded in 1909 and became known as the School of Law in 1991.[8] The school took its current name in 2012 in recognition of Hong Kong businessman Sir Dickson Poon, who made a gift of £20 million to the school. It is thought to be the largest-ever donation to a British or European law faculty at the time.[10]
The school is in the heart of legal London. It was previously housed in a row of buildings adjacent to the Strand and Embankment along the River Thames. On 7 December 2009, it was announced that the school would relocate to the East Wing of Somerset House, a prominent example of neo-classical architecture, designed by Sir William Chambers in the late eighteenth century on the site of an earlier Tudor palace. Negotiations for the new lease are said to have taken some 180 years.[11][12] In February 2012, the refurbished East Wing was officially opened by the patron of the college, Queen Elizabeth II.[13]
The first dean of the school was David Caron,[14] formerly of the University of California, Berkeley. Caron's appointment followed the renaming of the school and its new focus on transnational law. The school is also one of the ten international law schools that are members of the Center for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS). Caron describes the typical graduate of the school as "a transnational, global, lawyer with [...] roots in the historic tradition of the English common law that has influenced, and in turn been influenced by, much of the world, and in the more recent tradition of European Union law. They 'think global' because we teach them with a transnational perspective."[15]
The school offers a four-year LLB in law with transnational legal studies as part of its work with the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies. In 2012, the school saw the admission of its first cohort for its LLB in philosophy, politics, and law, a four-year multi-disciplinary degree that will build on the work of the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Philosophy, Politics & Law.
The school also offers Ivy-League style scholarships based on academic merit awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding potential, and life ambition.[17][18][19]
Graduate programmes include full-time and part-time LLM and MA programmes, as well as distance-learning courses for legal practitioners. Since 2007 the school has conferred its own Master of Laws (LLM) degree, having previously been a contributor to the University of London intercollegiate programme. Those who study for the degree may elect to take a specialisation in one of several of the school's strengths, including international commercial law, international financial law and European Union law. The school also offers a dual degree with ESSEC Business School in France[20] and the Global School of Law in Lisbon.[21]
The school offers a full-time graduate research programme leading to the award of the PhD in law. The school has 80 doctoral researchers. The school has hosted the annual International Graduate Legal Research Conference since 2007. The Graduate Legal Research Society arranges educational and social events for the doctoral researcher community and liaises with school management on behalf of the community.
The school is host to research projects funded by the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the European Commission. The school includes various research centres and groups which serve as focal points for research activity. These include the Centre of European Law, established in 1974, the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics, established in 1978, and the Centre of British Constitutional Law and History, established in 1988.
In 2013, the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law was established following a £7 million gift from Mark Yeoh (LLB graduate) and his family.[22]
The school has undertaken significant investment in the field of transnational law in recent years and has established an Institute of Transnational Law led by Peer Zumbansen.
Publications
The school publishes the scholarly King's Law Journal, as well as the King's Student Law Review. The Centre of European Law publishes a paper series, Working Papers in European Law. The International State Crime Initiative publishes a range of reports, commentaries, and other materials on state crime. The faculty at the school are regular authors of monographs, scholarly treatises and articles, and contributions to periodicals. Latest publications from the Dickson Poon School of Law are available on King's Research Portal.[23]
Reputation
It is one of the highest ranked institutions for the study of law in the United Kingdom and the world.[4] In 2024, the Dickson Poon School of Law ranked 15th in the world and 4th in Europe in the QS World University Rankings.[24]
Notable faculty
Ben Bowling, professor of criminology and criminal justice and former acting dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law
David Caron, professor of law and former dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law
Gillian Douglas, professor of family law and dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law
Sir Francis Jacobs, professor of European law and president of the Centre for European Law[25]
Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Dickson Poon distinguished visitor, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (2008-2013), convenor of the Crossbench Peers in the House of Lords
Lady Hale, visiting professor, president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2017-2020)
Toby Landau, QC, visiting professor, a renowned British lawyer and arbitration expert[26]
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