The Future of Social Justice Education

The Future of Social Justice Education  

About the event

The last twenty years have seen a drastic shift in the landscape of social justice education in the UK. Many universities have launched legal advice clinics and expanded their pro bono offerings in response to legal aid cuts, community need and student demands. At the same time the professional landscape has also seen significant changes in the routes to qualification with the introduction of the SQE as well as increasing practical and financial barriers to accessing and sustaining social justice careers generally. These challenges raise questions about what social justice education should look like and what role universities can play in shaping the next generation of legal practitioners.

Looking at these questions, panellists Jacqueline Kinghan, Rohini Jana, Thembi Fakoya-Sales and Michael Marshall will explore the future of social justice education from the perspective of universities, the profession, and students. 

The event will include an introduction from Professor Dame Hazel Genn KC. It will be chaired by Rachel Knowles, Director of the UCL Centre for Access to Justice. 

About the panel

Professor Jacqueline Kinghan - Professor, University of Glasgow

Jacqueline Kinghan is a Professor of Law and Social Change at the University of Glasgow School of Law. She is the Co-Director of the award-winning Glasgow Open Justice Centre and Emma Ritch Law Clinic. She was previously a Senior Lecturer in Law and Social Justice at Newcastle University; and Principal Teaching Fellow and Director of the UCL Centre for Access to Justice at UCL Faculty of Laws. At UCL she founded the Access to Justice and Community Engagement course in 2011 and established a range of pro bono projects and clinics in partnership with community organisations. Jacqueline has recently co-authored a comprehensive student textbook addressing both the theory and practice of clinical legal education (OUP, 2026). Her research addresses legal aid, social justice lawyering and clinical legal education and her next monograph, co-authored with Professor Lisa Vanhala at UCL, presents a framework for legal mobilisation by civil society organisations in the UK. 

Rohini Jana - Director of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs LAPG (and current MPA candidate at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose)

Rohini is a former finance solicitor with magic circle firm, Linklaters and now Director of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs for Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG). LAPG provides secretariat support for the APPG on Access to Justice. Rohini will speak about legal aid cuts and the sustainability of the profession, training recent graduates in social welfare law and her role working with policy-makers and lobbying for the future of the justice sector.

Thembi Fakoya-Sales - Registrar, Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber  

Thembi Fakoya-Sales is a qualified solicitor who currently works as a Registrar at the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber. Prior to working at UTAAC, Thembi specialised in housing, homelessness and public law litigation at Mary Ward Legal Centre. A UCL alumni, Thembi qualified in 2020 after securing a training contract through the Justice First Fellowship scheme in 2017. She is an experienced advocate, representing clients on the County Court Duty Possession Scheme. Thembi was an executive committee member of the Junior Housing Law Practitioner’s Association and is a member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers.  

Michael Marshall - Solicitor, Fife Law Centre. Former Solicitor at UCL iLAC.  

Michael Marshall is an English-qualified solicitor working at the Fife Law Centre in Scotland. He specialises in welfare benefits and housing law. Before moving home to Fife, Michael completed his LLB at UCL, graduating in 2019. Michael has been involved with UCL’s Centre for Access to Justice since 2016, beginning as a 1st year volunteer receptionist at the centre’s legal clinic, UCL ILAC. After graduating, he was employed by the CAJ as a social welfare adviser, then as its first ever trainee, ultimately qualifying into practice at ILAC in 2022. In 2024, Michael was a finalist for Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year in the housing category. 

About the UCL Centre for Access to Justice  

In response to LASPO 2012, UCL Laws incorporated casework and social justice awareness into its law degree programmes and recently launched a specialist social welfare law module. Working with charity organisations, legal professionals and through our own in-house provision, the Centre for Access to Justice provides legal assistance to members of the local community while giving students an opportunity to gain hands on experience in meeting legal needs and critically reflect on the role of law in society. 

Schedule 

17:00 Arrival of Guests and Registration 

17:30 The Future of Social Justice Education Panel 

19:00 Reception 

Access to Justice at UCL: Past and Present (Exhibit) 

Working together, staff at the Centre for Access to Justice (CAJ) and UCL Laws students have prepared an exhibit outlining UCL’s historic contributions to access to justice until the present day. 

The exhibit will be on display in the Bentham House Atrium from 27th May to 5th June 2026.