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Our global community of alumni, the Bentham Association, provides advice and support for all former students as well as bringing together alumni and staff at regular networking events around the world
Join the Bentham Association today
By joining us, you can keep in touch with all the news from UCL Laws and find out about the latest opportunities for professional development and learning in the Faculty. You can also register for your free UCL Alumni Benefits Card, giving you access to a range of exclusive benefits, including discounts and special offers for holidays, theatre tickets, language lessons and gym memberships.
We are grateful for the continuing generosity of our alumni. The donations and financial support kindly given by our alumni provide funds and scholarships, enabling us to continue to attract the brightest minds to UCL Laws.
History
Established in 1949, the Bentham Association was formed to help maintain and strengthen relationships with our former students, colleagues and friends of UCL Laws. The Bentham Association provides a forum for discussion at events throughout the year, offers opportunities for professional networking and development, and encourages the active support of UCL Laws alumni in shaping life in the faculty.
The first Bentham Association President, Lord du Parcq, and over the following 65 years, we have been led by many distinguished figures from the legal profession and academia, including Professor Sir David Hughes Parry, Lord Hailsham, Lady Hale and Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury.
The 2020 President is Karon Monaghan QC and the Presidential Address and Dinner will be held on Wednesday 5 May 2020.
- Past presidents of the Bentham Association
- 2020 Karon Monaghan QC
- 2019 Lord Reed - Watch this lecture
- 2018 Professor Dame Hazel Genn DBE QC - Watch this lecture
- 2017 Professor Kate O'Regan - Watch this lecture
- 2016 The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey MA Tao-li, GBM
- 2015 Lord Falconer of Thornton PC, QC - Watch Lord Falconer's 2015 Presidential Address on YouTube
- 2014 Lord Dyson – Lord Dyson's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2013 Professor Sir Robin Jacob
- 2012 Lady Justice Hallett DBE – Watch Lady Justice Hallett DBE's Presidential Address on YouTube, or download a pdf.
- 2011 Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury – Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2010 Lord Hope of Craighead – Lord Hope of Craighead's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2009 Lord Pannick QC
- 2008 Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe – Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2007 Baroness Ruth Deech – Baroness Ruth Deech's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2006 Sir John Laws – Sir John Laws' Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2005 Lady Hale – Lady Hale's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2004 Mr Justice Edwin Cameron – Edwin Cameron's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2003 Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers – Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers' Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2002 Sir Ian Kennedy
- 2001 Lord Hoffmann – Lord Hoffmann's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 2000 Lord Bingham of Cornhill – Lord Bingham of Cornhill's Bentham Address (pdf)
- 1999 Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, Q.C.
- 1998 The Hon. Justice Richard Posner
- 1997 Sir Richard Scott
- 1996 Lord Steyn
- 1995 Sir Iain Glidewell
- 1994 Lord Woolf, CH
- 1993 Lord Browne Wilkinson
- 1992 Lord Slynn of Hadley
- 1991 Sir T. L. Yang
- 1990 Lord Donaldson of Lymington
- 1989 Lord Justice Butler-Sloss, D.B.E.
- 1988 Sir Robert Megarry
- 1987 Sir Roger Ormrod
- 1986 Lord Goff of Chieveley
- 1985 Sir Jack Jacob, Q.C.
- 1984 Lord Roskill
- 1983 Lord Lloyd of Hampstead, Q.C.
- 1982 Lord Emslie
- 1981 Lord Hailsham
- 1980 Lord Elwyn-Jones
- 1979 Sir Garfield Barwick
- 1978 Baroness Wooton of Abinger
- 1977 Lord Goodman, C.H
- 1976 Rt. Hon. Bora Laskin
- 1975 Lord Edmund-Davies
- 1974 Lord Cross
- 1973 Lord Morris
- 1972 The Hon. Warren E. Burger
- 1971 Lord Diplock
- 1970 Lord Gardiner
- 1969 Professor Otto Kahn-Freund
- 1968 Lord McDermott
- 1967 Lord Kilbrandon
- 1966 Lord Justice Scarman
- 1965 Lord Parker
- 1964 Sir Francis Vallat, Q.C.
- 1963 Professor G.W. Keeton
- 1962 Mr Justice Thompson
- 1961 Lord Justice Salmon
- 1960 Professor J.L. Montrose
- 1959 Sir David Hughes Parry
- 1958 Lord Tangley
- 1957 Lord Hodson
- 1956 Lord Devlin
- 1955 Professor H.G. Hanbury
- 1954 Professor H.F. Jolowicz
- 1953 Lord Evershed
- 1952 Lord Justice Denning
- 1951 Sir Cecil Carr, K.C
- 1950 Lord Normand
- 1949 Lord du Parcq
Events and reunions
We regularly host events, bringing together alumni, friends and colleagues here in London and in countries around the world. Each year, we host the Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner and special receptions and reunions for year groups to get together to share stories of their student days and what they’ve been up to since they left us.
Our alumni and members of the Bentham Association are also welcome to join us at our seminars, lectures, debates and conferences on a wide variety of legal topics. Many of these events are free and are accredited for CPD hours by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and IP Reg.
All UCL Laws alumni receive a newsletter to keep up to date with our upcoming events. If you are an alumnus and don't receive this newsletter email the UCL Laws Communciations Team.
- Past Bentham Association events
Each year, we host the Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner and special receptions and reunions for year groups to get together to share stories of their student days and what they’ve been up to since they left us.
2017
UCL Faculty of Laws is proud to have welcomed over 80 alumni and friends to the 2017 Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner on Thursday 9 May 2017.
Delivering the 68th Presidential Address, 2017 Bentham Association President Kate O’Regan, former Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, spoke on ‘A Constitutional Journey: Judicial review of administrative action in post-apartheid South Africa’.
- Watch the 2017 Bentham Association Presidential Address (YouTube)
- See a selection of images from the 2017 Presidential Address and Dinner (Flickr)
2016
Held on Wednesday 16 March 2016, at UCL, the Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey MA Tao-Li GBM, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong delivered the 2016 Bentham Association Presidential Address: “In Praise of an Old, Honourable and Distinguished Friend: The Bar”.
2015
On Wednesday 11 March 2015, Professor Dame Hazel Genn DBE QC, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Laws, welcomed the Rt Hon The Lord Falconer of Thoroton PC, QC, former Lord Chancellor to deliver the 2015 Bentham Association Presidential address on ‘The Role of The Lord Chancellor After the 2005 Reforms’.
- Watch the 2015 Bentham Association Presidential Address (YouTube)
- View gallery of images from the 2015 Bentham Address and Dinner (Flickr)
2014
On Wednesday 12 March 2014, the Rt Hon The Lord Dyson delivered the 2014 Bentham Association Presidential Address, ‘Are the judges too powerful?’
2013
On Thursday 21 March 2013, Professor Robin Jacob delivered his Inaugural Lecture and the 2013 Bentham Association Presidential Address, ‘IP Law: Keep Calm and Carry On?’
2012
The 2012 Bentham Association Presidential Address, ‘Independence under Threat?’ was given by the Rt Hon. Lady Justice Hallett.
The event was chaired by Edwin Glasgow QC CBE.
- UCL Laws Prize Winners Ceremonies
The UCL Laws Student Prize Winners Ceremony is one of the highlights of the Faculty’s year, when we gather to celebrate student achievement. Our prizes and scholarships are awarded to students who have achieved top marks in their examinations at UCL or whose academic distinction is such that a scholarship has been awarded to provide the opportunity to study here.
View our galleries on Flickr below:
- Graduation ceremonies
Alumni benefits
As a member of the UCL Laws alumni community, you can take advantage of a wealth of benefits, including discounted CPD courses, invitations to special events and reunions, and a UCL alumni email address, to help you stay in touch with old friends and colleagues.
You can also register to receive a free UCL Alumni Benefits card, which entitles you to a range of exclusive alumni discounts, including alumni subscription to the UCL Library, reduced-price tickets at selected shows at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, and discounts for language and professional courses.
The UCL Alumni Benefits card also gives you access to special offers on products and services from a number of partners, to help you save money on hotels, holidays and car rental.
Alumni profiles
Find out about our former students’ experiences since they graduated, what they enjoyed about studying at UCL Laws and why they benefited from UCL’s central London location on our alumni profiles page. These profiles also appear on See how UCL students excel in London.
If you would like to have your profile featured please get in touch with the UCL Laws Communications team.
Join us
We are committed to maintaining lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with our alumni, wherever they are.
By joining our global alumni network, the Bentham Association, you will be able to keep in touch with old friends and colleagues from UCL Laws, receive the latest news and updates about the faculty and our events, and be eligible for a 15% discount on our CPD courses. You’ll also be invited to attend special alumni events and reunions, including the Bentham Association Annual Presidential Address and Dinner.
In return, you can play a vital part in the life of UCL Laws by judging student moots and client interviewing competitions, sharing your experience at careers and recruitment events, and through your professional connections, help us to obtain sponsorship to support and promote our events and activities.
With the generous support of our alumni, we are able to award prizes to recognise the achievements of our students, including the Bentham Prizes for Jurisprudence and for Merit, and the Sir Jack Jacob Prize for Civil Justice. Our alumni also help to provide valuable assistance to our students who are in financial difficulty through the Bentham Club Scholarship, helping us to continue to attract the brightest minds to UCL Laws, regardless of their financial or social background.
It’s completely free to join the Bentham Association, and all UCL Laws students are automatically enrolled as members when they graduate. If you are practising law, but studied a different subject at UCL, you are also eligible for membership.
You can also join the Bentham Association on LinkedIn and keep in touch with old friends, share ideas and find out about new opportunities.
