Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner 2025

Last week UCL Laws alumni and UCL alumni working in the law were welcomed to campus for the annual Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner. The 2025 President, Professor Nicola Lacey (LSE, UCL alumna), addressed the audience with a talk on Criminal Justice and Social (In)Justice.

Professor Lacey spoke about the implications of structural inequalities and injustice for criminal lawyers. Her address considered the room for manoeuvre in mitigating such injustice afforded by the criminal law and criminal process. She is the Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy at LSE Law School and an Associate of the International Inequalities Institute.

In 2017 she was awarded a CBE for services to law, justice and gender politics, and in 2022 she received the Law and Society Association’s International Prize for great achievements in the field. Professor Lacey is a graduate of UCL Laws and received an LLB (First Class Honours), as well as winning many prizes including the Hurst Prize in English Law, the Maxwell Law Prize, and the Maxwell Medal (for the top degree of the year in the Faculty, 1979).

The Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner – which took place on 26 March – opened with a speech from Professor Eloise Scotford, Dean of UCL Laws, and was chaired by Professor David Ormerod.

The annual event includes a drinks reception, the Presidential Address, and dinner. It is a highlight in the UCL Laws events calendar, providing an excellent opportunity for alumni to catch up with former classmates, and make new friends and contacts. This year some undergraduate and postgraduate students were also invited to attend.

Professor Scotford said: “The Bentham Address has long been a special tradition for our alumni and faculty colleagues – a chance to come together, reconnect and engage in meaningful discussions about important legal issues in society. It was wonderful to see so many alumni in attendance, from those who have established careers as well as those who have graduated more recently, along with our brilliant staff and current students. With President Professor Nicola Lacey delivering a thought-provoking keynote on Criminal Justice and Social (In)Justice, the evening was both intellectually stimulating and celebratory – a true reflection of our inspiring community.”

The Bentham Association was formed in 1949 to help maintain and strengthen relationships with alumni, colleagues and friends of UCL Laws. Over the years, the Association has been led by many distinguished figures, including Lord du Parcq (the first President), Sir David Hughes Parry, Lady Hale and Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury.

Today the Bentham Association has evolved into the UCL Laws Alumni Association, a community that remains distinctively supportive of UCL Laws while also welcoming all UCL alumni working in legal fields. Find out more about the Bentham Association and UCL Laws Alumni Association.

Watch the 2025 Presidential Address