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The UCL Faculty of Laws invites you to honour Professor Valentine Korah's legacy by contributing to a special fund established in her memory.
Why Your Contribution Matters
Professor Valentine Korah, who passed away in July 2023, left a lasting legacy. She was the first female law professor at UCL and one of the first three in the UK. She was one of the first women in the UK to be appointed to a Chair in Law and devoted her career to competition law, becoming a leading academic in the European Community and Competition Law and comparative/international antitrust.
Academic Excellence
Professor Korah was one of the first to engage with an interdisciplinary (law and economics) approach to competition law, in her teaching and research. She earned her LLB, LLM, and PhD at UCL and went on to teach and research competition law, establishing the first postgraduate course on the subject. Keeping this tradition/her legacy alive, UCL Laws continues to offer a number of competition law courses taking a transdisciplinary perspective, in particular drawing on law, economics, sociology, political science and complexity science.
She taught her students to understand and critically evaluate the rules, not just to memorise them. Even years after taking her courses at UCL, many of her former students, who have become academics, lawyers, or judges, speak of her with respect and affection. Her story is profoundly linked to the history of UCL Faculty of Laws, and we are honoured to have had her as a student, alumna, professor, and friend.
Influence on Policy
Her critiques of the European Commission's approach to competition law led to significant policy changes. Her inaugural lecture at UCL influenced EEC competition policy, culminating in the European Commission’s 2000 Guidelines on vertical restraints. Professor Korah wrote extensively on competition law and the European Community, including her most recent book together with Professor Ioannis Lianos (UCL Laws) and Paolo Siciliani (Bank of England), "Competition Law: Analysis, Cases, & Materials" (Oxford University Press, 2019) which has become a point of reference in the field.
Global Impact
Professor Korah built a global community of competition law scholars and practitioners. She taught at the College of Europe in Bruges, Fordham University School of Law, and travelled extensively, extending her influence worldwide.
Practical Application
Her policy-oriented research and legal insights significantly benefited the legal and economic community. Her work on distribution agreements and technology transfer arrangements remains a vital resource.
- The Valentine Korah scholarship
This scholarship will honour Professor Korah's life, and one of her proudest achievements: teaching. It will also help alleviate financial anxieties, remove financial barriers, and reduce the need for part-time work. With greater financial security, our scholars can connect with their peers, and fully embrace the opportunities that come with being part of a dynamic university environment, in a global city like London.
- Annual Valentine Korah lecture
Every year, the Valentine Korah Lecture would be delivered by world-leading legal intellectuals in the fields of competition law and policy. A gift would support an inaugural lecture and indeed we would love to hold this in future years. Convening leaders in law would provide an opportunity for students to hear from and meet leading practitioners.
- Annual undergraduate Valentine Korah prize in competition law
This annual prize will be awarded to an undergraduate student who has demonstrated exceptional work throughout their course and is in recognition of their talent and hard work. A gift would make this prize possible to award for one academic year. Multi-year gifts would enable several students to benefit over a few years.
- Academic Post
A gift to sponsor the creation of a new academic post. This new post will be instrumental in driving forward world-leading research and developing the emerging vision for research within either competition law or policy.
