Cherie Booth visits UCL

In an event held at Bentham House Moot Court, the QC gave an insight into her busy life as a barrister, mother of four and wife to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Event attendees included two eminent lawyers: Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL's Provost & President, and Professor Michael Bridge, Dean of the Faculty of Laws.

Ms Booth's talk was given as part of a summer school programme for students from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. The annual four-week programme, held in collaboration with UCL's Faculty of Laws, is now in its third year and going stronger than ever, said course organiser Ms Christine Washington. She explained: "Students on the programme attend courses and take examinations in international and comparative law. They also go on a series of walking tours to the Royal Courts of Justice and Inns of Court, and meet distinguished speakers through the colloquium series. Cherie Booth's talk was a particular highlight of the visit."

Ms Washington said that Ms Booth's experiences had helped the summer school students to understand how differences between the UK and the US legal system can affect legal practitioners. For example, British barristers have an obligation to take on all the cases that are offered to them. In practical terms, this has meant that as wife of Prime Minister, Ms Booth has been able to continue her career without accusations of political bias. American litigators are able to pick and choose the cases they represent, making it virtually impossible, for example, for her US counterpart Hillary Clinton to continue to practice during her husband's presidency.

She said: "Our collaboration with UCL has been a tremendous success and I hope that we will continue to run this programme for many years to come."

Image: Professor Grant, Ms Cherie Booth and Georgetown's Professor Peter Tague.

For more information about the faculty or the programme, use the links below.

Links:
UCL Faculty of Laws
Georgetown Law Summer Programme