The Kent Critical Law Society - one of four student law societies at the University of Kent - will host its first annual conference, 'Equality - Are We There Yet?' in Keynes College at the Canterbury campus of the University on the 10th and 11th March.

The conference is student-led and will attract practitioners, law students, academics and interested members of the public from all over the UK.  In line with Kent Law School's tradition of critical legal education, the purpose of the conference is to explore current issues in equalities law and to place them in their social and economic context. The conference will feature plenaries on race, gender and the economic crisis. Speakers will include advocates of alternatives to the economics of austerity such as James Meadway of the New Economics Foundation and Karen Chouhan of Equanomics, lawyers who have been involved in recent important protests such as Matthew Varnham of Occupy the London Stock Exchange and Keith Lomax, solicitor for the residents of Dale Farm. The conference promises two days of debate, topical discussion and a great Law School welcome.

Featuring over 40 speakers discussing issues surrounding and relating to equality, the conference aims to provide a forum for open debate, discussion and criticism of how far equality is achieved (or not) by the law and legal systems of the UK. 

Confirmed speakers include:

• Corinna Ferguson - Liberty
• Lord Navnit Dholakia - House of Lords
• Pragna Patel - Southall Black Sisters
• Karon Monaghan QC - Matrix Chambers
• Mark Stephens - Finers Stevens Innocent LLP (solicitor for Julian Assange)
• Keith Lomax (solicitor for the Dale Farm residents)
• Hicham Yezza - Editor-in-Chief at Ceasefire Magazine
• James Meadway - New Economics Foundation
• Ann Furedi - BPAS
• Karen Chouhan - Equanomics
• Matthew Varnham - Occupy LSX
• Bill Kerry - The Equality Trust

If you would like to attend the conference or find out more, please email the Critical Law Society at conference@kentcls.org