The Inner Temple Appoints New Academic Fellows

Four leading legal academics have been appointed Academic Fellows of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Dr Carmen Draghici (City, University of London), Dr Andy Hayward (Durham University), Dr Christine Bicknell (University of Exeter) and Professor Eirik Bjorge (University of Bristol) have been selected to take up this prestigious three-year role.

The Inner Temple’s Academic Fellows Scheme aims to recognise the outstanding contribution of legal teaching and research of early to mid-career academics. It also aims to support their research and to build a stronger relationship between the Bar, judiciary and legal academia.

Debate and discussion are at the very heart of the legal world, both in practice and in academia. Having the opportunity to bring together practitioners and academics, who The Inner Temple recognise for their outstanding contribution to teaching and research, is a key principle of the Inn. The Inner Temple’s Academic Fellows Scheme helps to foster debate and understanding between these two communities.

In addition to its fundamental training role, the Inner Temple works closely with universities across the UK to provide information on the profession to aspiring entrants. Last year, the Inner Temple reached nearly 3000 university students and hundreds of legal academics and tutors. This included its specific programme to support students from non-traditional backgrounds to enter the profession, the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme (PASS).