How to become a member of Council

The Council is the plenary body of the Society on which all qualifying law schools are represented. The Council also includes officers of the Society, former Presidents of the Society (for three years after they cease to be President), and the Editors of the Society’s publications.

The representative of each qualifying law school is usually appointed at Law School level. Every School will have a different approach to this, and we strongly encourage Schools to ensure that in appointing their representative to consider the Society’s commitment to advancing and valuing equality, diversity, and inclusiveness across all of the legal academy.

We encourage people interested in becoming a member of Council to speak to their Head of School or Dean in the first instance to express their interest in the role.

What do Council members do?

Council members represent their law school, faculty, or department within the SLS. Council oversees the activities of the SLS (see more about Council here).

What is the time commitment of being a member of Council?

Membership of Council is not a time-consuming commitment. Council members attend two Council meetings a year (usually in March and September, ordinarily in person but virtual attendance will be facilitated), including the AGM, which takes place at the Annual Conference. In addition, individual schools, faculties, or departments may ask their Council member to also act as the SLS Constituency Representative, who is responsible for preparing constituency news for the Reporter (twice yearly) and circulating information from the Society to members in the school or department. This is usually arranged and agreed at local level. It is best practice for this role to carry a modest workload allocation at institutional level.

How are Council members supported?

The SLS does not usually reimburse Council members’ expenses. Ordinarily, they are reimbursed by their school or department.