About the Conference

Applied Legal Storytelling (AppLS) examines the use of stories, storytelling, or narrative elements in law practice, legal education, and the law.   Past presentations have addressed the ways in which fiction-writing techniques or narrative theory can inform legal storytelling; stories in the law, or law as stories; legal storytelling and metaphor; client story advocacy; legal storytelling and cognitive science; and ethical considerations in legal storytelling

The Applied Legal Storytelling Conference brings together academics, judges, other law-makers, practitioners, and any other type of legal storyteller. The conference has previously convened in 2007 (London), 2009 (Portland), 2011 (Denver), 2013 (London), 2015 (Seattle), 2017 (Washington D.C.), 2019 (Boulder), and 2021 (Virtual/Mercer).

Summer 2023 Conference

This summer’s conference is hosted by the Legal Writing Institute, the Clinical Legal Education Association, and The City Law School, City, University of London.  It will take place from Wednesday, July 26 through Friday, July 28, 2023. The conference will be held at the The City Law School and will take place in-person. The conference will take place in both of the law school’s buildings on Whiskin and Sebastian Streets.  The buildings are separated by a few city blocks and a comfortable ten-minute walk; sessions will be timed accordingly.  

Covid Precautions

Because people will be traveling from all over the world, and because we respect those who are immunocompromised or otherwise need to continue masking protocols, we ask that everyone plan to wear a mask during sessions. We will provide a system of stickers on conference badges to indicate whether people would prefer to be socially distanced.

Program

We anticipate opening the conference on Wednesday July 26 with a half or full day of programming plus an opening reception that will spotlight the poster presentations.  Presentations will run through Friday afternoon, followed by a closing event at one of London’s historical Inns of Court: The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. Those who have attended previous conferences say that the closing event is not to be missed.   

The program schedule is currently being finalized.

Poster Presentations

Poster presenters should plan to bring or ship to their hotel their posters in a form easily pinned to a tack board, which we will provide (we will also provide the tacks). We highly recommend bringing this with you in a travel tube.  We are looking for printing options nearby for those who may need to print on site.

Guide for poster presenters

Registration and Fees

Registration for the conference is now open! All speakers and attendees must register for the conference. Even the conference co-chairs!

The early-bird registration fee will be $475. After May 15, 2023, registration will be $525. Fees have gone up slightly from what we anticipated, in large part because we expect to serve one additional meal due to overwhelming interest and an expanded program.  Registration will likely close early July.  Registration on-site will not be available, and unfortunately, we are not able to provide grants for this conference.  Ph.D. candidates for whom the fee poses a significant problem should contact us directly.

Hotels

Times have changed!  We were not able to reserve rooms at a “conference hotel” without LWI taking the risk of paying in advance for all of the rooms/nights. For this reason, you will need to select and book your hotel room on our own. Please see this suggested hotel list for good options nearby.  Please note that some of this information may have become be outdated, but this list should provide a good start to your search.

Closing Event

We will celebrate with a reception and dinner on Friday, July 28, 2023, 6-10 p.m., at The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. The cost of the dinner is included in the registration fee. Guest tickets are available at an additional cost.

Transportation

Attendees should fly to London’s Heathrow or Gatwick Airport.

Getting downtown (prices from Feb. 2023)

Heathrow (LHR)                    Gatwick (LGW)

Distance (by car)

16 miles                                                 28 miles

Time (by car)

1 hour                                                     1 hour 30 minutes

Approximate Uber Cost

£67 (~$81)                                              £60 (~$72)

Public Transit

Heathrow Express                                  Gatwick Express/District Line

£37 (~$44.50)                                         £18.50 (~$22)

Leaves every 15 minutes  

London Tube-Piccadilly line (1 hour)                            

£7 (~$8.50)                                                                 

For more information on getting to London from Heathrow or Gatwick, see here.

For a comprehensive trip planner using all forms of London public transport, see here.

For a rail planner throughout England, see here.

The Law School

The City Law School is located in two buildings, one on Whiskin and one on Sebastian Street. Both are accessible by the London metro system. There are bus and Tube stops nearby including Angel on the Northern Line and Farringdon or Barbican on the Metropolitan, Circle, and Hammersmith & City Lines.

CLE Credits in the U.S.

LWI will apply for credits from Pennsylvania. While we cannot promise approval, we have received credits for prior conferences, which might work for you. In either circumstance, we will be happy to confirm your attendance at various sessions if you would like to submit for credit to your own jurisdiction.

We look forward to seeing you in London!

The Planning Committee

Kim Holst kimberly.holst@asu.edu (Co-Chair)
Ruth Anne Robbins Ruth.Anne.Robbins@rutgers.edu (Co-Chair)
Robert McPeake r.j.mcpeake@outlook.com
Marcus Soanes m.soanes@city.ac.uk
Aysha Ames aysha.ames@fordham.edu
Gopal Balachandran gzb39@psu.edu
Sha-Shana Crichton scrichton@law.howard.edu
Maureen Johnson Maureen.johnson@uconn.edu
Binny Miller bmiller@wcl.american.edu
Paige Snelgro carlos@law.ufl.edu
Kristen Tiscione kristen.tiscione@law.georgetown.edu