Registration is now closed.

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).

Conference Information Booklet

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.  

How to find the entrances to the two City Law School buildings:

Sebastian Street:

City Law School is located on Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 7HD. However, the main entrance to the Sebastian Street Building is around the corner on Goswell Road.  You will not be able to enter from Sebastian Street.

Important Information re Sebastian St.: 

1.  Some current Web sites (including City’s own) carry this address: City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom, which is the university’s main campus address, not the law school.

 2.  Some current websites still list the law school's address as 4 Gray's Inn Place, Warwick Ct, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DX, which is the law school’s former address.

Whiskin Street:

Signs will direct attendees from Sebastian to Whiskin Street, but a map and directions are available here.

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 encourage mask wearing during sessions. We will provide a system of stickers on conference badges to indicate whether people would prefer to be socially distanced.

Program

The current program as of July 10, 2023 is available here but still subject to some change.

Presentation descriptions are available here. 

Program Summary

• Wednesday, July 26 (all in Sebastian Street Building)

Registration begins Wednesday afternoon, July 26, at 1:00 p.m., with a general welcome at 2:00 p.m. and special panel presentations to follow on 1) storytelling and ethics, and 2) storytelling and professional identity development.  The keynote address is scheduled from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m., followed by poster presentations and a welcome reception from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.  

Thursday, July 27 and Friday, July 28 (Presentations in nearby Whiskin Street Building and meals in Sebastian Street Building)

• Thursday:  Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. in Sebastian Street, followed by an Early Bird Session hosted by the LWI Discipline Building Working Group on Discipline Building in Storytelling.  Presentations will run in Whiskin Street from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Breakfast and lunch in Sebastian Street.

• Friday:  Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. in Sebastian Street.  Presentations will run in Whiskin Street from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Breakfast and lunch in Sebastian Street.  Our closing event begins at 6:00 p.m. (see below).

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.  You may also want to locate a print shop near your hotel.

Guide for poster presenters

Registration and Fees

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

The current registration fee is $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 at the Middle Temple Inn of Court

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.  We will begin with a reception from 6-7 p.m., followed by a seated dinner.  Please be on time for this event!

Getting There

There are two gated entrances to the grounds of the Middle Temple.  Note there is NO public parking for this event.

The first entrance is at Fleet Street (A4) and Middle Temple Lane.  This is a good entrance if you arrive by car.  Enter the Temple grounds and walk south on Middle Temple Lane.  The Hall will be on your right.

The second entrance is at Victoria Embankment (A3211) and Middle Temple Lane.  This is a good entrance if you arrive by subway via the Temple Underground Station.  From the station, walk east on Victoria Embankment.  Turn left onto Middle Temple Lane.  Walk north, and the Hall will be on your left.

A detailed map of the venue with the closest tube stop is available here.

General 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.

An LWI member has applied for CLE credits in Minnesota. 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) 
• Marcus Soanes m.soanes@city.ac.uk (Co-Chair)
• Kristen Tiscione kristen.tiscione@law.georgetown.edu (Co-Chair)
• Robert McPeake r.j.mcpeake@outlook.com
• Aysha Ames aysha.ames@fordham.edu
• Gopal Balachandran gzb39@psu.edu
• Sha-Shana Crichton scrichton@law.howard.edu
• D'Lorah Hughes dlorah.hughes@uky.edu
• Maureen Johnson Maureen.johnson@uconn.edu
• Binny Miller bmiller@wcl.american.edu
• Paige Snelgro carlos@law.ufl.edu