Socio-Legal Studies Association
Welcome to the SLSA — where law meets the social sciences and humanities.
This website contains information about the SLSA and our aims and objectives. You can find out how to join and about the many benefits of membership. There are details on all our activities including our successful socio-legal prizes, our research grants scheme, our new seminar competition and our popular annual and postgraduate conferences. You will also discover a wealth of material relating to socio-legal studies – much of it in classified form in our extensive research area.
SLSA news and important dates
Please see our News section for details of recent announcements about: research, publications, vacancies, events and much more. If you would like an item added to our news area, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SLSA book and article prizes: prizewinners announced
The SLSA book and article prizewinners have been announced. Please visit the prizes page for details.
SLSA Annual Conference
This year's annual conference recently took place at Leicester De Montfort Law School and the SLSA Executive Committee would like to thank members of the law school for organising such a successful event. Please visit the conference website for details. Next year we will be visiting York.
SLSA one-day conferences
The SLSA has organised four one-day conferences in 2012.
Doing, Funding and Teaching Socio-Legal Scholarship: a trio of one-day conferences open to members and non-members. The venue for all three events is the Nuffield Foundation, London. The first event 'Doing socio-legal research: empirical challenges and solutions' took place on 13 March 2012. The second, 'Funding socio-legal research' will take place on 14 May 2012. All events will be at the Nuffield Foundation, London.
Exploring the Legal in Socio-Legal Studies: call for papers
This event will take place at the London School of Economics on 21 September 2012. The call for papers is now open. Call closes: 30 April 2012. Registration and booking are now open.
Law and Society Association International Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, 5–8 June 2011
The SLSA is co-sponsoring this international conference. Please visit the Law and Society Associtaion's website for further details. The liaison person for this event is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
'Impact' and the REF
This event (jointly organised by the SLSA, SLS and CHULS) was held at the British Academy on 16 September 2011. For a copy of the powerpoint slides presented by the chair of the Law Sub-Panel, Professor Gillian Douglas, click here.
SLSA Prize for Contributions to the Socio-Legal Community
In December 2011, Mavis Maclean was awarded the first annual prize for Contributions to the Socio-Legal Community.
Aims of the SLSA
'To advance education and learning and in particular to advance research, teaching and the dissemination of knowledge in the field of socio-legal studies.'
The SLSA achieves these aims in a number of different ways:
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meetings, conferences, seminars
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research grants
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prizes
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publications
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liaison with policy makers and research funders
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supporting students
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and many other activities
Details of the SLSA's aims and objectives can be found in our Constitution: download it in Word or pdf format.