1st Annual Event of the UK Energy Law and Policy Association

Dr. Raphael Heffron, Lecturer in Law at the University of Leeds and Co-Chair of the UK Energy Law and Policy Association, asks me to pass on the following announcement about this week’s 1st Annual Event of the UK Energy Law and Policy Association:

Screen Shot 2015-09-06 at 9.06.32 AMThe study and practice of energy law is increasing in the UK and internationally. The UK has long been a place for leadership in energy law research and practice. The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee is one of the world’s oldest centres for research in the area. It has a very successful graduate education program with students from across the world and a well-developed alumni network. More recently, a number of other energy law centres have been established in the universities of Aberdeen and Queen Mary. In terms of legal practice, the majority of medium to large law firms now have specific energy divisions and in addition, it is now included as an area of practice when recruiting trainees.

Internationally, there are long established networks of energy law scholars and practitioners. Notably, in the US there is the Energy Bar Association (established in 1946) and in Australia there is AMPLA – The Resources and Energy Law Association (established in 1976). Recognising the need for a formal network of scholars and practitioners, Professor Cameron (University of Dundee), Professor Angus Johnston (University of Oxford) and Dr. Raphael Heffron (Queen Mary University of London) established a new UK Energy Law and Policy Association earlier this year in April 2015. The principal aim of the Association is to promote excellence in research, practice and administration of energy law and policy in the UK and internationally.

A key activity of the Association is to run an annual event that will focus on key legal issues facing the energy sector in the UK. Our first annual event will take place on the 10th and 11th of September 2015. The themes for this first event are on “Energy Disputes in Europe” and “Energy Law in the EU: A Fourth Energy Package or an Energy Union”. This two day event will take place in Oxford and for further details please look at the following link: http://energylaw.org.uk/events/annual-event/

We have been encouraged by the support we have received so far and this evidenced by the strong line-up of speakers that we have for the September conference, our first annual event. We have speakers from many of the leading law firms and barristers’ chambers in addition to speakers from the European Commission, the Energy Secretariat and more than several energy firms. We encourage non-law energy researchers to get in touch with us, whether it is for collaborative research, practice based projects or should they want to develop their own particular expertise on energy law and policy related issues.

We already have developed a number of key partnerships while we grow over the first three years – and are particularly thankful to the three universities mentioned earlier, DWF, King and Spalding, CMS Cameron McKenna and Oxera.

Finally, please do have a look through our website – http://energylaw.org.uk/ – and please do get in touch as we are very keen to engage with the wider academic and commercial energy community.