The SLSA Executive is delighted to announce that this year’s prize for contributions to the socio-legal community will be awarded to Professor Robert Dingwall.
Robert has had a long and illustrious career in socio-legal studies and sociology of law, including positions at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, the University of Nottingham and, latterly, at Nottingham Trent University.
Robert’s work has made a significant contribution to the discipline and span a number of fields, most notably medicolegal, sociology of the professions, ethics and methodology. Never afraid to be controversial, some of his work has formed the basis of intense debate. In particular, his work on power relations in mediation (with David Greatbatch), which catalysed heated debate in the mediation community, has weathered the storm caused by the findings and has since become a seminal text in the field. He is an outstanding scholar whose range of theoretically driven insights over wide areas have been incredibly influential across our discipline. He has, both personally and through his methodological publications, been responsible for developing and maintaining training for interdisciplinary socio-legal doctoral students.
In the round, Robert has been, and continues to be a committed, supportive and thoughtful member of, and mentor in, our community. We are delighted to have the opportunity to thank him for his contributions to socio-legal studies and look forward to celebrating with him at the Portsmouth 2020 SLSA Annual Conference.
Robert Dingwall responded:
“Being a sociologist of law can be a rather lonely existence in the UK. I have always been grateful to my colleagues in the SLSA for their friendly and collegial welcome. It has been a particular privilege to learn from so many bright and interesting PhD students and ECRs who have patiently educated me in the newest thinking of the field.”