Law Court Building

In 2011, the University of Hertfordshire opened the Law Court Building. Situated on the De Havilland campus, the building was purpose-built to provide an environment which offered the students of the School of Law a combination of the latest technology and a setting where they could put theory into practice.

The challenge

The School of Law at the University of Hertfordshire wanted to be much more than a place where students studied law. It wanted to offer an innovative environment where students could not only learn with cutting-edge facilities but also a setting where students could apply their knowledge and practice law.

How the University helped

In 2009, the University set upon a three year project to create a state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary environment. Led by Dr Andrew Clutterbuck, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Student Experience, the University wanted to create a space to benefit students of all disciplines, while at the same time provide the School of Law with facilities to allow students to put their knowledge into action and gain real-life experience of working in Law.

The innovative design of the Law Court Building and its busy location make it one of the first of its kind, designed to provide a naturally ventilated, comfortable and quiet environment for students to concentrate and study. The building also offers students the opportunity to apply their legal knowledge to simulated cases in the Courtroom, often in collaboration with students studying on social work or drama programmes at the University, as well as to gain real-life experience in the new Law Clinic and Mediation Centre facilities. All facilities and classrooms within the Law Court Building are designed to offer students the optimum place to study.

The multi-disciplinary design of the Law Court Building provides an environment where students and the wider community can benefit from the cutting-edge facilities. The building is home to a purpose-built Journalism Suite for students within the School of Humanities, allowing the Law Court Building to be an environment where students from different disciplines across the University can work and learn alongside one another. The Courtroom does not only benefit students, it also provides a training facility for the police, social workers and expert witnesses looking to gain experience of the Court environment.

The £10m Law Court Building provides a space where students can collaborate with fellow students, clients and the local community in a variety of projects which form an integral part of the Law courses on offer at the University of Hertfordshire.

The result

The University of Hertfordshire School of Law is one of the most innovative law schools in the UK. As well as a large number of classrooms and offices the Law Court Building houses:

• A full-scale Courtroom with a public gallery
  
• A pro bono Law Clinic that provides legal advice to the Hertfordshire community
  
• A purpose-built Mediation Centre
• A state-of-the-art journalism suite

This innovative building and its advanced facilities provide students with more than a classroom to learn about law. University of Hertfordshire law students learn through real-life practice, whether this is a Mock Trial in the Courtroom; conducting legal research for real clients; or offering legal advice to members of the local community through the School of Law’s Free Legal Advice Service. These facilities allow students to graduate from the University with real experience of working in Law.

Find out more

For more information about the Law Court Building or the School of law contact Dr Charles Wild, Head of the School of Law.

Visit the School of Law website.