On 7 March 2025, Durham Law School’s Institute for Commercial and Corporate Law held its Annual Lecture. The lecture promotes, amongst other things, the Institute’s international reputation for world class research on topics that fall within its broad remit; it also frequently stimulates conversations that lead to new lines of inquiry.
The Institute's Director, Professor Daniel Attenborough, noted: "previous invited speakers have included senior members of the judiciary and consequential figures from practice or academia. This year we were delighted to add to that distinguished list, Lord Sales, Justice of the UK Supreme Court." His Lordship’s lecture was entitled ‘Directors’ Duties and Climate Change: navigating the shifting landscape of corporate environmental responsibility’.
It focused on the extent to which British company law can address the problems generated by a changing climate. Lord Sales reflected on what the legal position is, and what it can be, both in terms of its limits, but also its creative possibilities. This topic fits with the University’s global research and education priorities: to address the most pressing environmental, social, and governance challenges facing society today. Lord Sales' full speech from the event is available to read here: Lord Sales - Climate Change and Directors Duties.
After the event, a drinks reception took place in the Law School atrium, where students and staff had the opportunity to discuss with Lord Sales his experience and reflections on the law. Commenting on the event, Lord Sales said: “It was a pleasure to meet the teaching staff and students at Durham Law School and discuss the lecture with them. There were very good questions. The students show intellectual curiosity, independence of thought, and commercial awareness. I enjoyed very much my interactions with students and staff at the Institute’s signal event.” From our perspective, it was gratifying to see how generous and conscientious Lord Sales was with his time, and we look forward very much to our paths crossing again before too long.
All the photographs featured in this article were taken during the event by Sarah ChongXi Hu, a first-year law student. We would like to thank Sarah for her contribution.