The Board of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) has announced that Head of Kent Law School Professor Rosemary Hunter KC (Hon.) FAcSS is to be awarded this year’s Annual Prize for Contributions to the Socio-Legal Community. The prize will be awarded at the SLSA’s Annual Dinner in March 2024.
Rosemary is an outstanding scholar, who has made a particular impact in the fields of family law and feminist legal studies, making significant contributions to reform of the family justice system, and pioneering research and providing global leadership on feminist judgment writing. Rosemary’s many achievements have been recognised through her election as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and through her award of KC (Hon).
This award recognises Rosemary’s extensive contributions to the socio-legal community in the UK and internationally throughout her career. She served as Chair of the SLSA for six years, from 2011 to 2017. In her time as Chair, Rosemary was dedicated to developing the socio-legal field in the UK and internationally. She worked hard to create opportunities for scholars at all career stages to access socio-legal research communities and to build an open and welcoming environment for all.
Rosie Harding, who nominated Rosemary for the accolade, explains that during her time as SLSA Chair, ‘She was always particularly focused on creating opportunities for early career scholars and doctoral students, who are the future of our field. The thriving community of socio-legal scholars we have in the UK now is in no small part due to her influence while leading the SLSA.’
Responding to the announcement of her award, Rosemary Hunter said, ‘The prize means a great deal to me. I am delighted and deeply honoured to receive it, and to be in the company of so many eminent previous recipients’.