Foreword
| Author | Ross W. Martin |
| Position | LLB (Soton), BCL (Oxon), LLM (UCLA). Attorney, New York Bar. Solicitor, England and Wales |
| Pages | ii-iii |
S.S.L.R
Vol.10
ii
Foreword
It is with sincere pleasure that I write this foreword to the Tenth Edition of the Southampton
Student Law Review. This edition continues a strong tradition of legal scholarship at the
University of Southampton, showcasing some of the best work of students and alumni. We are
proud to feature articles that span the breadth of the law, from marine insurance and shipping
to constitutional law and human rights, and ultimately to legal decision-making itself.
I have been asked to provide this foreword for the simple reason that I was the person who
brought the idea of a law review managed and edited by students to Southampton. The student-
run law review has a long history in the United States, but in 2010 only three British universities
had started producing them. As I embarked on my legal education, I felt that Southampton
would be the ideal place for this to expand.
The person who properly spearheaded the first edition of the journal was my tutor for Legal
System and Reasoning, Dr. Harry East, now a junior barrister at Oriel Chambers. Harry and I
became good friends quite quickly, often exercising at the gym together; my second year, he
moved into the house I was renting with some friends. One fateful evening, circa October 2010,
I ran into Harry yet again at the library, and after a discussion of ethics in the law, I asked Harry
if he wanted to start a law review with me. He was thrilled by the idea, and said he would
approach the faculty with the proposition.
The faculty was receptive to the idea of a journal, but felt it would be inappropriate for it to be
led by a first-year law student. Harry took the reins and became editor-in-chief, and we began
to solicit contributions. We had our first editorial meeting around November 2010, where we
all introduced ourselves. During the academic term, Harry personally was responsible for
screening submissions and ultimately deciding which articles we should run. He truly carried
the weight of the journal during this time, despite his teaching and research responsibilities.
After the exam period in 2011, we got to work doing cite-checking, copy-editing, and
formatting. A team of students, principally doctoral students, did much of the first-pass review
work. Supporting Harry as associate editors were me; Dr. Thomas Webber, now Lecturer at
the University of Wolverhampton; and Dr. Emma Nottingham, now Senior Lecturer at the
University of Winchester. I later co-edited the second edition with Emma. To be frank, editing
a law review is hard work. Beyond cite-checking, we learned how difficult formatting in
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