Law welcomes five new visiting professors
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Geoffrey Robertson KC is among five new visiting professors to join Goldsmiths' Department of Law.
Clockwise from left: Geoffrey Robertson KC, HHJ Angela Rafferty KC, Phillippa Kaufmann KC, Marc Willers KC and Professor Dimitrios Skiadas
With a distinguished advocacy career as a trial and appeal lawyer, Mr Robertson has argued landmark cases in media, constitutional and criminal law and in many legal settings – from the European Court of Justice to the UN War Crimes Court.
Mr Robertson’s reputation as defence counsel was made in several celebrated criminal trials including Oz, Gay News, The ABC Trial, The Romans in Britain, Randle and Pottle, The Brighton Bombing and Matrix Churchill. He also acted in well-known libel cases notably defending The Guardian against Neil Hamilton MP.
An academic, author and broadcaster, Mr Robertson is the founder of Doughty Street Chambers.
Called to the Bar in 1995, appointed a Recorder in 2009 and taking silk in 2015, Angela Rafferty KC has sat as a senior circuit judge in the Central Criminal Court since 2019. A regular contributor and author for national and academic publications, Judge Rafferty was appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission as a Judicial Commissioner in 2024.
Phillippa Kaufmann KC’s expertise covers public and private law. A member of Matrix Chambers, Ms Kaufmann was the recipient of the Human Rights and Public Law Silk of the Year Awards in 2019 and in 2020 received the Legal 500 Award for Civil Liberties and Human Rights
Marc Willers KC’s specialisms include planning, administrative and public law, civil liberties, human rights, and discrimination law. His expertise in environmental law and climate change saw his advocacy of Klimaseniorinnen lead to the first ever climate change case decided by the European Court of Human Rights. Mr Willers was called to the Bar in 1987 and took Silk in 2014.
Professor Dimitrios Skiadas heads the Department of International and European Studies at the University of Macedonia in Greece. With his expertise covering European Union law, public law, budgetary and project management, Professor Skiadas has held roles in various European governmental institutions including Secretary General for Commerce at the Ministry of Development, Special Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Executive Secretary for the Region of South Aegean. Professor Skiadas has also served as a member of the Education Committee of the European Union Council of Ministers.
Professor Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, Head of the Department of Law at Goldsmiths, welcomed the new visiting professors: "The law isn’t a dead letter, everyday issues and controversies find their outlet in legal disputes and argument the outcomes of which are critically determinative of how our lives are shaped.
Through their distinguished track record and their pre-eminent place in the legal world, our new visiting professors will bring the law to life along with giving our students a real time appreciation of its impact both intellectually and professionally."
Visiting professors make a distinct contribution to both the undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes delivering guest lectures and professional workshops as well as opening up opportunities for students to secure internships and career development.
The visiting professorships coincide with the launch of the Goldsmiths Law-Clifford Chance Awards that will be awarded to two students achieving the best academic performance in Commercial and Corporate Law modules as well as the inauguration of the broader partnership with the Magic Circle law firm.