Alumni enjoy inspirational Leiden Revisited event
On 30 August 2024, former Leiden Law School students once again sat in their favourite spots in the lecture hall at the annual Leiden Revisited event. Guests enjoyed inspirational lectures and then had the opportunity to chat over drinks and a buffet meal while listening to live music.
Before the event started on Friday afternoon, the first guests were already trickling into the (to them familiar) Kamerlingh Onnes Building. A place where many of them took classes, studied for exams and made friends. They had returned to learn and socialise, with a programme full of interesting lectures, but also plenty of opportunities to catch up and meet new, like-minded people.
Following a word of welcome from Dean Suzan Stoter, criminal law expert Robert Malewicz gave a keynote lecture. Previously a lecturer at Leiden University, he’s now widely known for his defence of the Netherlands’ most notorious gangster, Willem Holleeder, in the Vandros case. Besides the interesting work-related part of his keynote lecture, he also spoke about life beyond the courtroom: ‘It’s important that your work doesn’t define who you are or that you think you’re above the rest. My young son would introduce himself at parties as the “son of Robert Malewicz, Holleeder’s lawyer”. But at the end of the day, I’m just his dad and that has nothing to do with my work,’ Robert Malewicz said.
Guests then had the opportunity to join more in-depth sessions. Professor of Jurisprudence Afshin Ellian gave a lecture on the resilience of the democratic rule of law. In April 2024, he submitted a position paper on this topic to the Dutch House of Representatives that he had written with Jorieke Manenschijn. Assistant Professor Arnaud Booij gave a lecture on mediation and Harvard negotiations
Many of the topics were very topical. For instance, the lecture given by Remco van der Horst on the energy transition and Gerrit Jan Zwenne on social medial and data protection. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was also a topic focused on in more detail. Professor Dirk Visser and PhD candidate Michiel Smit held a session on copyright and AI. The interesting speakers attracted many alumni to the event. Alumnus Willem den Hartog said: ‘I’m a regular guest at Leiden Revisited and each year I come along especially to hear Dirk Visser’s lecture because I think he’s fantastic. This year was no exception; there’s a great atmosphere and Dirk's session was once again superb!’
Finally, alumni had the opportunity to look for familiar faces in the crowd while enjoying refreshments: ‘The three of us come to Leiden Revisited every year and it’s a great day out. You always bump into people you know through other contacts and there’s time to chat together.’ The event is also a great opportunity for our alumni to make new contacts and extend their own networks.
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