Lawrence A. Collins '65 LL.M.
Samuel Rubin Visiting Professor of Law (Fall 2011 - Spring 2012)
Education
- University of Cambridge, Downing College, 1964. Awarded degree of Doctor of Laws in 1994 for distinction by original contribution to the advancement of the science of law.
- LL.M., Columbia Law School, 1965
BiographyLord Collins of Mapesbury was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2011, and continues to serve as an acting judge of the court. Before becoming a judge he was a partner in the London firm of solicitors, Herbert Smith, specialising in international litigation. While in practice he handled many important international cases, including the Laker Airways civil conspiracy case against transatlantic airlines, the Iranian and Libyan bank cases arising out of the US assets freeze, and the Pinochet extradition case for the Government of Chile.
In 2000 he became the first solicitor to be appointed direct to the High Court bench (Chancery Division), as Mr Justice Lawrence Collins. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2007 as Lord Justice Lawrence Collins, and to the House of Lords in April 2009 as Lord Collins of Mapesbury (the judicial functions of the House of Lords were transferred to the new Supreme Court in October 2009). As a judge he has written several leading opinions in the fields of international litigation and arbitration.
He is the author of many books and articles on private and public international law, including since 1987 the general editorship of Dicey and Morris (now Dicey, Morris and Collins) on the Conflict of Laws. Since 2011 he has been a professor at University College London. He is also an emeritus and honorary fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and an honorary fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. He is an elected member of the Institut de droit international, and a Fellow of the British Academy.
In 2010, Collins served as a judge at the Columbia Law School annual
Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court competition, joined on the bench by The Honorable Sandra L. Lynch,Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and The Honorable Robert D. Sack '63,U.S. Court of Appeals.
