 | Professor Sarah Worthington
Pro-Director and Professor of Law, London School of Economics (S1) Equity, personal property and securities, corporate governance, and general commercial law, with special emphasis on providing systematic principles-based analysis
If people are like me, they will want to know a bit more about the woman behind the academic profile. I’m a wife, mother, legal scholar, barrister, teacher, university leader and administrator (probably none quite enough). In my dreams, I’m also a better skier, cyclist and photographer, with more time to walk in the mountains … and to write a novel! That probably makes me pretty much like all the other Fellows, but also like millions of people who are not Fellows of the British Academy. I’ve been lucky in the special influences I’ve experienced. Our children’s school motto was 'we are enriched by our differences'. That message means a lot to me. I was born in England and am loving being back here now, but for many years in between I lived in Africa, Australia and Russia. I did science and medical research (briefly) before doing law. I’m the first lawyer in a family dominated by engineers and doctors and a rather wonderful gardener. As a lawyer, I’ve been fortunate to work with solicitors and barristers, Law Commissioners and regulators, and various policy advisors. Their practical and policy arguments have certainly sharpened my academic work. My immediate family and our various friends – lawyers and not – add to the mix. My husband is a lawyer and economist who has always worked in the private sector, and our four children have each taken different career paths in different countries. They make me enormously proud and provide tremendous support, but they also deliver frequent useful reality checks. Becoming a Fellow of the British Academy is 'awesome', although perhaps not in the sense my students might use the term. It is humbling to have such a vote of confidence, but daunting to consider what responsibilities the privilege brings. The impact of the British Academy is delivered largely through the efforts of its Fellows. What can I bring to that role? I will take inspiration from a large number of friends and colleagues, not all lawyers, not all academics, but all with certain qualities in common. They have energy and enthusiasm for whatever they do, rigour and integrity in all their various engagements (whether with people or with ideas), and an ambition to use their skills and influence to improve society in their own ways and their own domains. That’s not a bad way to start in trying to do my bit to help the British Academy in its successful championing of excellence in the humanities and social sciences throughout the UK and internationally. |
