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Law and change: Scottish legal heroes
Law and change: Scottish legal heroes

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6 Making a difference individuals and organisations

Law is not static – as you heard in the earlier week 1 audio which quoted from an article by Professor Gary Slapper, the first Professor of Law at the OU,

Although law is sometimes portrayed as a dull discipline pursued by ethically dubious practitioners, it is a spellbindingly vivid and varied subject which affects every part of human life […] law permeates every cell of social life. Law governs everything from the embryo to exhumation. Law regulates the air we breathe, the food and drink that we consume, our travel, sexuality, family relationships, our property, sport, science, employment, education, and health, everything in fact from neighbour disputes to war

(Slapper, 2012)

Individuals and organisations play a role in developing and changing the law and, whether large or small, their contributions are important and central to the role law plays in society.

Here you explore just a few examples of individuals and organisations who have worked to effect legal change. Our selection of examples is based on conversations with colleagues and students. The answers they gave as to who their legal hero was help highlight how change occurs. The one thing all these individuals have in common is that, whether large or small they helped make a difference.