10th Annual Distinguished Lecture in Law

On 25th February 2026 we hosted our tenth annual Distinguished Lecture in Law, delivered by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Rt Hon Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill.

The event brought together current Law students and Law alumni, prompting engaging discussion throughout the Queens’ Law community.

In a highly original and thought-provoking lecture, ‘Unjust enrichment: is there a general, underlying theory?’, Baroness Carr mixed law and philosophy. She drew on the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein to challenge the notion that the law of unjust enrichment can be explained by a single underlying theory. She argued that it could be better explained in terms of Wittgenstein’s theory of family resemblances developed while he taught at Cambridge. The several remedies that make up the law of unjust enrichment did not have one essential common feature, but should be understood as connected by a series of overlapping similarities. She saw this approach reflected in the familiar way judges make decisions based on distinctions and similarities between different cases.

If you would like to read the lecture, you can now do so on the Judiciary website, and if you would like to watch it you can now do so on our YouTube channel.

The lecture took place in Fitzpatrick Hall, followed by a dinner in Old Hall.

The evening was also an opportunity to celebrate Law prize winners, who were presented with certificates by Baroness Carr.

This year’s winners were:

• Shane Herbst (2025) – The Sigmund Sternberg LLM Studentship 2025-26
• Hannah Mitchell (2025) – The Redress Solutions LLM Studentship 2025-26
• Ewan O’Mahony (2022) – The Redress Solutions Prize in Law
• Angel Delgado Garcia (2024) – The Redress Solutions Prize in Law
• Rishik Vishwanathan (2024) – The Lucas Smith Prize in Law

The Queens’ Distinguished Law Lecture was a fabulous evening. Both Lady Carr’s lecture and ensuing discussions with colleagues and faculty at dinner were incisive and thought-provoking. It was a great opportunity to connect over a shared intellectual experience.

The Redress Solutions PLC LLM Studentship has been of great assistance during my time at Cambridge. By lessening the financial burden, I am freer to focus on my academic studies— all that life at Queens’ has to offer!

I’ve loved my experience studying Law at Queens’. Multiple of my lecturers are Queens’ fellows, so I have been lucky enough to build personal relationships with them. Likewise, Queens’ has a lovely cohort of LLM students and we have enjoyed attending Queens’ Law events together.

– Hannah Mitchell (2025)

We would once again like to express our gratitude to Mr Marius Nasta (1990, LLM) and Mr Michael Zuckerman (Redress Solutions PLC) for their generous funding of the lecture, dinner, and Redress Solutions prizes, to Mr Michael Sternberg KC (1970) for funding the Sigmund Sternberg studentship, to Professor Richard Fentiman KC (Life Fellow) for his help with organising the event, and, of course, to Baroness Carr for speaking.

Photographs by Phil McCarthy Photography