The Dickson Poon School of Law is one of the oldest law schools in England and is recognised globally as one of the best law schools in the world. Law has been taught at King's since 1831, with the Faculty of Laws founded in 1909.
The internationally-renowned Centre of European Law was founded in 1974 and is one of the oldest research centres of its kind.
The Centre of Medical Law and Ethics was opened in 1978 to undertake research, organise teaching and publish papers concerning issues in medicine involving law and ethics.
In 1987, Professor John Uff QC founded and served as the first Director of the Centre of Construction Law and Dispute Resolution.
Known as the School of Law from 1991, we were named The Dickson Poon School of Law in 2012 following a donation made by Sir Dickson Poon FKC. which has transformed our research, teaching and international profile.
In the same year, Somerset House East Wing was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
Following a gift from Dato’ Seok K Yeoh FKC (Law LLB, 1987) and his family, the School also established the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law in 2014, which fosters interdisciplinary research involving politics, philosophy, and law within King's and underpins the teaching of our Politics, Philosophy & Law (PPL) LLB degree.
The School launched its pro bono initiative King's Legal Clinic in 2017. The Clinic offers legal free legal advice in a range of specialist areas, working with leading law firms and our in house supervising solicitors.
The Centre for Climate Law & Governance was established in 2019 to foster interdisciplinary research about legal and governance approaches to the disruptive challenges of climate change and sustainability in the Global North and South.
2023 saw the launch of the Centre for International Governance and Dispute Resolution (CIGAD). The Centre brings together academics, policymakers and practitioners working in the areas of international law and dispute resolution to help tackle global challenges.
Following a generous donation from Michael Abbott FKC and his family in honour of Jeff Price, a former staff member who passed away in 2001, Professor Sylvie Delacroix was appointed the Jeff Price Chair of Digital Law and founded the Centre for Data Futures in 2024. The Centre is the first-ever dedicated academic centre of expertise to focus on designing and studying the effect of participatory infrastructure over the life cycle of data-reliant tools and launched the Data Empowerment Clinic in 2025.