During our 15th anniversary celebrations at Two Temple Place on 25 November 2021, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Founder and Patron of the ILBF, Jane Colston, Partner at Brown Rudnick and ILBF Trustee and Paul Lowenstein QC, Chairman of the ILBF Board of Trustees spoke about how the ILBF was born, its achievements over the past 16 years, the future of the charity, and how our supporters can help.

You can watch Jane Colston’s opening remarks here.

‘The reason for this book charity is really simple. Its mission is to facilitate the access to justice by the provision of legal textbooks.’

Jane Colston

Lord Thomas’ speech, where he recounts the beginnings of the ILBF, is available here.

‘I think with books, maybe the technology will come that we don’t need them. I personally am sceptical about that. It is a comfort, it is a way you look at things and that’s why this charity is so important to the future.’

Lord Thomas

Paul Lowenstein QC’s comments on the future of the charity and how you can support the ILBF can be watched here.

‘Take yourself into the District Court in a humid part of West Africa where you as the judge are trying to resolve every sort of case that comes before you using a library which is out of date if you have one and where, so I’ve heard in the past, where your books are likely to have a lifespan of four years before they rot. What you need is a set of rules to apply to the decisions you make. Even if they are not the best set of rules or the most up to date set of rules. What you need is old fashioned processing, data and probably no algorithms. What you need is just something to reach for when a case comes along that involves a family dispute, a contract dispute or just a regular dispute of some sort or another. Because a set of rules gives a judgment. And most people just want a judgment.’

Paul Lowenstein QC