Justice at a Crossroads: In conversation with Sir Max Hill KC

The criminal justice system faces unprecedented pressure, from court delays and rising backlogs to challenges around sentencing, prison capacity and public trust. Join Sir Max Hill KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, as he reflects on the future of criminal justice and the reforms needed to restore confidence in the system. Drawing on more than three decades of experience defending and prosecuting some of the country's most complex and high-profile cases, Sir Max will offer unique insights into one of the defining public policy challenges of our time.

About the speaker

Sir Max Hill KC is one of the UK’s preeminent barristers, having been lead counsel on many of the country’s most high-profile cases and also spending five years as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the most senior non-political public prosecutor in England and Wales. Previously, he was the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, as well as Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Leader of the South Eastern Circuit, Chair of the Kalisher Trust and Head of Red Lion Chambers.

Since 2024, he has been Senior Counsel and Policy Adviser at King & Spalding International LLP, Associate Tenant at Red Lion Chambers, Chair of the Drive Forward Foundation and Patron of The Vavengers. Since 2025, he has held the position of Sir Leon Radzinowicz Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology. He was knighted in 2024 for services to law and order.

About the chair

Findlay Stark is a University Professor of Law and Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge. His research interests lie in legal, moral and political philosophy, particularly (though not exclusively) as applied to the criminal law and its related rules of evidence and procedure. 

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