About the Series
The Legal Community Speaks is produced by The Fifth Court, an award-winning legal podcast, in association with ELI.
Hosted by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL, this nine-part series brings you inside Europe’s legal community – where leading legal minds shaping the future of law share their insights and ideals.
Speakers in the series include:
- Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (ELI President)
- Georg E Kodek (President, Austrian Supreme Court)
- Michael Strauss, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
- Anne Birgitte Gammeljord (ELI Vice-President)
- Adil Najam (President, World Wide Fund for Nature International)
- James (Founder, Digital Legacy Association)
- Adrian Ward (Project Co-Reporter; Founder Chairman, NHS Trusts and Mental Health Association)
- Rafael Benitez (Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment of the Council of Europe)
- Andreas Pollak (Laywer; Board Member, European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA))
Episode 1: Gratitude, Responsibility, and Imagination featuring Prof Dr Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell.
‘We see democracies in question. We see abuse of power. We see the war prevailing over dialogue – and yet, our responsibility as jurists is dissatisfaction, never frustration. Because frustration risks inactivity.’ That’s how Prof Dr Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, President of the European Law Institute (ELI), defines the challenge for Europe’s legal community today.
A Conversation at a Defining Moment
In this opening episode of The Legal Community Speaks series, moderated by Dublin-based barristers Mark Tottenham and Peter Leonard, we meet the new ELI President – a visionary jurist whose energy, intellect, and optimism are reshaping how Europe thinks about law, democracy, and the future.
Recorded at the ELI Annual Conference, which took place from 22–24 September 2025 at the University of Vienna, President Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell shares three words that will guide her Presidency – Gratitude, Responsibility, and Imagination – and why she believes law must evolve not just through doctrine, but through creativity. She reveals how ELI’s work has already influenced major European legislation, including the EU’s Digital Services Act, and how she plans to expand the Institute’s global reach to Latin America, Asia, and beyond.
A Shared Vision for the Future
‘We need to imagine possible futures,’ she says. ‘That’s where justice begins.’
This conversation captures the spirit of ELI: independent, collaborative, and dedicated to ensuring that law remains a living force for democracy and human rights.
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