Dr Chalen Westaby PhD, LLM, BA, PGCLTHE
Senior Lecturer In Law
- Department of Law And Criminology
- Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice
- Social and Economic Research Institute
Summary
I joined Sheffield Hallam University in 2008. I teach on the undergraduate LLB law degree . I have a PhD in Public International Law. However, more recently, my research has focused on emotional labour with studies in the fields of legal practice, criminological research and probation practice. I have also researched more broadly in relation to probation practice including work/life spillover, self-disclosure, working in the COVID pandemic, implementing a reflective supervision model, professional curiosity, and burnout. I am currently undertaking a study of emotional labour and boundary spanning amongst probation and prison staff.
About
I have a PhD in Public International Law in which I analysed the development of the right to self-determination between 1945 and 1961 from a diplomatic history and law and literature perspective. However, since 2010 I have undertaken research focusing on emotional labour. Although my main interest lies in the emotional labour performed by probation practitioners, I have also undertaken research into the emotional labour of solicitors, judges, and criminological researchers. I have also researched more broadly studying empathy in legal practice and emotions in the legal drama The Split. My research in probation practice has also focused on work/life spillover, self-disclosure, working in the COVID pandemic, implementing a reflective supervision model, professional curiosity, and burnout.
I am currently leading a SHRIF funded project studying the emotional labour and boundary spanning work of probation and prison staff.
I am the Associate Editor for the International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice and I am a joint stream convenor of the Lawyers and Legal Professions stream of the Socio Legal Studies Association. I also regularly peer review for journals and academic publishers.
Teaching
Department Of Law and Criminology
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Chalen delivers a module in Commercial Law at undergraduate level and International Trade Law at postgraduate level.
She is currently also a member of the teaching team for Law of Contract, a module taught at undergraduate level.
She has been involved in teaching on the Consumer Law and Policy, Law of Tort and the Law and Contemporary Society module at undergraduate level.
Courses taught:
LLB (Hons) Law
LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology
Modules taught:
Contract Law, Commercial Law, Public International Law, Employment Law, Tort Law
Publications
Journal articles
Barry, C., Westaby, C., Coen, M., & Howlin, N. (2023). The emotional labour of judges in jury trials. Journal of Law and Society. http://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12458
Louis, A., Subryan, A., & Westaby, C. (2023). Law and emotions in "The Split". Law and Humanities. http://doi.org/10.1080/17521483.2023.2236912
Westaby, C., Phillips, J., Fowler, A., & Ainslie, S. (2022). ‘Pushed from above and pushed from below’: emotional labour and dual identities amongst senior probation officers in England and Wales. European Journal of Probation, 15 (1). http://doi.org/10.1177/20662203221144119
Phillips, J., Ainslie, S., Fowler, A., & Westaby, C. (2022). Lifting the lid on Pandora’s box: putting professional curiosity into practice. Criminology and Criminal Justice. http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221116323
Ainslie, S., Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Westaby, C. (2022). ‘A nice idea but…..’: Implementing a reflective supervision model in the National Probation Service in England and Wales. Reflective Practice. http://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2022.2066075
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Ainslie, S., & Fowler, A. (2021). ‘I don't like this job in my front room’: Practising probation in the COVID-19 pandemic. Probation Journal, 68 (4), 426-443. http://doi.org/10.1177/02645505211050867
Phillips, J., Ainslie, S., Fowler, A., & Westaby, C. (2021). ‘What does professional curiosity mean to you?’: an exploration of professional curiosity in probation. The British Journal of Social Work. http://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab019
Waters, J., Phillips, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (2020). The emotions and emotional labour of criminological researchers. Methodological Innovations, 13 (2), 2059799120926059. http://doi.org/10.1177/2059799120926059
Westaby, C., Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Waters, J. (2020). Conformity, conflict and negotiation in criminal justice work: Understanding practice through the lens of emotional labour. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 61, 100390. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2020.100390
Waters, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Phillips, J. (2020). The emotional labour of doctoral criminological researchers. Methodological Innovations, 13 (2). http://doi.org/10.1177/2059799120925671
Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Phillips, J. (2019). Managing emotion in probation practice: display rules, values and the performance of emotional labour by probation practitioners in their interactions with client. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2019.100362
Phillips, J., Fowler, A., & Westaby, C. (2018). Self-disclosure in criminal justice: what form does it take and what does it achieve? International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62 (12), 3890-3909. http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x17751528
Westaby, C., & Jones, E. (2017). Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’? International Journal of the Legal Profession, 25 (1), 107-124. http://doi.org/10.1080/09695958.2017.1359615
Westaby, C., Phillips, J., & Fowler, A. (2016). Spillover and work-family conflict in probation practice: Managing the boundary between work and home life. European Journal of Probation, 8 (3), 113-127. http://doi.org/10.1177/2066220316680370
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (2016). “It’s relentless”: the impact of working primarily with high risk offenders. Probation Journal, 63 (2), 182-192. http://doi.org/10.1177/0264550516648399
Westaby, C. (2014). A qualitative study of the impact of law clinics on students’ perceptions of emotional labour expectations. The Law Teacher, 48 (3), 248-280. http://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2014.965948
Westaby, C. (2014). What's culture got to do with it? The emotional labour of immigration solicitors in their exchanges with United Kingdom Border Agency case owners. European Journal of Current Legal Issues, 20 (1), 1-26. http://webjcli.org/article/view/298
Westaby, C. (2010). ‘Feeling like a sponge’: the emotional labour produced by solicitors in their interactions with clients seeking asylum. International Journal of the Legal Profession, 17 (2), 153-174. http://doi.org/10.1080/09695958.2010.530882
Westaby, C. (2007). A critical analysis of orthodox approaches to customary international law and the search for transcendence. Journal of the Philosophy of International Law, 2, 6-38. https://www.electronicpublications.org/catalogue.php?id=47
Book chapters
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Ainslie, S., & Fowler, A. (2024). Burning out in probation: An exploration of organizational, operational, and personal stressors amongst probation workers in England and Wales. In Occupational Stress Injuries: Operational and Organizational Stressors among Public Safety Personnel. Routledge
Ainslie, S., Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Westaby, C. (2023). COVID-19 and Community Sanctions. In Kay, C., & Case, S. (Eds.) Crime, Justice and COVID19. (pp. 50-75). Bristol University Press: http://doi.org/10.51952/9781447363187.ch004
Westaby, C., & Subryan, A. (2020). Emotional Labour in the Legal Profession. In Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. (1st). Routledge
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Waters, J. (2020). Introduction: why study emotional labour in criminal justice and criminology. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Waters, J. (2020). Introduction: why study emotional labour in criminal justice and criminology. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Westaby, C. (2020). Emotions in context: the marginalisation and persistence of emotional labour in probation. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Waters, J. (2020). Conclusion: What do we now know about emotional labour in criminal justice? Culture, context and conflict. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Waters, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Phillips, J. (2020). Doing criminological research: an emotional labour perspective. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Waters, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Phillips, J. (2020). Doing criminological research: an emotional labour perspective. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Westaby, C. (2020). Emotions in context: the marginalisation and persistence of emotional labour in probation. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Waters, J. (2020). Conclusion: What do we now know about emotional labour in criminal justice? Culture, context and conflict. In Phillips, J., Waters, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (Eds.) Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice. Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Fowler, A., Phillips, J., & Westaby, C. (2017). Understanding emotions as effective practice. The performance of emotional labour in building relationships. In Ugwudike, P., Raynor, P., & Annison, J. (Eds.) Evidence-based skills in community justice : international research on supporting rehabilitation and desistance. Bristol: Policy Press: http://policypress.co.uk/evidence-based-skills-in-criminal-justice#book-detail-tabs-stison-block-content-1-0-tab1
Books
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Waters, J. (Eds.). (2020). Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Abingdon: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology-1st-Edition/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017
Reports
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., Fowler, A., & Ainslie, S. (2022). Putting professional curiosity into practice. HMI Probation. https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/08/Academic-Insights-Phillips-et-al-v1.5.pdf
Westaby, C., Phillips, J., Fowler, A., & Ainslie, S. (2021). An evaluation of the implementation of reflective practice supervision standards in the national probation service. Sheffield Hallam University. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu.HKCIJ.07.21
Phillips, J., Westaby, C., & Fowler, A. (2020). Emotional Labour in Probation. HMI Probation. https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/04/Emotional-Labour-in-Probation.pdf
Theses / Dissertations
Goodwin, J. (2020). The employee voice of older local government workers: a critical perspective. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Prowse, P., Bennett, A., & Taylor, C. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00368
Other activities
Since 2011 Chalen has had a Course leader role and manage the LLB Business Law course.
In 2011 she also became the Induction Coordinator and is responsible for managing Orientation at all levels. She has also recently implemented innovative activities in the Induction Programme for first year Law students.