About

I qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and spent several years in practice as a criminal defence specialist. My particular areas of expertise were youth crime (in particular Anti-social Behaviour) and welfare benefit fraud.

I began my career in higher education at Leeds Metropolitan University. Whilst I was there, I was responsible for developing the Post Graduate Diploma in Law, as well as designing new methods of delivering and assessing criminal law.

I joined Sheffield Hallam in 2013.

As a legal practitioner, I am particularly interested in how we can develop not only academic knowledge, but also the skills that lawyers need. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to join the Department of Law, Criminology and Criminal Justice because of the emphasis on clinical education for lawyers.

I am lucky to be able to work as part of the team responsible for the Clinical Legal Education module which gives all level 5 students the opportunity to participate in a simulated criminal or civil case, and understand how legal knowledge is applied in "the real world".

I am also interested in the development of the United Kingdom's constitution and, in particular, the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act. For example, the the revelation that the footballer, Ryan Giggs, was having an extra-marital affair raises questions about the conflict between an individual's right to privacy and the rights of the press to report information, and the freedoms given to Members of Parliament to ignore a court injunction.

Teaching

Department Of Law and Criminology

College of Social Sciences and Arts

Publications