My teaching

Glasgow Caledonian University (1992-98)
At Glasgow Caledonian U (1992-98) in the 1990s I taught basic Contract & Delict (Tort).  Later I was asked to design an embedded skills curriculum for the entire BA (later transposed into the LLB) degree; and I taught on this too: basic legal literacy & IT skills, composition and legal argumentation at all levels, and clinical legal skills.  I designed and taught on part of the Law Dept’s Jurisprudence module.  I was also module leader for the Honours dissertation, designing and teaching support classes and a mode of assessment that included viva voce examination and reflective learning logs.

Glasgow Graduate School of Law (GGSL-1999-2010)
In my 11 years at the GGSL I moved more into the design of multimedia, webcasts, online learning, simulation (f2f and online) and other digital heuristics.  I worked on curriculum designs for professional education, initially combining two separate Diploma in Legal Practice curricula at the law schools of Glasgow and Strathclyde into a new curriculum for the GGSL, for the twenty-first century.  I also helped design staff development, across a range of heuristics, including the training of c.170 associate practitioner-tutors, and helped design the training for and trained ‘simulated clients’.  I designed a first year undergraduate module that fused legal literacy with online literacy and collaborative group work; and taught a Masters programme in Legal Research that focused on rhetoric and the induction of learners into a professional academic community of practice.  I tutored on the Foundation Course in Professional Legal Skills on the Diploma, and on an online transaction in the area of Personal Injury (with Charles Hennessy); and in the Law School was responsible for a range of Induction Courses, for undergraduate LLB students, and postgraduates (eg Construction Law students).

Adjunct Professor, Australian National University, Canberra (2011-13).

Distinguished Professor of Legal Education, Sturm Law School, Denver University (2014)

Adjunct Professor, School of Law, Griffith University (2013-2016)

Northumbria Law School (2010-2013)
At Northumbria I re-designed and taught a f2f module in M-level Legal Research, and was involved in advising on multimedia and webcast projects in the Law School, as well as setting up a project on mobile learning in professional learning modules using iPads (iPads in Legal Learning — iLEGALL).  This project was funded by BILETA and HEA, jointly with Glamorgan U Law School and the Law Society of Ireland.

The Australian National University College of Law, Canberra, Australia (2013-2017)
I founded the PEARL centre (Profession, Education and Regulation in Law).  I gave lectures and seminars on an optional higher-level interdisciplinary jurisprudential course, focusing on Enlightenment legal critique and contemporary constitutionality in small nations, including Arts-based critique of justice and the constitution, that encompassed Scottish music, poetry, novels, visual arts and history.

I was responsible for staff development in legal research of members of the Legal Workshop in the ANU College of Law.  I also worked with students in the Law Reform and Social Justice programme, co-taught in Law and Humanities, and supervised undergraduate dissertations.  I designed and helped implement a world-first – an accrediting online JD curriculum in Australian Law, built on the principles of Problem-Based Learning (PBL)  I played a part in the CHELT implementations of the HEA professional framework — the first Australian university to link with HEA in this project.

Nottingham Law School (2013-2019)
Attached to the Centre for Legal Education in Nottingham Trent University Law School. Responsible for the staff development in research methods and output; helped organise conferences; gave seminars.

Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Canada (2017-2022)
Taught on Learning & Leading with Monica Goyal, innovative Toronto practitioner: course in professional, ethical, technological understandings and skills using digital simulation and PBL, JD 3L.  Also taught on Legal Process, with Assoc Professor Shelley Kierstead: this involved the use of simulated clients in an experiential learning module, JD 1L.  Directorial and project responsibilites at OHLS also included:

  • Design of innovative learning and teaching projects and approaches using digital tools, simulation and PBL
  • Provided skills education into the LLM in Canadian Common Law
  • Improved bridging into the LLM for non-lawyers and international students
  • Assisted in designing online Masters programmes.

Osgoode Professional Development (OPD, 2022-present)

  • Design of innovative teaching and learning using digital tools, simulation and PBL
  • Incorporated skills training and its assessment into the LLM in Canadian Common Law, to include the design, build and use of a virtual law practice environment similar to SIMPLE (see below)
  • Led the SIMPLE build project (budget: $650,000CAD) liaising with a US software house, Forio.com
  • Dissemination of software to law schools globally
  • Provision of consultation and training on more diverse forms of assessment.

Newcastle University Law School (2020-2024)

  • Curriculum review
  • PTSP mentoring
  • Participation in interdisciplinary research projects
  • Development of simulation projects