Catherine Shephard

I am a Reader in Practice-Informed Legal Education.

I read Law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and qualified as a corporate lawyer with Addleshaw Goddard. I specialised in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and capital markets work, including working as part of the advisory team on the £852M hostile bid by Airtours Group plc for First Choice plc.

At the University of Law I led professional training in business law and legal skills, teaching qualified and trainee solicitors in leading law firms, and students in their final stage of training to become qualified solicitors. I also delivered The Law Society’s accredited Management Training Course, covering essential aspects of management, leadership and career progression for solicitors seeking a leadership role. I published my first textbooks, on Legal Skills, and Public Companies and Equity Finance.

I joined Manchester Law School in 2012, leading academic teaching and learning in business law, legal skills and law firm management to undergraduate and postgraduate students in our law and business schools. I continue to publish, in academic journals, conference papers, books and professional publications.

I enjoy reflecting on all of my previous and current experience to look forward, and this informs my leadership in legal education, pedagogy and citizenship. 

1. Practice-Informed Legal Education and Pedagogy

My work impacts upon innovation in two key areas:

Legal Skills

My work is supporting the delivery of demonstrable change in the incorporation of legal skills into legal education nationally. My textbook published by Oxford University Press, Legal Systems and Skills, has been widely adopted across the sector. It responds to the increasing emphasis on skills and the growing alignment between academic and professional legal education. My writing is informed by my experience and expertise in both legal education and professional practice, research into my own students’ experiences, scholarship in teaching and learning, and interest in neuro-linguistics.

Professional Life

My work is shaping the way in which professional legal education and training is delivered and authentically assessed nationally. Founded upon my fee-earning as a corporate lawyer in practice, I have enjoyed working collaboratively with leading law firms and in-house legal departments, legal education providers, and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies including the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Chartered Institute for Legal Executives and the Ministry of Justice. I have developed and communicated my ideas through a series of conference papers, short-form publications in professional practice and journal articles in the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly.

2. Outreach and Social Mobility

I am Manchester Law School’s Outreach Lead. In this role I encourage school and college students to enjoy the idea of realising their full potential, and engage them in developing key transferable professional skills to help them flourish from the moment they arrive at university. I have a particular interest in achieving social mobility through legal education. I have enjoyed working with Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Education Business Solutions initiative and the Streetlaw Project, and I currently work collaboratively with the Social Mobility Business Partnership charity.