My profile

Biography

Who am I?

Before embarking on a career in the legal profession, I studied Chinese at Leeds University and subsequently worked as a tour guide and translator and then as Editorial Assistant on The China Quarterly, published by OUP.  I trained and qualified as a solicitor at Allen & Overy, specialising in commercial dispute resolution before moving to Eversheds in Leeds where, amongst other things, I worked for local authorities, universities and colleges in public sector dispute resolution and also for the government on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and Harold Shipman Inquiry.  I then moved into teaching and writing and I am now a Senior Lecturer in the Manchester Law School at Manchester Metropolitan University.  I have a particular interest in socio-legal issues including gender, sexuality and human rights, LGBTQI+ issues, legal ethics, language and the law and the impact of creativity in teaching.

Academic

  • Modern Chinese Studies - University of Leeds
  • Area Studies (Far East) (MA) - SOAS University of London
  • Common Professional Examination - College of Law
  • Legal Practice Course - College of Law
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Education (Distinction) - BPP University
  • MA Creative Writing - Manchester Metropolitan University

Professional

  • Solicitor (Non-practising)
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy
  • Diploma in Advanced Commercial Litigation (Distinction) - Nottingham Law School

Languages

Mandarin Chinese

Impact

I was an Editor and Contributor to the website EachOther.org which you can access here https://eachother.org.uk

EachOther is a UK-focused charity that uses independent journalism, storytelling and filmmaking to put the human into human rights.

I also contributed these short videos to LGBT History Month in 2020.

LGBT History Month - Audre Lord

LGBT History Month - Mary-Jean Chan

Projects

Queer Judgments Project - an international multidisciplinary project to recast and reimagine legal judgments impacting queer lives.  I am working on the ECHR judgment EB v France (https://swarb.co.uk/eb-v-france-echr-14-mar-2007/) in collaboration with Dr Sanna Elfving, University of Bradford and Miriam Schwarz, PhD candidate at Cambridge University. Publication date 2024

Teaching

I am Unit Leader for Professional Ethics on the Bar Training Course and Projects: Public Legal Education on the LLB. 

Bar Training Course

Our Bar Training Course (BTC) is professionally focused and brings together the essential practical skills, legal knowledge and understanding of professionalism required to thrive at the Bar, or in a …

LLB (Hons)

Law underpins our society. A law degree gives you a unique insight into everything, from the economy to the criminal justice system. And it gives you a huge range of skills that will last you througho…

Supervision

LLM Legal Practice at the Bar

Personal Tutees

Research outputs

Editor and Contributor on the award winning EachOther.org website (2014-2016), a charity aimed at increasing public understanding and awareness of human rights.  You can read examples of my work below.

How Human Rights Protect Transgender People  27 March 2016

https://eachother.org.uk/transgender-human-rights-laws-protect

It’s High Time We Made Forcing High Heels On Women Illegal 12 May 2016

https://eachother.org.uk/its-high-time-we-made-forcing-high-heels-on

A Brief History Of Homophobia 17 May 2016 

https://eachother.org.uk/short-history-homophobia

‘Gendercide’: Do Sex-Selective Abortions Breach Human Rights 27 June 2016 

https://eachother.org.uk/gender-based-abortions-breach-human-rights

The Fascinating Story Of Jeanette Smith And Graeme Grady 27 September 2016

https://eachother.org.uk/story-smith-grady

Who Were The Suffragettes? Remembering The Struggle For Women’s votes…

https://eachother.org.uk/suffragettes-remembering-struggle-womens-votes

Old dogs, new tricks: Simulated practice and client settings in the form of objective structured professional assessment could be used to assess professional ethics, Solicitors Journal, 08 Jun 2020 Old dogs, new tricks

I am currently working towards my first poetry collection and you can read/hear an example of my poetry here:

‘Queen’s Gambit Accepted’ by Katie Jukes (Issue 88 Pennine Platform) https://pennineplatform.com/2021/01/24/1290