Law Teacher of the Year

Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopolous, Professor of Law & Theory (School of Law, University of Westminster), became the latest Law Teacher of the Year at UKCLE’s Annual Conference in January 2011.

Andreas accepts the award

Accepting the award, following his nomination by nine students, Andreas said:

It feels unreal! I’d like to thank the judging committee and OUP – I’d also like to express my gratitude and happiness about being here and being short listed alongside these five wonderful people – theorists, researchers and dedicated teachers – for the award. It’s an immense privilege. Also, a great thanks to the University of Westminster for allowing me to research and teach in interdisciplinary, research-led and sometimes unorthodox ways. Above all, I would like to thank my students across the years.

When the nomination by my students came through, I was actually in Barcelona and it came through on my iPhone – to be honest I was extremely emotional! We never really know the impact we have on our students – or perhaps we know and we forget about it over time. Then suddenly something like this happens (being nominated) – people start coming to see you and it’s an inspiration. The more you inspire your students, the more you are inspired – it’s an inspirational experience. Thank you!

The trophy and a cheque for £3,000 were presented by Paul Maharg, Professor of Legal Education at the University of Northumbria, who paid tribute to the diversity demonstrated by the shortlisted candidates that characterises the law teachers’ role today.

Get inspired: download the booklet to read more about Andreas and this year’s other finalists:

• James Devenney, Deputy Head (Durham Law School, University of Durham)
• Liz Fisher, Reader in Environmental Law / Director of the Course in Legal Research Methods (Faculty of Law, University of Oxford)
• Sarah Greer, Head of Department, Law & Criminology (School of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Greenwich)
• Stewart Motha, Senior Lecturer (Kent Law School, University of Kent)
• Zoe Swan, Senior Lecturer (Brighton Business School, University of Brighton)

Law Teacher of the Year 2012

Nominations for the 2012 award will open shortly. You can find full details, including a model nomination form, on the Oxford University Press website.

The competition is open to all law teachers in the UK, including those in higher education, further education, the schools sector and private institutions. The law teacher in question should be currently employed by an educational institution, but can be full time or part time, fixed term or permanent.

Nominations are welcomed from work colleagues, educational institutions, students or representatives of other public or private bodies. Anyone previously shortlisted for the award is not eligible to re-enter for a period of three years. Students nominating teachers may seek input from another teacher to offer a professional perspective. The law teacher should agree to the nomination, as should the head of department. There must be two nominating sponsors for each entrant.

About the award

The Law Teacher of the Year is sponsored by Oxford University Press (OUP) in association with UKCLE. The award is designed to recognise the vital role that teachers play in the education of tomorrow’s lawyers, and to reward achievement in teaching – see OUP’s Law Teacher of the Year pages for further details.

Each year many extremely good and dedicated law teachers are nominated for the award, but what is excellence in law teaching? Tracey Varnava (UKCLE) reports on the search for the legal education X factor.

Previous Law Teachers of the Year

• 2010 – Rebecca Huxley-Binns, Nottingham Trent University
• 2009 – Gary Watt, University of Warwick
• 2008 – Fernando Barrio, London Metropolitan University, and Alastair Hudson, Queen Mary, University of London
• 2006 – Warren Barr, University of Liverpool (Warren reflects on the honour in Musings from the Law Teacher of the Year 2006)
• 2005 – April Stroud, Southampton Institute (April describes her submission in Making sense of land law)
• 2004 – Jackie Hankins, Redborne Upper School

The Law Teacher of the Year award was initially conceived by the Association of Law Teachers (ALT) and supported by Cavendish Publishing.

Last Modified: 1 February 2011