The School of Law is thrilled to welcome four new members of staff

Four new starters have joined the School of Law, and we are delighted to introduce Drs Ci Ren, Casimiro Nigro, Charlotte Barlow and Simge Aslan.

Dr Ci Ren

Dr Ci Ren completed her PhD from King’s College London. Her research focuses on cutting-edge issues in business law, corporate law, and financial regulation from a comparative and international perspective (primarily English law, US law, and Asian law). She has published several papers in peer-reviewed law journals such as the Journal of Business Law (UK), Asia Pacific Law Review (Hong Kong), and The Banking Law Journal (US), addressing important topics in today’s commercial world, such as the regulation of the D&O insurance, takeover law, and financial safety nets. In particular, her two papers on the regulation of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) in international financial centres (eg, London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore) have made a substantial contribution to academic debates on corporate law and corporate finance innovation in the 2020s. As a result, she has been invited to contribute to prestigious law and financial economics blogs in the US, including Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets (the CLS Blue Sky Blog), Duke University’s Financial Economics Centre–The FinReg Blog, and the American Legal Blogger (hosted by the American Bar Association). Beyond academia, her research has made some impact on the policy-making globally. For instance, in 2024, she was invited to provide expert advice on amendments to the Korean Commercial Code, especially on Section 382-3, which governs director’s duty of loyalty in South Korea.

On the teaching front, she will contribute to core business law modules, including Corporate Law, International Banking Law, and International Corporate Governance. She has extensive experience in engaging students from diverse background and supports them in applying theorical knowledge into practical commercial scenarios. She has also actively engaged in the “women in finance” initiative launched by the UK government and international organisations, to promote diversity and inclusion in financial practice and research. She would like her research to make some positive change to our society and would enthusiastically support Leeds’ initiatives to widen participation in legal education.

Dr Casimiro Nigro

Dr Casimiro Nigro is a Lecturer in Business Law at the School of Law, and teaches in the areas of corporate finance, corporate law, and corporate governance, and currently leads the Corporate Finance and Securities Law module.

His research interests include comparative corporate governance and law, the governance of closely held corporations (particularly startups), mergers and acquisitions, takeover law, and the interaction between corporate law and venture capital contracting. He has published extensively on venture capital, with some of his most significant contributions co-authored with Professors Luca Enriques and Tobias Tröger.

His current research examines how regulatory frameworks in Europe shape contracting between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, influencing startup financing. His work has appeared in leading academic outlets and has been featured on platforms such as the Harvard Forum on Corporate Governance, the Columbia Blue Sky Blog, the Oxford Business Law Blog, Forbes, and Il Sole 24 Ore. In 2023, he was awarded the ECGI – John L. Weinberg / IRRCi Best Paper Award for “Conflicting Fiduciary Duties and Fire Sales of VC-backed Start-ups”, co-authored with Bo Bian and Yingxiang Li.

Before joining academia, Casimiro practised as counsel in international law firms, advising on complex corporate transactions including equity crowdfunding, and contributed to legislative reforms in Italian corporate law.

Outside work, he enjoys travelling, cooking, and exploring different cultures by photographing moments of everyday life.

Dr Charlotte Barlow

Dr Charlotte Barlow is joining the Law School as an Associate Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She is a member of the Feminist Research Into Violence & Abuse (FRIVA) Network at the University of Leeds. Charlotte is Vice President of the British Society of Criminology and Visiting Fellow at the University of Fraser Valley, Canada. Over circa 15 years, she has conducted various research projects focussing on violence against women and girls, with a particular emphasis on criminal and family justice responses to domestic abuse. She has led and conducted projects funded by organisations including the ESRC, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, N8 Policing Research Partnership and the British Academy.

Achieving real-world impact is central to Charlotte’s approach to research, and her research has influenced national and international domestic abuse policy and informed the development of police and partner agency training. Recent examples of her research include projects exploring police and criminal justice responses to coercive control, Clare’s Law/ Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes, court systems and domestic abuse, including integrated domestic abuse courts and Family Drug and Alcohol courts, interventions for children who experience domestic abuse, rurality and domestic abuse and “Project Bright Light”, using the principles of Operation Soteria to explore police responses to domestic abuse. She is excited to be joining the vibrant community of leading academics and students in the School of Law at Leeds.

Dr Simge Aslan

Dr Simge Aslan has joined the School as a Lecturer in Business Law. Prior to this, Simge was a Teaching Associate at the University of Nottingham where she taught law of contract and corporate insolvency law. She holds a PhD and an LLM degree on International Commercial Law from University of Nottingham. Simge's research focuses on distributed ledger technology and its impact on private law, particularly property, secured transactions and insolvency laws. She likes cats, Christmas, and whiskey, and is looking forward to becoming part of the vibrant community at Leeds.

We’re excited to work alongside our new colleagues as we continue our commitment to delivering exceptional legal education and producing impactful, world-leading research.