Dr Jill Dickinson
- Position: Associate Professor in Law
- Areas of expertise: Land Law; Tort Law; Student Success and Belonging; Pracademia (particularly HE-industry collaborations to support teaching and learning, employability, and research); and Professional Development.
- Email: J.Dickinson1@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: The Liberty Building
- Website: Twitter | LinkedIn | Researchgate | ORCID
Profile
As a former Solicitor, I worked for national and international law firms, and specialised in advising clients on the management and development of their commercial property portfolios.
Supervising trainee solicitors encouraged my move into academia where I have undertaken a number of roles including Course and Module Leader, Academic Advisor, and Research Supervisor for both Law and Criminology, and Business and Management.
Alongside my undergraduate teaching, I also supervise and examine postgraduate research projects. Whilst I am based in Law, I have additionally taught cross-institutionally for the Real Estate, Engineering, and Business and Management teaching teams.
In terms of academic advising, I have achieved the Award in Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising from the Centre for Recording Achievement & Staff Educational Development Association, and have also become a Recognised Practitioner in Advising with UK Advising and Tutoring.
External roles include appointments as an Examiner with Nottingham and Coventry Law Schools, and Oxford Brookes University. As a Senior Fellow for Advance HE, I was selected to review their Global Teaching Excellence Awards. I have also judged the Yorkshire Legal Awards and been recognised through both the Law Works & Attorney General Pro Bono Awards, and institutional Team Awards for the National Client Interviewing Competition.
My approach to research has been recognised by the Emerald Literati Awards for Excellence 2020 and research roles include: Associate Editor for the Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Place Management and Development, and guest-editing a number of Special Issues.
As a former member of both the Executive Committee and the Grants Sub-Committee for the Socio-Legal Studies Association, I continue to co-convene the Property, People, Power & Place Annual Conference Stream. I am also an Associate of the Centre for Regional, Social and Economic Research and a former Fellow of the Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies.
Research interests
My interdisciplinary research encompasses two key themes: professional development, and law and place.
Professional Development: As a former practitioner, I research aspects of professional development including the navigation of career transitions between practice and academia (‘pracademia’), staff/student experiences of the blended learning environment, and the development of students’ self-efficacy, for example through engagement with extra-curricular activities. This research has directly led to collaborations including the establishment of the online Pracademia Network with Advance HE Connect, a new cross-instititional, interdisciplinary higher education research and practice cluster, and the establishment of an Annual Connecting with Professional Practice Conference and associated funding streams.
Law and place: My research explores law’s manifestations across the private/public place spectrum. These include the home, shopping centres, greenspaces, and town and city centres, and the issues created by the blurred boundaries that can characterise them. This research has led to initiatives including the ESRC-funded launch of the Public Urban Green Space Group as part of the Festival of Social Sciences; supervising doctoral research (including securing funding for a Doctoral Training Alliance PhD Studentship relating to public spaces protection orders, and in conjunction with Liberty); and securing research funding from organisations including the Oak Foundation and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Research Trust, now the Property Research Trust.
Qualifications
- RPA (Recognised Practitioner in Advising)
- PhD Law
- SFHEA (Senior Fellowship, Advance HE)
- LLM Legal Practice
- Solicitor (non-practising)
Professional memberships
- The Law Society
- Connecting Legal Education Network (Association of Law Teachers)
- Advancing Wellness in Law Network
- Socio Legal Studies Association (Co-Convenor, Property People Power & Place Stream)
- Institute of Place Management
Student education
I specialise in teaching both Land and Tort Law, and am also experienced in developing other modules, including those related to both careers and employability, and business and management.
Additionally, and working in collaboration with both internal colleagues and external partners, I have created core, simulation modules 'from scratch' that involved students working within law firm environments and engaging with recruitment and selection activities. The Clinical Legal Education module was selected by the Quality Enhancement and Student Success team as an example of best practice.
I have also secured funding for, supervised, and/or examined a number of postgraduate research projects related to law, space and place, and/or professional development.
I have been recognised through institutional nominations/awards for Inspirational Teaching, Outstanding Student Support, and Research Supervision, and received an invite to sit on the judging panel. As a Senior Fellow with Advance HE, I was selected to review their Global Teaching Excellence Awards. I have also judged the Yorkshire Legal Awards.
Alongside my teaching, I enjoy collaborating with internal colleagues and external partners on the development of opportunities that support both colleagues and students with teaching and learning, employability, and research. Example initiatives include a cross-institutional, interdisciplinary higher education research and practice cluster; an online Pracademia Network with Advance HE Connect; the Freeths Competition Law Solutions Project; the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme; and the Lawyer in London Student Residential Event.
Through a secondment with the Student Engagement, Evaluation and Research team, I worked cross-institutionally and with external organisations (including Advance HE) to advise on, and support, the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions to improve outcomes across the student lifecycle.
Research groups and institutes
- Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education
- Centre for Curriculum, Pedagogy and Policy