Academic profile

After working as a family law solicitor in leading law firms for nine years, I joined the School of Law in 2003. As well as convening and teaching family law, I have carried out empirical research into step-parents’ experiences and public perception of family law issues. Linked with my expertise and interest in family law, I sit on the Safeguarding Children’s Executive Board at Sheffield City Council. I also convene the post-graduate MA in Legal Practice and have an active interest in legal education and training.

Qualifications

• MA Jurisprudence, St Anne’s College, Oxford
• M.Ed., University of Sheffield

Teaching and Learning

I am a great believer in encouraging active learning. I try to make learning fun, by using a variety of exercises within seminars such as student presentations, negotiation sessions, debates and methods such as 'pass the pen' whiteboard exercises. I read widely about pedagogic research and am always open to suggestions from students and the wider academic community.

The modules I teach are:

Undergraduate	Postgraduate and MA
Family Law (Convenor)	MA Legal Practice Disseration (Convenor)
Criminal Process
Understanding Law

Research Interests

• Importance of genetic ties in parenting
• Understandings and experiences of the exercise of Parental Responsibility
• The nature of 'contribution' in the determination of ancillary relief cases

I am a member of the Centre of the Study of Law in Society at the University of Sheffield.

Areas of Research Supervision

• Family law – recent research supervision includes the prioritising of domestic violence services and the effect of cost increases on local authority decision making in care proceedings
• Legal practice – current research supervision includes perceptions of legal executives within the profession and the implications for legal training

Key Publications

Russell P (2012) Innovations in assessment. In Hunter C ‘Integrating Socio-legal Studies into the Undergraduate Law Curriculum’ Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan pp. 54-66.

Recent Invited Paper and Keynote Lectures

Speaker ‘Parental Responsibility: step-parent perspectives’, Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference on 4th April 2012 at Leicester De Montford Law School.

Panel speaker ‘pressing problems in law and legal education’ Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference on 11th September 2012 at the University of Bristol.

Speaker ‘Mother, Father, Parent, what’s in a name?’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference on 28th March 2013 at York Law School with Lucy Yeatman and Kim Everett from Greenwich University

Professional Activities and Recognition

Member of the Sheffield City Council Safeguarding Children’s Executive Board

External examiner for the College of Law (family law) and Northumbria University (family law and litigation). Appointed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Member of the Law Society.