Our people at the School of Law

Responsible for leading 600 people delivering Government's litigation, fighting some of the most important cases of the day such as the litigation arising out of Covid-19, dealing with public Inquiries such as the Post Office IT Horizon Inquiry, and having the UK's largest caseload in the Supreme Court.

After practising as a Chancery barrister, I joined the Charity Commission in 1998 before moving to what is now the Government Legal Department where I have advised a variety of departments: the Cabinet Office, Department of Education, Ministry of Justice, Department of Transport and Department of Health and Social Care.

I want to support the students of an important region of the country who have great skills to offer prospective employers and help them be job-ready for the exciting legal market.

I am the Director and one of the Founding Partners of Proctor & Hobbs Solicitors. I am the Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration as well as the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice. I am also a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Law.

I have worked within the legal Industry for over 10 years and have endeavoured to assist as many individuals as possible within the field of law. I am an active campaigner to ensure that members of the BAME community and especially women of ethnic minorities are encouraged to excel within the legal field. I aim to ensure that talented individuals from the local community are afforded opportunities from which they can progress and develop their careers accordingly.

I am a generalist lawyer with experience in Construction, Street Works, Submarine Cables and Electronic Communications with a wide-ranging background in litigation. I am fortunate to have responsibility for the performance of 6 diverse in house teams totalling 50 qualified and part qualified lawyers who manage contentious and non-contentious work. I’m particularly interested in people and digital transformation, utilising technology and automation to partner with our lawyers to augment their ability to serve as experts in their field.

Previous Experience

Law is a second career for me after starting my early career as a joiner. Since graduating in 2008 I have worked in a number of private practice claimant firms, developing into management and compliance roles before moving in house.

My experience has shaped personal values of equality of opportunity, honesty, commitment to high standards and regular disruption.

Areas of Interest

Legal technology and Artificial Intelligence

Reason for Joining the Advisory Board

You'll have noticed I love working with people. I have worked in leadership roles for the majority of my career and I'm passionate about investing in people. This opportunity offers the chance to support the fantastic work that the faculty of Management and Law does in creating solid foundations for graduates looking for a career In legal practice. As a legal tech advocate, I see the future of legal practice developing fast and so the skills that are required to work in and contribute to this future world must constantly evolve. Law firms are increasingly integrating technology alongside the human workforce to drive Insights, efficiency and service excellence. In preparation, I hope to bring healthy debate to the Law Advisory Board as to how we can best equip future graduates with the tools that the future workplace will require.

I am Professor of European and International Law at Pforzheim University (Germany). Lectures and Research in the field of Public Law, IT-Law an Data Protection Law. Research Projects in the field of Consumer and User Protection “by Design” for digital societies, products and business models.

Previous Experience

In my previous roles I have been Data Protection Lawyer for the Porsche Group (Stuttgart, Germany) and Research Associate (for Cloud Computing and Data Protection Law), Kassel University (Germany)

Areas of Interest

My interests are in Interdisciplinary research on Data Protection and Privacy Law and further IT-Law, Product- and Consumer Law-related issues.

Reason for Joining the Advisory Board

I would like to contribute to the Board with experience as Professor of European and International Law and former Industry-Lawyer for an international Automobile Company working in IT- and IOT-related business- and technology-fields. In this role, I would like to reach out to students and university members in order to enhance a vital network and give insights and impulses for a closer link between theory and practice, university and industry in a modern digitized world.

Currently a Global Privacy Counsel at Volkswagen AG responsible for providing data protection legal advice and leading international Privacy Law projects. Further to this Sheila researches in the area of Privacy Law, specifically privacy by design in the context of connected vehicles.

Joy Albright works as Senior Manager, Legal Services at the African Export Import Bank (a multilateral financial institution) where she advises on a range of cross-border finance transactions in Africa, with a focus on trade finance, project finance, asset finance and acquisition finance.  She also advises on fintech projects spanning payments, digital platforms, IT procurement, outsourcing and cybersecurity.  Previously Joy worked as a solicitor with law firms in the United Kingdom and Channel Islands on banking transactions, PFI/PPP projects and corporate acquisitions.

Rubina Burhan works at the Girlington Centre and has been the manager since 2001 - Managing the activities at the Community Centre, including volunteers, trainees / training programmes, employees; establishing community partnerships and liaising with funders / partners. Rubina Burhan previously worked as a advice worker for Cancer support (financial / social needs post-diagnosis); Generalist advice worker / supervisor / deputy manager at Citizens Advice Bureau; Family Care worker with Bradford Social Services; Lecturer at Shipley College. Has sat on Racial Equality Council, National Board of CAB, Bradford Law Centre, People's Board for local CCG.