Led by Campus Dean Amanda Hedayati, our lecturers are dedicated to bringing their real-life experience in practice into the classroom, providing our students with genuine insight into the subject matter. Each of our students are assigned an academic coach and have regular one-to-one meetings where they can get advice on the course and career aspirations. As lecturers are based in our campuses they operate an ‘open door’ policy, so students can talk to them whenever they need to.
Amanda is the Dean at the Liverpool campus and held positions as Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for LLB/GDL before her appointment. She has vast experience in employment law with particular expertise in discrimination and diversity. Previously Employment Law Head for BPP’s Professional Development faculty, she designed and presented a range of professional training courses, and now brings that knowledge to ULaw’s aspiring legal professionals.
Nicola is the Campus Manager for both the Liverpool and Chester campuses. Nicola graduated with a degree in English and later converted to Law, studying the GDL and the LPC at the University of Law’s Chester campus. She qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and then went on to practice as a Commercial Property solicitor. Before joining Ulaw, Nicola worked in Education, teaching Law as well as being a Course Leader and Head of student progression.
Mark completed his Law degree at Liverpool John Moores University before going on to study the Legal Practice Course and qualifying as a solicitor. Mark worked in private practice for almost 10 years, specialising in Civil Litigation, in particular Landlord and Tenant matters. Mark joined the University of Law in October 2017 and is the LPC and SQE Programme & Student Lead at the Chester, Liverpool and Manchester campuses, and oversees the running of the LPC and SQE programmes across those campuses. In his role as Senior Lecturer, Mark has taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes such as the LLB, LPC, MA Law and SQE, with a particular focus on Real Estate and Land Law.
Nigel Booth was called to the Bar in 1994 by Gray’s Inn. After his first six months’ pupillage at Furnival Chambers in London under the supervision of Francis Sheridan (now the Honorary Recorder of Aylesbury), Nigel's second six was with the Crown Prosecution Service in Manchester where he stayed until January 2000, having become a Senior Crown Prosecutor. Since then, Nigel spent twenty years practising at the criminal Bar from Chambers in Manchester, first at St John’s Buildings and then with the criminal team at 9 St John Street, where he is still a member. When the Bar Practice Course started at the Manchester campus, Nigel joined as the lecturer in criminal skills and criminal litigation evidence and sentencing and he is now the Programme Student Experience Lead. Away from the campus, Nigel is a School Governor. He has previously self-published three self-help legal books on defending yourself, road traffic offences and licence reviews. In August 2022 Routledge Law will be publishing Nigel's new book for law students 'Life as a Junior Barrister: In the Words of the Independent Bar'.
Niall Mac Donald is Programme and Student Lead for the postgraduate academic law courses at the Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester campuses of the University of law. These courses include the GDL, PgDL, MA (Law), MA (SQE) and MA (Conversion) courses, as well as the academic AMIL/LLM courses. He teaches Ethics and Professional Legal Practice, The Law of Torts, Medical Law and Ethics, and supervises postgraduate students’ and faculty members’ dissertation work. He is a member of the Ethics Committee (reviewing research proposals from the Law and Business Schools) and the Teaching and Learning Committee. He is also the Director of a small private company which invests in real estate and global equities.
Mike worked for a number of “top 100 law firms” during his career before joining The University of Law in Manchester in August 2009. He is now an Associate Professor and teaches Land Law on the GDL and the LLB, Business Law, Real Estate and Advanced Real Estate on the LPC. He also delivers a number of Professional Skills Courses and is a Fellow of the HEA. Mike is a Chief Examiner for CILEx and also the author of a number of publications.
After studying Law at the University of Liverpool and the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law (now the University of Law), Raury qualified as a solicitor in 2005. Raury was a Commercial Litigation specialist in practice, handling complex business disputes in the County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal. Before joining the University of Law in 2017, Raury was a Senior Associate at a large law firm in Manchester. Raury is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches business law subjects on all of our law courses. Raury has a particular interest in Constitutional Law, and is National Module Lead responsible for designing the Constitutional Law subject content on the University’s law conversion course.
Richard joined the University of Law in May 2020. Previously, he studied Law at the University of Leeds, before completing the Legal Practice Course and qualifying as a solicitor in 2011. Richard worked in private practice for 12 years, specialising in Civil Litigation and developing a keen interest in mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. In his later years in practice, Richard progressed to the position of Legal Director, managing trainee solicitor and paralegal staff, and becoming integral to his firm’s recruitment, financial planning, and marketing strategies. He is also a Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Civil Mediation Council (CMC) and International Mediation Institute (IMI) qualified mediator. Richard is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy and is the campus Subject Lead for Dispute Resolution. Richard delivers litigious modules on the LPC and SQE and has experience teaching our academic undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with a focus on Contract and Tort law.
Rachel joined the University in October 2019. She studied Law at the University of Leicester, before completing the LPC at the College of Law in Birmingham. Prior to joining the University, Rachel worked in private practice for around 15 years, specialising in Private Client work, including Wills, tax planning, Lasting Powers of Attorney, administering estates, setting up and administering trusts, advice relating to care fees and a small amount of Court of Protection work. Rachel has specialised in advising high net worth clients, small business owners and has been involved in a number of cross-border estate matters. Rachel successfully completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Trusts and Estates in July 2019.
Lauren qualified as a solicitor in 2012 after training at Covington & Burling LLP, including a secondment to a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. She practised at Bristows LLP as a Life Sciences solicitor, including a secondment to a major artificial intelligence company in London. Her career highlight is successfully representing a French pharmaceutical company before the Court of Justice of the European Union. With a degree in Cell Biology, Lauren converted to law with ULaw before gaining the LPC. She has also completed a post-graduate Diploma in EU Law, a PGCHE, and is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. Lauren has authored legal texts published by Oxford University Press, Practical Law, Lexis Nexis, and Criminal Law Week. Lauren joined ULaw in 2019 and teaches EU Law, Contract Law, Law and Business, Intellectual Property, and Introduction to Professional Practice, as well as teaching on the SQE Plus.
Douglas is a barrister and senior lecturer on the Bar Practice Course (BPC). He has a Masters’ degree in Law (LLM), a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE), and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Called to the Bar in 2008, Douglas draws on many years of experience prosecuting and defending cases attracting national media coverage. He began his career at chambers in London and completed secondments to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). He later worked in-house at a leading law firm, in their top tier ranked Regulatory team, before joining St John’s Buildings in Manchester, one of the largest chambers in England. Prior to pupillage, Douglas lived in South Korea, Turkey, India, and Russia. He has also undertaken human rights work in Africa. His main areas of interest are Crime, Human Rights, Public Law, and Professional Regulation.
Mark graduated in History from Edinburgh University, before completing the GDL and LPC at The University of Law in Chester. Mark qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and worked in Commercial Real Estate at leading firms in London and Liverpool for 11 years, specialising in retail sector work. He requalified as a teacher in 2018 and spent 2 years teaching History at a secondary school in Liverpool before joining The University of Law in Manchester in 2020. Mark teaches across all courses, with a particular focus on Land Law and Real Estate.
Anya Swift (Horwood) was called to the Bar in 1991 by Inner Temple. In September 1991 Anya joined a Common Law set in Liverpool, 2nd Floor Peel House, which then became 25-27 Castle Street where she specialised in Crime. In 2009 she joined the Crown Prosecution Service as a Senior Crown Advocate and was trial counsel in many of the most serious cases in Liverpool and Cheshire. In 2018 Anya returned to the independent Bar and remains a door tenant at Exchange Chambers. Anya will be teaching criminal skills, criminal litigation, evidence and sentencing on the Bar Practice Course in Liverpool, and criminal modules on other University of Law courses. Away from campus Anya is a Trustee of a Liverpool based charity.
Alexandra studied Law at Lancaster University before completing her LPC at the University of Law in its first year in Manchester in 2009. Alexandra trained at BLM before joining Clyde & Co as an Associate specialising in defendant occupational disease, predominantly handling asbestos litigation. She teaches on both undergraduate and post-graduate courses across the Manchester and Liverpool campuses, with a particular focus on tort, dispute resolution and personal injury.
Mark joined the University of Law in October 2021 and has been teaching real estate, private client and professional skills on the Legal Practice Course, SQE, PgDL and LLB courses. Mark qualified as a Solicitor in 1995 and worked in a general high street firm with offices in North Wales and Chester for over 28 years. Mark has been on the Law Society of England & Wales Council since 2015, representing the constituency of Cheshire & North Wales from 2015 to 2023 and North Wales from 2023 to 2027.
In October 2023 Mark will become the Deputy Vice President of the Law Society of England & Wales and will be the President in 2025/26. As an Office holder Mark will be an ambassador and represent the Law Society at home and abroad. The President also acts as the chair of the Law Society Council.
Katherine was called to the Bar in 2006. She practised in family law as a member of Coram Chambers where she remains a door tenant. She has also worked in-house at a national children's charity. She joined the University in 2022.
Helen joined the University Manchester Campus in 2022, having previously taught as a Visiting Lecturer at Liverpool Campus. Helen qualified as a Solicitor in 2009, she worked in private practice property and completed an LLM in 2015. Helen teaches across PgDL/ MA, LPC and SQE courses.