Head of Bradford School of Law celebrates triple publishing success
A specialist in legal education and European law at the University of Bradford School of Law is celebrating after having two books and an academic paper published in quick succession.
Already this year Dr Jess Guth, who is Head of Law at the School, has had published The Legal Academic’s Handbook (Palgrave) and Perspectives on Legal Education, Contemporary Responses to the Upjohn Lectures (Routledge).
Her paper, Transforming the European Legal Order: The European Court of Justice at 60+, has also just been published.
The Legal Academic’s Handbook has contributions from more than 60 established scholars and offers guidance on starting, pursuing, managing and advancing a career in legal academia.
It starts by introducing four fictional academics who want to pursue different career paths in various institutions. Each chapter then delves into a specific topic from the perspective of one of these academics, including making the transition from legal practice, investigating gender issues, gaining recognition for teaching, building a research profile, and organising a specialist conference.
Dr Guth said: “Whether you are looking for ways to overcome challenges or to seek out new opportunities, the book provides practical advice through relevant research, personal experience, and anecdotal evidence.”
Perspectives on Legal Education offers a critical overview of the major debates in legal education set in the context of the Lord Upjohn Lectures. The lectures are an annual event that draws together legal educators and professionals in the United Kingdom to consider the major debates and changes in the field.
The book presents classic lectures alongside contemporary responses from legal education experts. It was a collaboration between Dr Guth, Prof Chris Ashford (Northumbria University) and Prof Nigel Duncan (City University).
It arose from their work as part of the Association of Law Teacher’s Committee and their roles on the editorial board of the association’s journal, The Law Teacher: The International Journal of Legal Education, of which Dr Guth is Deputy Editor. She is also Vice Chair of the Association.
Dr Guth said: “This book offers both an historical overview of how these debates have developed and an up-to-date critical commentary on the state of legal education today.
“My chapter in the book responds to a lecture given by Professor Dawn Oliver on the integration of teaching and research in Law Departments. It argues that both teaching and research should be valued and should not be seen as in tension but as mutually supportive.
“As the full impact of the introduction of university fees, the Legal Education and Training Review and the regulators’ responses are felt in law departments across England and Wales, this collection offers a timely reflection on legal education’s legacy, as well as critical debate on how it will develop in the future.”
Dr Guth’s academic paper was published in Issue 1 of the 2016 Journal of Contemporary European Research. The journal is a special anniversary issue celebrating 65 years of European governance.
It focuses on the European Court of Justice and how its decisions have shaped the legal order at EU level. The paper argues that the Court was initially instrumental in transforming the legal order from mere international law obligation between Member States into a legal system that impacts on us all and that it is still influential and important now because it impacts on the development of law in a wide variety of areas across the entire European Union.
As well as working on law textbooks and academic papers, Dr Guth also has her own blogsite.