Dr Emma Ireton

Role

Emma is an Associate Professor in Law with a research specialism in applied public inquiry law and procedure. Her work focuses on improving understanding of the role and function of public inquiries and on analysing and disseminating best practice to inform and improve future inquiry procedure and practice. Emma was a recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Practice 2022 for her work in this field. She is co-author of the Practical Guide to Public Inquiries, a comprehensive resource offering practical guidance for those setting up, running, and participating in public inquiries. Her PhD thesis examined political and legal influence on the form and nature of post-2005 public inquiries. She is a member of the NLS Centre for Rights and Justice and the Centre for Advocacy.

In her teaching role, Emma leads curriculum development and course design for vocational and practitioner courses, with a focus on bridging the gap between legal academia and practice. She collaborates closely with leading solicitors, barristers, and members of the judiciary to enhance curriculum design, contribute to academic and practitioner publications, and engage in practice-focused research projects. Emma is a member of the Nottingham Trent University Academic Board, the Nottingham Law School Relationship Manager for the Visiting and Honorary Professors Faculty, and a member of the Nottingham Law School Employers' Advisory Board. She teaches civil litigation, dispute resolution, negotiation, advocacy, research, cognitive interviewing, professional legal practice, and professional written and oral skills on the LLB and practitioner LLM courses.

Career overview

Prior to joining Nottingham Law School, Emma spent 12 years as a solicitor in commercial practice in the fields of public inquiries, commercial litigation, and environmental law. Her work included working on the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday and heading up a team of specialist civil environmental lawyers dealing with multimillion pound disputes.

During her time at Nottingham Law School, Emma has taught on the LLB, GDL, LPC, BPTC and practitioner LLM programmes. She was a reviewer and assessor for the SRA's innovative Work Based Learning pilot, a scheme that enabled LPC graduates to qualify as solicitors outside the training contract regime.

Emma works with a team of lawyers dedicated to maintaining links with practice and practitioners, which ensures that Nottingham Law School programmes are constantly developed and enhanced to reflect current best practice.

External activity

Emma is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Emma was a member of the JUSTICE working party ‘When Things Go Wrong’. It considered and made recommendations to reform institutional responses to deaths or other serious incidents where a “systemic pattern of failure” is evident, in particular looking at inquests and public inquiries. A copy of the report can be found here.