Research Associate in Law

Full time/Fixed for 12 months

About the role

Are you looking for an opportunity to develop your research experience while contributing to projects that address important legal and social challenges?

As a Research Associate in Law, you will work with academic colleagues across Nottingham Law School’s three research centres: the Centre for Law, Emerging Technologies and Business; the Centre for Legal Education; and the Centre for Rights and Justice.

Your work will be varied. Depending on the projects to which you are assigned, you will:

• search for, review and clearly summarise academic literature, legislation, case law and policy materials;
• contribute to research reports, journal articles and other publications;
• help design and undertake qualitative research, which may include interviews, focus groups or document analysis;
• organise, manage and analyse research data in accordance with ethical and data-protection requirements;
• undertake horizon-scanning to identify emerging legal, policy and research developments;
• support colleagues in preparing applications for external research funding;
• assist with research events and engagement activities; and
• help communicate research findings to academic, professional and public audiences.

You will manage your own agreed tasks while working closely with project leads and other members of the research community based in our three research centres: the Centre for Law, Emerging Technologies and Business, the Centre for Rights and Justice, and the Centre for Legal Education. You may also collaborate with external partners and stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors.

The post is offered on a full-time basis, although consideration will also be given to fractional appointments and job-share arrangements For more details, please take a look at the role profile. We'll still consider applications even if you don't meet every single one of the requirements, so don't be put off if you don't match them perfectly.

Interview Date: 19th & 20th November 2026

About Us

Nottingham Law School (NLS) is one of the leading providers of academic and professional legal education in the country, with an established record of delivering innovative and transformational courses.

We are one of the largest law schools in the UK, offering a range of undergraduate degrees, academic and practitioner taught postgraduate courses and a strong research degrees programme. In addition, our students can gain practical experience volunteering at NLS Legal, our multi-award-winning-teaching law firm, the only on-campus law firm at a UK Law School.

Research is central to the School’s mission, enabling our work to make a positive difference to lives and society locally, nationally and globally. We foster a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable research environment, supported by a strong research infrastructure. Our approach is founded on the mutually enriching relationship between excellent academic research, professional practice and legal education.

Our researchers produce innovative, impactful and world-leading work, often engaging with cross-disciplinary developments and some of the most significant challenges facing society. These include the rights, safety and security of vulnerable groups; the accountability of public- and private-sector bodies; and the financial and environmental sustainability of the public, private and third sectors.

For any informal queries about the role or the team, please contact Professor Jonathan Doak (Associate Dean for Research) at jonathan.doak@ntu.ac.uk.

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