Aileen McHarg
@aileenmcharg.bsky.social
Professor of Public Law and Human Rights, Durham University. Joint General Editor, Public Law.
Look, if the NE of England doesn't count, NI might as well not exist. #knowyourplace
November 27, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Look, if the NE of England doesn't count, NI might as well not exist. #knowyourplace
Some London public lawyers practise at the bar. The odd person elsewhere. I knew/know some people in Bristol who practice(d), but I don't think it's widespread (unless including people who do bits and pieces of consultancy - but that's often not motivated primarily by money).
November 26, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Some London public lawyers practise at the bar. The odd person elsewhere. I knew/know some people in Bristol who practice(d), but I don't think it's widespread (unless including people who do bits and pieces of consultancy - but that's often not motivated primarily by money).
So - at best - your initial universal claim is true of a subset of a geographic subset of a specialist subset of academic lawyers?
Can see why your skills are in such high demand.
Can see why your skills are in such high demand.
November 26, 2025 at 10:40 PM
So - at best - your initial universal claim is true of a subset of a geographic subset of a specialist subset of academic lawyers?
Can see why your skills are in such high demand.
Can see why your skills are in such high demand.
Most horrifically, I even live with one of those lesser beings.
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Most horrifically, I even live with one of those lesser beings.
Oddly enough, the four universities I have worked in do not exclusively employ public lawyers. Being an ecumenical type of person, I am even prepared to talk to some of them now and again.
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Oddly enough, the four universities I have worked in do not exclusively employ public lawyers. Being an ecumenical type of person, I am even prepared to talk to some of them now and again.
Just hadn't noticed before. Seems very pork-barrelly
November 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Just hadn't noticed before. Seems very pork-barrelly
There have been 2 attempts recently in Scotland to get rid of jury trials for non-financial reasons: on a temporary basis during Covid, then a pilot project in rape cases. Both were seen off by the legal profession. So I'm surprised that there hasn't been more of a stushie about these proposals.
November 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
There have been 2 attempts recently in Scotland to get rid of jury trials for non-financial reasons: on a temporary basis during Covid, then a pilot project in rape cases. Both were seen off by the legal profession. So I'm surprised that there hasn't been more of a stushie about these proposals.
AI is always offering to provide summaries of articles though ...
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 AM
AI is always offering to provide summaries of articles though ...
Something very much frowned upon, these days.
November 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Something very much frowned upon, these days.
When I was a UG at Edinburgh, English lit had a certain reputation ... I wonder if that is still the same too?
November 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
When I was a UG at Edinburgh, English lit had a certain reputation ... I wonder if that is still the same too?
Yeah - 3 lectures a week was the norm when I was a UG at Edinburgh and when I started teaching at Bristol. But before I left, it went down to 2 lectures per week, and the same thing happened shortly after I joined Glasgow.
Semesterisation was then another excuse for cutting contact hours.
Semesterisation was then another excuse for cutting contact hours.
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Yeah - 3 lectures a week was the norm when I was a UG at Edinburgh and when I started teaching at Bristol. But before I left, it went down to 2 lectures per week, and the same thing happened shortly after I joined Glasgow.
Semesterisation was then another excuse for cutting contact hours.
Semesterisation was then another excuse for cutting contact hours.
My institution is a bit obsessed with the QS rankings for that reason - research counts for that too, but in a different way.
November 24, 2025 at 8:37 PM
My institution is a bit obsessed with the QS rankings for that reason - research counts for that too, but in a different way.
Things have changed a bit recently.
November 24, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Things have changed a bit recently.
Really? It's been a phenomenon everywhere I've taught.
November 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Really? It's been a phenomenon everywhere I've taught.
The reduction in contact hours is partly about reduced contact full stop, but partly about reduced contact with permanent academic staff. This is partly about coping with larger student numbers, but it's also driven by prioritisation of time for research.
November 24, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The reduction in contact hours is partly about reduced contact full stop, but partly about reduced contact with permanent academic staff. This is partly about coping with larger student numbers, but it's also driven by prioritisation of time for research.
More concern for quality (understood as consistency across modules); better facilities; more professional teaching; more focus on employability, etc. These things are probably taken for granted, though. 2/2
November 24, 2025 at 8:10 PM
More concern for quality (understood as consistency across modules); better facilities; more professional teaching; more focus on employability, etc. These things are probably taken for granted, though. 2/2
Current students aren't getting the same deal that their parents got, certainly. Contact hours are about 2/3 of what they used to be; module content has been cut; there is less purely formative assessment; bigger numbers make the whole experience less personal.
OTOH some things are better. 1/2
OTOH some things are better. 1/2
November 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Current students aren't getting the same deal that their parents got, certainly. Contact hours are about 2/3 of what they used to be; module content has been cut; there is less purely formative assessment; bigger numbers make the whole experience less personal.
OTOH some things are better. 1/2
OTOH some things are better. 1/2
'overly hate'? Just a bit?
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 PM
'overly hate'? Just a bit?
Or even a tin of tomatoes.
November 22, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Or even a tin of tomatoes.