You are in: Home > Faculties & Schools > Law > About the School > Visiting Professors

Visiting and Emeritus Professors

Emeritus Professor Chris Barton

An emeritus member of the Society of Legal Scholars, and formerly Convener of its Family Law Section, he is the author/co-author of a number of books and many published articles on the subject, and a regular contributor to Family Law journal and its website. He has taught the subject at degree, post-graduate, LPC, BVC & CPD levels, and is a Vice-President of the Family Mediators Association.

Ian Blackshaw

Ian Blackshaw is an acknowledged, respected and leading expert in the field of International Sports Law, both as a Practitioner and Academic. He is also a pioneer in this developing and evolving field of Legal Study and Practice, especially through his extensive research, articles and books and seminars and lectures around the world and also his membership of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, which, through its Awards over the last twenty-six years of operations, is contributing to a specialised body of sports law – a so-called ‘Lex Sportiva’ – on a global basis.

Nigel Meadows

Nigel is the Chief Coroner for Manchester City, one of the largest coronial districts in the UK. He is a former student of this University, and practised as a solicitor in the south before securing this highly coveted position.

There are many high profile deaths into which Nigel has had to carry out a coroner’s investigation, particularly well-publicised cases where deaths have taken place in suspicious circumstances, or in circumstances where there may have been fault on the part of other services. Part of the coroner’s role is to highlight where improvements can be made to agencies or organisations surrounding deaths.

Nigel has worked to highlight to youngsters the dangers involved in the misuse of drugs and has featured in articles at both local and national levels in relation to this work.

In addition to being able to analyse carefully the circumstances surrounding death to formulate solid conclusions if possible, coroners perform a vital role in relation to enabling families to move on from the tragic loss of a family member. The fact that Nigel has been appointed to one of the largest coronial districts nationally highlights his acute expertise in handling such sensitive and difficult issues.

Dr. Shane Bryans

Dr Shane Bryans has significant national and international expertise in the field of Human Rights in Places of Detention. As an Expert of the United Nations and Council of Europe he has visited over 12 countries to conduct assessments and to provide advice and training on issues related to Human Rights in Places of Detention. He has written a number of books and articles on the subject of imprisonment, as well as training manuals for the UN. Dr Bryans' seminal book Prison Governors: managing prisons in a time of change is widely read internationally and remains the authoritative work on the subject. He is regularly consulted by the UN for advice on the implementation of international standards and norms as they relate to places of detention and on detention conditions which might amount to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. In the last eighteen months he has lectured on the subject in Palestine and Uganda, and has undertaken assessment mission to Kyrgyzstan and Haiti. He is also a Deputy Director in the Home Office and currently provides strategic co-ordination on Local Government and Safer and Stronger Communities’ policy areas across the West Midlands, as well as sitting on a number of regional bodies.

Emeritus Professor Richard Painter

Richard Painter, LLB, MA (Industrial Relations), FRSA, FHEA, Professor Emeritus (2008), was Dean of the Law School from 1992 – 2002 and then Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law from 2003 – 2006, he was also Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University from 2002– 2008. His previous academic employment was at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, where he specialised in employment law.