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Meet Your supervisors

Meet Your supervisors

During your study you'll meet your academic leaders and supervisors who are all experienced legal practitioners. Touch points with your supervisors will be at both whole group town halls, surgeries or workshops and individual supervision and feedback meetings. These, together with discussion boards, provide an engaging virtual learning community that will support you for the duration of the programme. Below are just a selection of our supervisors.


Here’s some feedback on our supervisors:

"Sajida is a fantastic tutor and she was extremely helpful and supportive throughout the course"

 

"My personal supervisor took time to understand my weaknesses and strengths in relation to the course and suggested very helpful advice and study techniques."

 

"Barbara was amazing. Always able to answer questions and gave some really good advice."
"Kathryn Newton was very lovely and encouraging, she really helped me get through this course."

 

"Sarah always gave excellent tips and advice that helped me along my course which made the meetings very effective and useful. If I ever sent an email to her it was always responded to promptly."

 

85% of SQE students in 2023 were satisfied or very satisfied with their supervisor

MEET THE ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM

Jane Waddell

Head of Curriculum Design and Development

Jane Waddell is Head of Curriculum Design and Development and a member of the Senior Executive. Jane has responsibility for the leadership and strategic development of the curriculum across the College. Prior to joining the College, Jane was an Assistant Head of Department and programme Leader for Professional Law at the University of West of England for 11 years. She was a partner at TLT and Eversheds Solicitors between 1998 and 2007. Jane heads the fantastic team of Programme leaders, module leaders and supervisors.

Kathryn Newton

Programme Leader

Kathryn Newton is the Programme Leader for the full-time LLM in Legal Practice and a module leader and supervisor for many of the modules. Previously, she ran the LPC at Manchester Law School for 7 years and was responsible for the management of the tutor team, full delivery and review of the programme. Prior to this, Kathryn specialised in family law working as a partner in a regional firm in Manchester.

Sarah Taylor

Programme Leader

Sarah Taylor is the Programme Leader for the part-time LLM in Legal Practice and the Graduate Diploma in Law programme, as well as a module leader and supervisor for many of the modules. Before joining the College, she was Course Leader and Deputy Programme Leader at Manchester Law School for 10 years. Prior to this, Sarah worked as an in-house solicitor with the Co-op Insurance Society and as a solicitor with Eversheds.

Fiona Bledge heashot

Fiona Bledge

Module Leader

Fiona Bledge Is the Module Leader for the Solicitors Legal Skills module (SQE2 Preparation) and a supervisor for a number of different modules. Before joining the College, Fiona was a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Central Lancashire and, during those 10 years in legal education, was a Course Leader on the GDL and Module Leader on both the GDL and the LLM LPC Programmes. Prior to working in legal education, Fiona was a solicitor specialising in Clinical Negligence Litigation with Potter Rees Serious Injury Solicitors, Manchester.

Helen Morley Module leader

Helen Morley

Module Leader

Helen Morley is a Module Leader for the Solicitors Legal Knowledge module (SQE1 preparation) and a supervisor for a number of different modules.  Before joining the College, Helen was a Senior Lecturer at BPP University Law School.  During her 17 years in legal education Helen experienced a wide variety of roles with the majority of her time being spent as a programme leader supporting the part time LPC programmes in Manchester and, subsequently, Leeds.  Helen has taught full time and part time students predominantly on the Business Law and Practice, Employment and legal skills practice areas.  Helen practised as a solicitor in Manchester for over 10 years specialising in employment law prior to her move into legal education. 

Laura Hall

Module Leader

Laura Hall is the Module Leader for the Graduate Diploma in Law and a supervisor on the Graduate Diploma in Law and SQE Preparation modules. Before joining the College Laura worked BPP University Law School in London for five years as a tutor on the LLB, GDL, PGDL and LLM Programmes and as Programme Leader for the GDL and PGDL. Prior to working in legal education, Laura was a solicitor specialising in Professional Regulation.

Nabeala Fiaz

Module Leader

Nabeala Fiaz is a professional Consultant Solicitor, she is a thirteen-year qualified solicitor with diverse experience in meticulously handling legal affairs pertaining to Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury, and Financial mis-selling. In addition, she has core competencies in teaching law at degree and postgraduate level whilst promoting a learning environment that fosters academic excellence. Nabeala is a Module Leader for the full-time transactional skills modules on the LLM in Legal Practice and supervises across modules. She also acts as a subject matter expert when conducting Dispute Resolution practice and feedback sessions in Advocacy, Legal Research, Drafting and Case Matter Analysis. 

MEET YOUR SUPERVISORS

Anita Shepherd

Supervisor

Anita Shepherd qualified as a Solicitor in 1999 and currently practices as a Consultant Solicitor. She has 24 years' experience in Family Law handling a broad range of complex family matters including complex high net worth financial settlements, private law child arrangements and domestic abuse cases. Anita is an advanced member of Resolution having acquired advanced accredited specialist status in Domestic Abuse and Advanced Financial Provision.

Anita is a trained Collaborative Lawyer who is committed to encouraging clients to communicate effectively to achieve healthy and family focused outcomes. As well as being a Tutor/Supervisor at the College, she also mentors and supervises undergraduate law students at the Legal Advice Centre at University of Manchester and MMU and as such is committed and passionate about developing the next generation of Solicitors as well as promoting access to justice for the general public.

 

Carol Manduca

Supervisor

Carol Manduca has been a qualified solicitor for over 30 years, specialising in Corporate and Finance Law. Before moving into legal education she has been a City law firm partner and Managing Director of a global financial services company.

Christine Taylor

Supervisor

Christine Taylor obtained her law degree from London Guildhall University and took up a teaching post in the following year, specialising in the Law of Torts, Contract Law and Employment Law. She then studied, part time, for a LLM in Labour and Management Relations at the London School of Economics. Further to that, she undertook the Legal Practice Course. She then took up a post at BPP Law School and became the Course Director for the GDL. She later became a Board Director of the Law School with chief responsibility for Human Relations and Marketing. Subsequently, she took up a post at ULaw and headed up the Learning and Pastoral Care unit, reporting to the Executive Committee. She has taught her specialist subjects throughout encompassing the LLB, GDL and LPC courses. 

Jane Matthews

Supervisor

Jane Matthews has been qualified as a solicitor for over 20 years and practiced in corporate/commercial areas of law including pensions and tax. She has also significant experience in Higher Education, predominantly at a postgraduate level, developing and leading popular and successful units across a variety of programmes including the Legal Practice Course. Units developed and led include business law, corporate governance, employment law and skills subjects such as drafting and practical research.

Elina Konstantinidou

Supervisor

Elina received her PhD in law from Surrey University in 2014. She has been teaching law since 2008 at undergraduate and postgraduate levels across various universities in the UK. Her main teaching areas are English Legal System, Constitutional and Administrative law, and Criminal Law and Practice. She also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and PhD research. Elina has also been a Course leader for Law at Anglia Ruskin University. She has contributed to development of various professional, undergraduate, and post graduate courses in law and social sciences. She has also acted as a personal tutor to students from different backgrounds.

Lorraine Richardson

Supervisor

Lorraine Richardson is a Supervisor and Subject Matter Expert who has produced legal training and CPD webinars for many clients including Legalease, BARBRI, the Law Society, MBL and Central Law Training. Lorraine qualified as a solicitor in 1991 and specialised in “high end” conveyancing, residential tenancy agreements, remortgages, leasehold and development work. She has continued to practice residential conveyancing through locum work whilst developing legal training.

Rhiannon Davies

Supervisor

Rhiannon studied her undergraduate in LLB Law and German at Cardiff University (and for one year in Trier, Germany) until 2004 and completed her LPC in Manchester in 2005. Rhiannon qualified as a Solicitor in 2008 whilst doing her training contract at a large multi office firm in the Midlands. Rhiannon has worked Employment Law since qualification and moved to work in London in 2011 and subsequently in Dubai in 2015, where her employment practice continued under both the UK jurisdiction and the UAE Labour Law. Returning to the UK in 2018, Rhiannon worked in Manchester continuing to act on behalf of both employees and employers and regularly dealing with a mix of contentious and non-contentious work as well as Tribunal claims. Rhiannon currently works in-house as an adviser to the education sector on all aspects of Employment Law.

Saima Haroon

Saima Haroon

Supervisor

Saima Haroon is an 12-year qualified Solicitor with 16 years of experience in the areas of Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Industrial Disease, Personal Injury and Financial Mis-selling. In addition, Saima has extensive experience in Management, Training, Audit and Compliance. As a Partner and member of the Senior Management in her current and previous roles, Saima has had direct responsibility for the training and development of Trainee Solicitors, Law Graduates and Junior Fee Earners. Saima is Supervisor on the SQE Course alongside working as a Practising Solicitor and Head of Litigation.

Sajida Ismail

Supervisor

Sajida Ismail worked for many years as an Immigration Solicitor in a not-for-profit Law Centre, advising, assisting and representing clients from many parts of the world on a broad range of immigration matters, in particular, issues which engaged the law on family reunion, asylum and human rights. She conducted trans-national research in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University on a 3-year funded project examining the evidential difficulties faced by Pakistani women arriving in the UK to seek asylum, having fled domestic violence in Pakistan. Sajida left practice to move into legal education and has several years of experience in that sector. Sajida is a keen walker and coordinates a migrant women’s walking group which, through the practice of walking, enables a discussion on immigration law, specifically, what “legal status and borders” mean in a contemporary context. 

Simona Hamblet

Supervisor

Simona Hamblet practiced employment law for twenty years and was a partner in a dual-office law firm. She has experience teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate degree level, covering a range of legal subjects, legal skills, and related business skills. Simona is now a non-practicing solicitor, who alongside teaching and lecturing, coaches law firm owners and partners. She supervises on both the SLK and SLS courses at the College.

Sajida was really supportive and encouraging, she made me feel reassured throughout the course. This is so important with remote learning and independent study. She had some great suggestions for me to help me identify my weaker topics and keep track of my learning. For me personally, her supervision has been the best aspect of the course.

SQE Student

The College of Legal Practice

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