Andrew M Godfrey

Andrew M Godfrey is a Professor of Legal History at the School of Law, University of Glasgow, where he has worked since 2002. He earned his PhD in private law and legal history from the University of Edinburgh after undergraduate study at Magdalen College, Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh. He previously held positions at the University of Edinburgh (tutor, 1993–1999) and the University of Aberdeen (lecturer, 1999–2002). He held visiting positions at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History (2006) and Goethe University, Frankfurt (2012), and was Literary Director of the Stair Society (2016–present).

• PhD, University of Edinburgh
• University of Oxford (undergraduate)
• University of Edinburgh (undergraduate)

His research focuses on legal history and law of obligations, particularly the history of central courts, judicial jurisdiction, and dispute resolution mechanisms in medieval and early modern Scotland. He has extensively published on the Court of Session and the College of Justice, analyzing their development from 1532 through the 17th century.

His article publications span topics in Scots legal history, civil procedure, and comparative legal studies. These works often explore intersections between continental legal traditions, Scottish legal institutions, and historical judicial practices, including arbitration, court delays, and legal reasoning.

• Gerda Henkel Foundation Grant (2013)
• Royal Society of Edinburgh European Visiting Research Fellowship (2006)
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (2009)

Godfrey has served in numerous editorial and leadership roles, including Editor of The Journal of Legal History (2011–2015), Book Reviews Editor of The Edinburgh Law Review (2008–2012), and Council member of the Stair Society (1999–2011). He organized the 21st British Legal History Conference at Glasgow in 2013, which led to the publication of Law and Authority in British Legal History (Cambridge University Press, 2016).