Alexandra Braun

Professor Alexandra Braun holds the Lord President Reid Chair of Law at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law and serves as Director of the Centre for Private Law. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford’s Institute of European and Comparative Law and a Professor Extraordinary at the University of Stellenbosch.

• Lord President Reid Chair of Law
• Director, Centre for Private Law
• Co-Director, Edinburgh Centre for Private Law
• Series Editor, Edinburgh Studies in Law
• Programme Director, LLM in Comparative and European Private Law

Her research spans comparative private law, trust law, succession law, and the cultural history of inheritance. She examines intergenerational wealth transfer, testamentary freedom, and the circulation of legal ideas across traditions. A 2022 monograph, Claiming a Promised Inheritance: A Comparative Study, synthesizes these themes.

Recent publications focus on private purpose trusts in Scotland, testamentary responsibility, and comparative succession frameworks. Awards include the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and funding from the British Academy. She supervises PhD projects in comparative law, trust law, and wealth transfer dynamics.

Scientific Awards:

• Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (2013/2014)
• British Academy Research Support
• John Fell Fund (Oxford) Grants

She teaches courses on succession law, trusts, and comparative private law at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and her editorial work includes co-directing the Edinburgh Centre for Private Law and managing the Edinburgh Studies in Law series.