Fran Ridout

Fran Ridout is a Senior Lecturer and Barrister at Queen Mary University of London, serving as Director of the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre (LAC). She oversees a team of 350 student advisers and 120 volunteer lawyers, providing free legal advice across family, employment, immigration, and specialized areas like the Black Justice Project and Pink Law. Her work emphasizes clinical legal education, pro bono advocacy, and community legal empowerment through workshops in schools and prisons.

Ridout graduated from Queen Mary (LLB, 2006), pursued a career as a barrister, and returned to the LAC to expand its crime services. She co-founded the Re-imagine Law podcast to democratize legal career insights, targeting students and underserved audiences. Her research and teaching focus on social justice, legal accessibility, and the intersection of law with marginalized communities.

Driven by a commitment to ethical practice and community impact, Ridout highlights Queen Mary’s ethos of public engagement, enabling dual missions: client support and student development. She advocates for self-reflection in career choices, emphasizing alignment with personal values over rigid paths.