Jen Hendry

Professor Jen Hendry is Chair in Law & Social Justice at the School of Law, University of Leeds, where she also serves as Director of the Graduate School for the Faculty of Social Sciences. She previously directed the Centre for Law and Social Justice (2017–2021) and has held visiting positions at the University of New South Wales, University of Hong Kong, University of Arizona, and University of Sydney. She is an Affiliate Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory and an Academic Associate at 23ES Chambers.

• PhD, European University Institute, Florence (2009)
• MRes, European University Institute
• LLM, University of Edinburgh (2003)
• LLB (Hons), University of Glasgow (2002)

Her research focuses on social and legal theory, socio-legal studies, and comparative legal studies, with particular interest in legal pluralism, indigenous justice, civil/criminal procedural hybrids, and preventive justice. She employs theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from sociology, political philosophy, and anthropology to analyze the legitimacy and function of legal systems.

Her recent publications include the monograph Legal Pluralism: New Trajectories in Law (2024) and Civil Recovery of Criminal Property (2023), along with editorial work on procedural hybrids and justice reform. Her 15 most recent articles explore themes such as legal pluralism, hybrid legal orders, rule of law challenges, and socio-legal trajectories in the UK and Germany, reflecting a consistent focus on the boundaries and evolution of legal systems.

She is co-Editor-in-Chief of the German Law Journal and has served on the JUSTICE Working Party on Behavioural Control Orders, contributing to policy reports on justice reform. She is also a member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association and the Peer Review Colleges of the Arts & Humanities and Economic & Social Research Councils.

Jen Hendry supervises doctoral researchers in law and social theory, socio-legal studies, and comparative law. She has successfully guided six PhD students to completion and currently supervises two postgraduate researchers. Her research is supported by an AHRC Leadership Fellowship and collaborations with international institutions. She is actively involved in advancing interdisciplinary legal scholarship through academic-practitioner partnerships and public engagement.

She is affiliated with the Centre for Law and Social Justice at Leeds and participates in the Max Planck Institute’s Research Network on Socio-Legal Trajectories. Her work bridges academia and legal practice, fostering dialogue between theoretical inquiry and real-world justice challenges.