Jill Dickinson

Dr Jill Dickinson is a Reader of Law at Leeds Law School, Leeds Beckett University, where she focuses on property law, land law, and the socio-legal dimensions of place-making and space. Previously, she held academic positions at the University of Leeds and Sheffield Hallam University. Her interdisciplinary work bridges legal scholarship with higher education pedagogy and urban policy.

• PhD in Law & Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University (2019)
• LLM in Legal Practice (Research-based), University of Huddersfield (2012)

Her research centers on property law, place-making, professional development, and the legal governance of urban spaces. She explores how law shapes access to public and green spaces, the regulation of emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles, and the role of objects and spaces in professional and academic identity formation. Her work often adopts interdisciplinary and creative methodologies, including photo-voice and sociomaterial analysis.

Dr Dickinson's recent publications reflect a growing focus on higher education environments, student belonging, and pracademia—the hybrid identity of practitioner-scholars. Her research on learning spaces during and after the pandemic highlights adaptive pedagogical innovations and the emotional dimensions of campus design. She also investigates inclusivity in legal education and professional practice.

• Emerald Literati Award for Excellence (2020)
• Shortlisted for National Teaching Fellowship
• Award in Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising
• Recognised Practitioner in Advising (UK Advising and Tutoring)
• Law Works & Attorney General Pro Bono Awards
• Institutional Team Awards for Client Interviewing Competition

Dr Dickinson has led and contributed to funded research projects on homelessness, green space use, autonomous vehicles, and student belonging, supported by the Oak Foundation, Research England, ESRC, and RICS. She has supervised PhD students and served as a research supervisor and academic advisor across law, criminology, and business programmes. Her external roles include examiner appointments at Nottingham, Coventry, and Oxford Brookes, and editorial board memberships for key journals in property and place studies. She is actively involved in research clusters and professional networks, including the Socio-Legal Studies Association and the Horizons Institute at the University of Leeds.

She has held affiliations with the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research and the Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies, and contributes to initiatives promoting equity in doctoral education and the integration of professional practice into academia.