Joan Loughrey

Professor Joan Loughrey is the Head of the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast. Previously, she held leadership roles at the University of Leeds, including Director of the Centre for Business Law and Practice and Interim Head of School. She practiced commercial litigation in England, Wales, and Hong Kong before academia.

Education:

• Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Oxford University, Somerville College)
• Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and Hong Kong

Research Interests:

Her work centers on corporate law, governance frameworks, and legal profession regulation. Key themes include director accountability, shareholder rights, and professional ethics. Recent projects explore legal professional privilege and corporate governance in sustainability contexts.

Awards & Grants:

• £281,517 AHRC-funded 'Business Judgment and the Courts' (2020)
• £325k ESRC/Newton Fund project (2019)
• Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (2023)

Advisory Roles:

• Advisory Board for University of Exeter’s Post Office Project
• Associate of Leeds’ Legal Professions Research Group

Publications Trends:

Recent work emphasizes judicial accountability mechanisms, corporate sustainability governance, and ethical challenges in legal practice. Over 25 peer-reviewed outputs span the Modern Law Review, Law Quarterly Review, and Journal of Corporate Law Studies.