Maria Lee

Prof Maria Lee is a Professor of Law at University College London (UCL), affiliated with the Faculty of Laws. She joined UCL in 2007 and served as Director or Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Law and the Environment for over a decade. Her research focuses on environmental law and policy, particularly the intersection of legal expertise, public participation, and democratic processes in environmental governance. She also explores planning law and the relationship between tort law and regulation.

Education: HEA Senior Fellow (2018), Master of Laws (The College of Europe, 1993), Bachelor of Arts (University of Nottingham, 1992), and legal qualifications from the College of Law, London (1994). Previous academic roles include Lecturer and Senior Lecturer positions at King's College London and the University of Central Lancashire.

Professional roles include membership on the Executive Committee of the Society of Legal Scholars (until 2021), chairing their Research Grants Committee and Law School and the Climate Crisis fund (until 2023). She also serves on panels for funding applications and academic prizes. Collaborations extend to civil society organizations like Greener UK’s Brexit Scenarios Group, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, and the London Sustainable Development Commission.

Research interests align with UN Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action). She contributes to journals such as the Journal of Environmental Law and co-edits Current Legal Problems.