Rob Wilks

Dr Rob Wilks is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the Bristol Law School, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). Fluent in British Sign Language (BSL) and English, he teaches Employment Law, Equality, and Legal Skills through BSL across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. He is an active researcher in equality law as it affects Deaf people and is pioneering the development of Deaf Legal Theory as a new legal framework.

Education:

• PhD, University of Leicester (2020)
• LLM in Law of Employment Relations with Distinction
• PGCDPPHE
• PGDipLP
• PGDipL
• BA (Hons)

Rob Wilks' research centers on transformative equality for Deaf communities, focusing on legal recognition of sign languages, anti-discrimination law, and Deaf epistemology in jurisprudence. His work bridges legal theory, education policy, and social justice for marginalized linguistic communities. He has conducted comparative studies on BSL education in Wales, alongside Gaelic- and Welsh-medium education, and analyzed the impact of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015.

His current research outputs include a forthcoming monograph, Challenging Equality Law: The Deaf Legal Dilemma (Hart Publishing, March 2026), and leadership of the AHRC IAA-funded project Co-Producing Deaf Legal Theory. He is also Co-Investigator on a £1.04 million AHRC project addressing health inequalities in Deaf BSL-using communities in Wales, collaborating with Bangor University and others. Though recent publications are not listed here, his scholarly focus consistently explores structural inequities and legal reform for Deaf people.

Scientific Awards and Honors:

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Dr Wilks has held prior academic roles as Senior Lecturer and Legal Practice Course Leader at the University of South Wales and Lecturer in Professional Law at Cardiff University. His collaborative research includes partnerships with the University of Edinburgh (with Rachel O’Neill) and Bangor University (with Dr Christopher Shank). He is actively involved in advising on curriculum development for BSL in the new Curriculum for Wales and exploring ethical challenges in deaf education. While no formal students are listed, his supervisory and co-research roles suggest mentorship of junior researchers and students in legal and educational research.

Research Groups and Collaborations:

• Co-Producing Deaf Legal Theory (Principal Investigator)
• Tackling Health Inequalities with and for the Deaf BSL-using Communities in Wales (Co-Investigator, AHRC)
• Collaboration with University of Edinburgh (Rachel O’Neill)
• Collaboration with Bangor University (Dr Christopher Shank)