Alan Paterson, LLB (Edin), D.Phil (Oxon), Solicitor, FRSA, FRSE joined the Law School in 1984 as a Professor of Law. He previously taught at Edinburgh University from 1975. He is Director of the Centre for Professional Legal Studies and was formerly Head of Department for six years and Director of the Centre for Law, Computers and Technology. He teaches in the areas of legal services and access to justice, professional ethics, legal profession and the judiciary. His research has focused on the legal profession, access to justice, poverty legal services and the judiciary.
Alan is Chair of the International Legal Aid Group, Chair of the Legal Services Group of Citizens Advice Scotland, , Vice-Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Legal Education , Past President of the Society of Legal Scholars and former Chair of the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools. He is a co-opted member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and a member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. Alan is Research Adviser to the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
Teaching
Alan teaches on the following undergraduate courses:
Law and the Legal Process 1
Law and the Legal Process 2
Legal Profession (Honours)
In the Diploma in Legal Practice he is the National Course Leader for Professional Ethics and the author of the Diploma Materials in Professional Ethics. He is the Co-ordinating tutor in Professional Ethics in the GGSL Diploma in Legal Practice and tutors in Professional Ethics in the Diploma.
Research
Alan has generally published in the areas of the legal profession, access to justice, poverty legal services, professional ethics and the judiciary. Alan is a socio-legal scholar and has held numerous grants from a wide range of funders including the Economic and Social Research Council, The Nuffield Foundation, The Scottish Home and Health Department, the Leverhulme Trust, the Carnegie Trust, and the Legal Aid Boards of England and Scotland.
He is currently writing a book on professional ethics. Some representative publications are:
Paths to Justice Scotland (with Hazel Genn) Hart Publishing, 2001, 391pp.
“Multi-disciplinary partnerships – a critique” in 8 (2001) International Journal of the Legal Profession 155.
“Self Regulation and the Future of the Profession” in Hayton (ed) Law’s Futures , Hart Publishing , 2000. (Millennium volume for the Society of Public Teachers of Law)
The Legal System of Scotland ( 4th edn, 1999 ) 483pp. W. Green. (with T. St J N Bates and M. Poustie ).
“Quality Legal Services: The Dog that Did Not Bark “ with A. Sherr pp. 233-58 in F. Regan, A. Paterson, T. Goriely and D. Fleming (eds) The Transformation of Legal Aid: A Comparative Study. (Oxford University Press, 1999).
Resourcing Civil Justice (OUP, 1996) (with T. Goriely)
Administration
Alan is involved with the following administrative tasks:
Director of Centre for Professional Legal Studies
CPLS Management Committee
Glasgow Graduate School of Law Management Group
Departmental Research Committee
Senate
The University Hub Committee on IT