Excellence matters. It matters not just in our teaching but also in our research and the results of the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 confirm the School of Law's status as one of the leading law schools in the UK.
The simple but vital commitment to excellence brings numerous benefits to the School of Law at the University of Nottingham. It nourishes the School’s lively research culture. It drives the School to face new challenges, and it also pays tribute to the School’s important research history and traditions – in particular, the major role played by scholars such as the late Professor JC Smith in debates and policy-making in law, and also in creating many of the leading English law textbooks.
The School’s commitment to excellence also helps to explain why it has achieved so many research successes in recent years. It achieved an excellent outcome in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, being ranked in the top five Law Schools in the UK. The School returned 100% of its lecturers, associate professors and professors in the Exercise. 95% of the School's research was judged to be of international quality, with 30% world-leading.
Major research and publishing prizes have also been awarded to staff. In addition, the School is home to important journals such as the Human Rights Law Review, as well as two world-leading research centres, the Public Procurement Research Group and the Human Rights Law Centre. Members of the School of Law serve on over 40 different journals and book series, a number of which are groundbreaking ventures in new areas of law. Research by members of the School has been cited by courts and other bodies, and a range of colleagues are regularly called upon to offer expert advice by organisations in the UK and internationally.
A final but crucial research success links to teaching. The School’s commitment to excellence in teaching is enabled and carried forward through its research, providing real opportunities for students at all levels to study an exciting range of options in new and established areas of law.