LLB (Hons) (University of Sheffield ), PhD (University of Sheffield), Fellow of the HEA (The Higher Education Academy)
Associate Professor in Business Law
Department: Work, Organisation and ManagementE-mail: Katy.Ferris@nottingham.ac.ukTel: +44 (0) 115 8466920
Location: B02 (Si Yuan Building, Jubilee Campus)
Katy is a law academic within the Business School, where she is passionate in teaching law to those on Business degrees. She is also a member of the University of Nottingham's Rights Lab Beacon of Excellence - Law and Policy team. For three years she served as the Teaching Director of the Accounting Department (to March 2025).
In recognition of her dedication to teaching and learning, Katy received the prestigious university Lord Dearing Award in 2021. Her commitment to student support was acknowledged in 2017 when she won an award for Excellence in Student Support and was a runner-up for Inspirational Teacher. Katy has experience in delivering online law degrees and teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has successfully supervised numerous PhDs and dissertations to completion in law.
Katy's academic journey began at the University of Sheffield, where she earned both her Law degree (LLB) and Ph.D. During her Ph.D., she was awarded a teaching scholarship. Over the years, she has taught various areas of law, with a recent focus on Contract Law and Business Law. She is the author of two widely used textbooks published by Oxford University Press: the latest being the 6th edition of Business Law and the 4th edition of Concentrate Business Law. Katy is currently working on a new Principles of Business Law text for Cambridge University Press due out in 2026.
In 2013, Katy became a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and completed a qualification in Facilitating Online Learning in 2017. Her contributions to legal pedagogy are well-documented through numerous articles and book chapters. Katy has published extensively in leading international law journals, including The Modern Law Review, Law Quarterly Review, The European Law Review, and Statute Law Review. Her research covers a broad range of topics including Refugee Family Reunion, Clinical Legal Education, the enforcement of EU Law, Motor Insurance Law, and Data Protection. She has conducted funded research on the impact of Brexit on migrant workers in the Hospitality Industry. Additionally, she has regularly written for Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, providing insights on studying law and case law updates for professionals. Katy's funded work includes research on Access to Legal Advice and Representation for Survivors of Modern Slavery for the MSPEC with the Rights Lab.
As a reviewer of legal texts for Routledge, Pearson, and Oxford University Press, Katy ensures the highest standards in legal education. She has served as an External Examiner for Business and Law degrees at Bristol UWE, the University of Warwick, and the University of Derby, and currently holds this role at the University of Bath for their Business and Law degrees.
Areas of ExpertiseLaw
Katy is an External Examiner for University of Bath
Katy is a Lord Dearing award winner for High levels of commitment to teaching and learning (2021)
Katy is module convenor of the following module(s):
Undergraduate
Business Law (BUSI1094)
Business Law (BSc Accountancy) (BUSI1129)
Details of all modules can be found on
MyNottingham
Katy continues to build her contribution to Insurance Law and Regulation and includes multiple publications in international journals, including the Modern Law Review, Law Quarterly Review, Hong Kong Law Journal, European Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies and The German Law Journal. She also has several publications in respected UK Journals e.g. the Statute Law Review, Business Law Review and the Journal of Business Law.
In 2020/21 Katy was part of a team that reported on Access to legal advice and representation for survivors of modern slavery, with the Rights Lab and colleagues from the University of Liverpool, ATLEU and barrister Lucy Mair of Garden Court Chambers. The research was funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC).
Katy has published on Social Care and Complaints handling based on her empirical PhD. She has considered Access to Justice, particularly the implementation of EU rights in the National context. Katy's collaborative research developed a thematic response to the UK's commitment to EU Law. She has examined the issue of privacy in the digital age, and examined the inconsistencies between UK and EU motor insurance law. Katy also works on Clinical Legal Education with academics and practitioners at Sheffield Hallam University and Leeds, more recently in the area of Therapeutic Jurisprudence and social justice.
Katy co-authors two Business Law textbooks for OUP - a 280,000 word Textbook currently in its 6th edition and a companion Business Law text in the Concentrate series. These are recommended at UK and international universities. She is currently working on another text for Cambridge University Press to be released in 2026.
Katy has also contributed to books on clinical legal pedagogy and had a co-authored book in 2022 published by Anthem Press on The Lived Experiences of African International Students in the UK, Precarity, Consciousness and the Law.