Professor Philip Edward Plowden

National Teaching Fellow 2005 Institution at the time of Award: Northumbria University Professor Plowden is Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Derby. His main teaching interests lie in criminal process, human rights and clinical legal education. Before becoming Dean he was Director of the clinical law programmes in the Student Law Office, a unique experiential learning programme with an international reputation. In the Law Office 150 mainly undergraduate students work directly with members of the public, advising on their legal problems and representing them in courts and tribunals. All the work is supervised and assessed by practitioner members of staff. The work covers everything from criminal appeal work to complex employment disputes, from family law issues to small business advice. Philip has worked closely with the UK Centre for Legal Education, the Law Society and the Bar Council to support the promotion of the clinical teaching methodology across English law schools. He has delivered papers on clinical teaching and its role in integrating justice education into the undergraduate curriculum. Philip has also worked hard to build links between UK clinical law provision and the work being done in other jurisdictions. For many years he was editor of the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, and organised its annual international conference. His NTF project is examining the pedagogy of assessment in clinical learning in Law.