I have a long standing interest in all aspects of criminal law and criminal justice, including access to justice, criminal appeals, and the legal profession.

I have been awarded funding from the Research England Strategic Priority Fund (Principal Investigator), the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (Co-investigator), and the Nuffield Foundation (Principal Investigator) to undertake work on access to justice and public funding cuts. I have also been awarded funding from the Society of Legal Scholars (Co-investigator) to conduct research on attitudes towards the lay magistracy. I was consulted by the House of Commons Justice Committee for their work on The Future of Legal Aid, consulted during the formation of the Canadian Miscarriage of Justice Commission, and regularly consult with the Law Commission and policy advisers at the Ministry of Justice. I work with practitioners to further my research, including the Criminal Appeal Lawyers' Association and the Magistrates' Association.

I supervise the Criminal Justice Law Clinic under the umbrella of Sussex Clinical Legal Education . I am Director of Sussex Law Clinics/Sussex Clinical Legal Education. Prior to joining academia, I spent 10 years working as a criminal defence solicitor. During that time, I represented defendants in all types of criminal case, from murder and serious fraud to road traffic offences. I also provided assistance in matters of prison (public) law.

I am a member of the:
- Advisory Board for Routledge Studies in Courts and Legal Systems

- Socio-Legal Studies Association
- Research Committee on the Sociology of Law
- Criminal Law Reform Now Network
- Courts on Trial International Network, and
- The Law Society of England and Wales.