Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
I am the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bond University, and a former commercial lawyer. I have been an academic since 1996. I am passionate about legal education and the role of law schools in modern society. My areas of teaching expertise include law in context, legal theory, animal law, business law, and company law.
My research is characterised by four overlapping themes:
- The development of legal reasoning and critical thinking skills by law students: In my doctoral thesis I applied Foucauldian theory to explore and explain the inconsistency and marginalisation of critique within Australian legal education. Since then I have continued to conduct research in an effort to resolve these inconsistencies and construct a practical and relevant pedagogy for the teaching and assessment of legal reasoning and critical legal thinking.
- The critical analysis and evaluation of law teaching programs, projects and problems: I have published papers and engaged in projects about law program objectives, law student mentoring programs, 100% final exams and other assessment for law students, law student wellbeing, animal law education, and climate law education.
- The application of Foucauldian theoretical frameworks and methodologies to law and legal issues: I have published papers focussing upon Foucauldian analyses of legal education, cybercrime regulation, corporate crime, and academic resistance to teaching reform.
- Foundational law textbooks: I am the author if two leading textbooks: Business Law and The New Lawyer, a first year law textbook co-authored with Rachael Field and Jackson Walkden-Brown. Both are publushed by Wiley.
Statement for HDR students
There are two areas in which I am interested in supervising a HDR project:
- The development of legal reasoning and critical thinking skills by law students
- The critical analysis and evaluation of law teaching programs, projects and problems
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Law, PhD, Power-Knowledge and Critique in Australian Legal Education 1987-2003, Queensland University of Technology
Award Date: 16 Sept 2004
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
-
The Job Readiness of Newly Admitted Lawyers
Cantatore, F., Field, R., Atwill, T., James, N., Zillmann, H., Johnson, T., Fletcher, K., Van Caenegem, W., Brady, G. & Gibb, K.
1/07/20 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
-
Analysing Design Thinking as Part of the Law Student’s Toolkit
Galloway, K. & James, N., 30 Sept 2022.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › Research
Open Access -
Business Law
James, N. & Thomas, T., 2022, 6th ed. Melbourne: John Wiley & Sons.Research output: Book/Report › Scholarly edition › Education › peer-review
-
Challenging BigLaw: Questioning the Dominant Discourse in Law Student Employment Aspirations
James, N. & Nakano, K., 2022, Critical Legal Education as a Subversive Activity. Gibbon, H., Golder, B., Lixinski, L., Nehme, M. & Vines, P. (eds.). London: Taylor & Francis, 17 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Research › peer-review
-
Closing Panel - Is legal education in a state of evolution or revolution?
Barker, D., Galloway, K., Adams, M. & James, N., 9 Jul 2022, p. 25.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › Research
Open AccessFile11 Downloads (Pure) -
PLENARY PANEL: The Uncertain Future of Legal Education
Cooper, J., Giddings, J., Kift, S., Steel, A., Strevens, C. & James, N., 30 Sept 2022.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › Research
Open Access
Activities
-
Learning to be Successful in Law: Knowing, Doing, and Being
Nickolas James (Speaker) & Rachael Field (Speaker)
9 Sept 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
-
Design thinking in animal law education: Reimagining student engagement in a disconnected world
Nickolas James (Speaker), Meg Good (Speaker) & Raj Reddy (Speaker)
30 Nov 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
-
Future diversity in the profession
Nickolas James (Speaker), Anthony Gett (Speaker), Zoe Rathus (Speaker) & Fiona Lubett (Speaker)
2 Nov 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
-
The obligation to teach climate change law
Nickolas James (Speaker)
13 Oct 2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
-
Legal Education: Disruption and Transformation
Nickolas James (Speaker)
4 Aug 2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press/Media
-
The Ongoing Internationalisation of Legal Education
26/08/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
-
Reimagining the delivery of legal services in Australia — ‘The New Lawyers’
31/05/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
-
Rolling with the disruption wave up to each individual
26/02/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
-
-
Tech to push tomorrow’s lawyers into the ‘background’
20/10/16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment