Through its honorary appointment program, the Faculty of Law values its engagement with distinguished leaders in the legal profession and industry, and leading national and international researchers.
Honorary Appointments
Our adjunct and visiting professors and fellows engage with the Faculty through their contributions to our teaching, research and mentoring programs. UTS Law students and academics benefit from the depth of knowledge and experience offered by our honorary colleagues. Their contributions complement and enrich the research and teaching environment of the Faculty.
Adjunct Fellows
Angela Dwyer
1 January 2021 - 31 December 2023
Dr Angela Dwyer commenced her appointment as an Adjunct Fellow in January 2021. Angela joined the Faculty in 2005, having previously taught at La Trobe University. Prior to her academic career, Angela practised as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria and NSW for 22 years. Angela taught principally in the areas of International Environmental Law and Contracts. Angela continues to contribute to the Faculty's Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor programs, particularly through teaching and assessing in Contract Law.
Angela's research and engagement is in the area of environmental law. Her doctoral dissertation examined the use of the Precautionary Principle in the listing of species and Key Threatening Processes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). For several years, she has been a Board member of Fauna and Flora International Australia and volunteered with International Animal Rescue in Borneo.
Angela made a significant contribution to UTS in her role as Student Ombud from 2016 to 2018 and as Assistant Student Ombud from 2013 to 2015, Chair of the University Conduct Committee and Chair of the Student Misconduct Appeals Committee from 2013 to 2020.
Angela also served the faculty as Director of Courses from 2018 to 2019 and as Director of Students from 2010 to 2012. In this role, Angela established the Faculty's student mentoring programs.
Geoff Holland
11 December 2020 - 10 December 2023
Geoff Holland commenced his appointment as an Adjunct Fellow in December 2020, having served as a Lecturer at UTS since 2003. Prior to joining UTS, he worked in criminal law policy development, media law, corporate publishing, and for a national media network. Geoff holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Law and in Media Arts.
Geoff taught Australian Constitutional Law, Media Law, Entertainment Law, Civil Liberties Law and Animal Law and Policy. He was also a barrister and practised in media law, defamation and constitutional law.
Geoff’s service contribution as an academic included as a former member of the Board of Directors of Electronic Frontiers Australia, a member of the Editorial Board of the UTS Law Review (2003- 2006) and Co-Editor of Volume 5 of the Review, "The Public Right to Know". He is author of the Halsbury Laws of Australia chapter on Entertainment Law and edited and co-authored a book on Entertainment Law in Australia (released February 2017). Geoff also served as the Faculty’s Academic Liaison Officer, ensuring that students were supported in their learning.
Geoff’s significant contribution to student learning was in the area of mooting. His long-serving role as Chair of the Faculty Mooting Management Committee and as coach of the Faculty mooting teams in constitutional law and media law mooting competitions has resulted in a strong and successful mooting culture in the Law Faculty.
Robyn Pettit
1 March 2021 to 28 February 2024
Robyn Pettit commenced her appointment as an Adjunct Fellow in March 2021. Robyn joined the Law Faculty in 1996. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University, a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from UTS and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney.
Robyn was a founding clinical practitioner in the Practical Legal Training program at UTS. At the time of its establishment, the PLT program was a unique innovation in legal education and has contributed significantly to the practical and career ready focus of UTS law graduates. Robyn’s practice as both a legal aid lawyer and a private practitioner enabled her to develop cutting-edge programs in criminal law and advocacy. Drawing on her strong and broad connections with the profession, Robyn introduced legal practitioners and magistrates as judges in court assessments.
Robyn taught principally in the areas of Criminal Law, Evidence and Advocacy. Her teaching was informed by her work as a lawyer and her expertise in curriculum and practice-based assessment. Robyn was a key contributor to service and engagement, particularly as a judge in the UTS Law Students Society competitions and in the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program, a co-curricular initiative designed to enable students to grow their understanding and skills in public service and in community-based leadership.
Robyn’s long-serving commitment to social justice is evident in her work internationally. As a Visiting Fellow at the Hong Kong City Polytechnic, she assisted with the establishment of the Women’s Centre, the first free legal advice centre, and as a visitor to the Law Faculty at the University of the South Pacific, she contributed to the development of local legal skills and research programs at the University’s Law Clinic and at the Community Legal Centre in Port Vila. Robyn also volunteered as an English teacher in Rwanda in 2014.
Robyn has continued her advocacy and volunteer work in social justice across a wide range of areas. Her strong connection to the Law Faculty continues with her pro bono role as volunteer coordinator at Anti-Slavery Australia.
Pam Stewart
11 December 2020 to 10 December 2023
Pam Stewart commenced her appointment as an Adjunct Fellow in December 2020. Prior to joining UTS in 1996, Pam worked as a solicitor in private practice. Pam’s expertise is in Tort Law where she continues to make a significant contribution through her scholarship. Her book, Australian Principles of Tort Law (with Professor Anita Stuhmcke), was the first response to the major tort law reforms that were introduced in all Australian jurisdictions in 2002 and is now in its 4th edition. The focus of much of Pam's continuing research in tort law has been on the way in which the law provides remedies for various classes of plaintiff including adolescents and young people, victims of human trafficking and slavery and victims of institutional child abuse.
Pam has completed a study (with Anita) of negligence cases in the High Court of Australia over a 10 year period, the results of which were published in 2014 in the Melbourne University Law Review and the Sydney Law Review. Pam and Anita have completed further empirical research concerning special leave applications to the High Court of Australia, with results published in the Sydney Law Review and the Federal Law Review in 2019 and 2020. Currency and relevance were integral to Pam’s teaching practice and her considerable professional experience and research captured in her writing provides a practical perspective recognised and valued by students.
Adjunct Professor
Dr Mitchell Landrigan
29 March 2021 to 28 March 2024
Dr Mitchell Landrigan commenced his current appointment as an Adjunct Professor in March 2021. Mitchell’s career as a commercial lawyer and as an accredited mediator brings professional expertise to the Faculty and, coupled with Mitchell’s research interests, is aligned with the Faculty’s focus on practice-based and real world education.
Mitchell's research interests include public law, constitutional law, law and religion, competition law, and law & technology. His research expertise has led to several significant affiliations and memberships. Mitchell serves as a member of the Public Law Committee of the Law Society of NSW. He is also a member of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law, the International Society of Public Law and the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Mitchell is a Research Affiliate, Research Unit for the Study of Society, Law and Religion (RUSSLR) at the University of Adelaide.
At the University level, Mitchell is a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). At the Faculty level, his expertise in advocacy and negotiation enable him to contribute to the Faculty’s mooting program.
Adjunct Associate Professor
Bronwyn Olliffe
1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023
Bronwyn Olliffe commenced her appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor in January 2021, having served across a range of roles in education in the University and the Faculty. As a law academic, she is highly regarded as an exemplary legal educator with extensive professional and academic experience in private practice and in the scholarship of teaching.
Bronwyn joined UTS in 1996 and took a lead role in the establishment of the ground-breaking Practical Legal Training Program (PLT), which continues as a distinctive and highly-regarded strength of the Law Faculty. At the time of its establishment, the PLT program was a unique innovation in legal education and has contributed significantly to the practical and career ready focus of UTS law graduates. Bronwyn was Director of the PLT Program from 1999 to 2001 and 2003 to 2006. She returned to this role as Director of Professional Education, which included the PLT program, from 2016 to 2020.
Bronwyn’s significant contribution to the Law Faculty was in her role as Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) from 2007 to 2015. In this role, she was responsible for implementing innovative and effective teaching and learning initiatives, including the introduction of the JD program, the embedding of graduate attributes in all law courses and the establishment of an internship program.
In 2011, Bronwyn, together with the (then) Dean, Professor Jill McKeough and the inaugural Sir Gerard Brennan Professor, Paul Redmond, established the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program. This was also a ground-breaking initiative which provides UTS law students with opportunities to strengthen their sense of social justice, and to develop the idea of service in professional contexts. The program continues to flourish today.
At the University level, Bronwyn was the University Student Ombudsman from 2003 to 2006. Her other service roles included as the Faculty Academic Liaison Officer (2006-2007) and the Faculty Director of Students (2006 to 2007).
Bronwyn’s research interests in the changing role of universities as providers of professional training and the changing expectations and circumstances of students informed her work with Professor Sally Varnham on student engagement in university decision-making and governance. This work was funded by the (then) Office of Learning and Teaching and informed subsequent work on students as partners in their learning.
Bronwyn is the current Chair of the UTS College Academic Board.
Visiting fellow
Lesley Townsley
1 May 2021 to 30 April 2023
Lesley Townsley commenced her appointment as a Visiting Fellow in 2018. Lesley joined the Faculty in 2004. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning from UTS and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney.
Lesley taught principally in the areas of Criminal Law, Evidence and Advocacy. Her teaching was informed by her research in the areas of criminal law and justice and ethics. Lesley was a member of the Criminal Justice Research Cluster. Lesley was a collaborative researcher, working with colleagues across her areas of interest and expertise.
Lesley was a key contributor to the law curriculum through her innovative and research-based scholarship, especially in practice-based assessment, academic integrity and the embedding of graduate attributes in subjects and courses. In particular, her work on mapping the graduate attributes in the Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor continues to inform the current curriculum.
Lesley’s research and interest in ethics led to her role as Student Misconduct Officer in the Faculty from 2016 to 2018. In this role, she made a significant and ground-breaking contribution to the embedding of academic integrity in the curriculum which continues to form part of the Faculty’s law degrees. Her expertise led to her appointment as Chair of the University Conduct Committee and Chair of the Student Misconduct Appeals Committee from 2016 and continuing.
Visiting Professor
Dr Sally Varnham
1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022
Dr Sally Varnham commenced her appointment as a Visiting Professor in April 2021. Sally joined the Faculty in 2007, having previously taught at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand. Prior to her academic career, Sally practised as a barrister and solicitor in Wellington and in the UK. As an academic in New Zealand, Sally taught Business Law and Law and Education. On moving to UTS she taught principally in the areas of Tort Law and developed Law and Education as an elective and for short courses.
Sally is a leading expert in law and policy relating to all sectors of education. Her commitment to research is strongly practical, timely and relevant. Sally draws on comparative international experience for the Australia context. Her research is aimed at a system of education which is both socially just and inclusive, of a high standard, and is strongly focussed on the development of citizens and leaders for a democratic society.
Sally has researched and written widely on issues in compulsory education relating to educational choice, human rights education, the right to, and rights, in education, restorative practice and the right to participation and practising citizenship in education. Sally has a strong interest in the university/student relationship and she was a Chief Investigator on an ALTC funded project on student grievances. This work led to a good practice guide used by Australian universities in reviewing their policies and procedures in this area. She was the representative providing input from Australia on the global steering group of the European Network of Ombudsmen in Higher Education (ENOHE), the US Education Law Association and a past President and Director of the Australia and New Zealand Education Law Association.
Sally is the author of "Law for Educators: School and University Law in Australia" (with Jim Jackson) and co-editor of Higher Education and the Law, the first books dedicated to this area in Australia. She was an invited Guest Editor for the Europa World of Learning and invited author of chapters in several US and South African scholarly books in the field of rights in education.
From 2009 to 2012, Sally was an Assistant Student Ombud at UTS. From 2011 to 2014, Sally served as Chair of the University Academic Board and continued as an academic staff member on the University Council until 2018. These roles led Sally to a deep interest in, and extensive research into, student engagement in decision making and governance. This research was undertaken through an OLT funded project and was informed firstly, through an international study followed by a national outreach to, and consultation with, Australian universities and student associations. Following this Project, Sally was awarded a National Senior Teaching Fellowship during which she undertook a sector-wide consideration and development of principles and a framework for student engagement to partnership. This work resulted in the formation of Student Voice Australia (www.studentvoiceaustralia.com) and a national recognition of the partnership of students and institutions in tertiary education. On her return to New Zealand Sally was approached by the Ministry of Education to work together with student leaders and sector agencies to progress student voice to partnership in New Zealand.