Dr Franziska Arnold-Dwyer is a former PhD student and current Lecturer in Insurance Law and Specialism Director for Insurance Law at CCLS. Read about her experience:
I was a PhD student at CCLS from 2014-2018. After over a decade as a solicitor at global law firm Clifford Chance LLP, I was looking for a new challenge that would be intellectually stimulating, build upon my experience in private practice, and be compatible with having young children.
I applied to CCLS for a place on the PhD in Law programme because I wanted (now Emeritus) Professor Philip Rawlings – one of the leading insurance law academics in the UK - to be my supervisor for my PhD research on insurable interest.
I also wanted to be in an institution with an excellent reputation for legal scholarship in the commercial law sphere where the practical application of commercial law in trade and finance is understood and valued. Where better to study than at CCLS founded by Sir Roy Goode?
Right from the start, I was made to feel a welcome member of the team by my supervisors Professor Rawlings and Dr Miriam Goldby. They supported me through the ‘highs and lows’ of my research and encouraged me to start teaching on the LLM programme, publish, attend and speak at conference, work with the Law Commission and get involved in CCLS activities. I was also the proud recipient of a Queen Mary Studentship.
Looking back, I now appreciate even more how much their help and advice smoothed my career path into Academia, via a Teaching Fellowship and now as a Lecturer in Insurance Law at CCLS.
As a mature student with family commitments, I was given excellent pastoral support by many of my colleagues. I had (and still have) some fantastic role models and mentors at CCLS. Although I have now been part of the CCLS for over five years, I am still astonished by the width and depth of our joint expertise which is reflected in the phenomenal research output and the unrivaled LLM Programme.
I feel privileged to have been appointed as a Lecturer at CCLS and I do hope that as a teacher and researcher I can make my own contribution to the success of CCLS and to a positive experience of our students.
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