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Overview

Lana Ashby

Associate Professor in Private Law

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Associate Professor in Private Law in the Durham Law School

Biography

Lana Ashby is a transformative and innovative educator who holds the post of Associate Professor in Private Law alongside serving as Director of Undergraduate Admissions in the Law School for Outreach and Engagement, having joined Durham Law School in October 2014. Her expertise spans pedagogy and black letter law alongside results-oriented research and action in access and widening participation.

Areas of Expertise 

Pedagogical/scholarship area 1: Application of nudge theory (Thaler and Sunstein) and behavioural economics to higher education pedagogy

·       She has spoken at the Association of Law Teachers 2018 conference on her initial investigations into the nudge theory: 'Nudging' our Students Along? An Exploration of the Innovative Use of Nudges to Enhance Student Engagement in Legal Education

·       Through her work on the nudge theory, she has created an innovative teaching implement called the ‘Preparation Pod’.

·       She has further developed her work in the area and spoke under the caption ‘To Nudge or not to Nudge in Mastery Goal Driven Education: That is the Question?’ International Conference on Teaching, Education & Learning (Melbourne, Australia – 2026).

·       At the above conference in Melbourne, she was awarded Best Technical Paper (2026).

In addition to the above, she has presented varying aspects of this research:

·      'Law Academics as Architects: Exploring the Power of Choice Architecture in Developing Self-Driven Learners' (Insights from Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein)), Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, Australia (2026) - this paper focused on her research on choice architecture within her application of nudge theory to HE. 

·       'Nudging Legal Learners: Law Academics as Choice Architects in Developing Self-Driven Skill Mastery', The University of Auckland, New Zealand (2026) - this paper focused on her research on law academics as choice architects within her application of nudge theory to HE. 

·        'From Concept to Practice: Creating the Preparation Pod Through the Cross-Pollination of Behavioural Science and Legal Education', 117th Society of Legal Scholars (2026) at the University of East Anglia - this paper focused on her research and creation of the preparation pod which Lana's innovation as one of the nudges in legal education. 

 

Pedagogical/scholarship area 2: Student Engagement

·       She has written on re-thinking how students engage as published in Pedagogically Speaking: Re-thinking Student Engagement in Lectures: A Non-Traditional Approach

·       She has also spoken at number conferences on engagement in student lectures: Engagement, Assessment and Beyond the Classroom: Re-thinking Approaches to Large Class Sizes and Contrasting Views on Engagement: The Student vs The Teacher - The Great Divide?

 

Research area 3: Access and Widening Participation  

·       In 2018, she crafted a 22-page pipeline initiative with a view to increasing the number of state school students from lower participating backgrounds to Durham without lowering entry tariffs, assessing a 5-year data set from 2013 to group and target schools.

·       In 2026, Lana developed a data set using 15 years of longitudinal data and demonstrated that an undergraduate home student from the most deprived socio-economic background commencing their studies between 2020 and 2025 was twelve times more likely to study Law at Durham than an otherwise identical student entering between 2010 and 2015. These remarkable findings were underpinned by her widening participation pipeline initiatives introduced from the 2017/18 academic year onwards. Other researchers use one of the measures of deprivation but in this work, Lana has used all three simultaneously for a Home student to qualify as most deprived: First Gen + Polar 4 Q1/2 + Acorn 4/5. This makes our numbers in Durham (Law) even more impressive. 

·       She presented these findings at the Advance HE’s Teaching and Learning Conference 2026 under the title ‘A Tale of Two Cities: Bridging the Gap Between Entry Access and Thriving for WP Students’

·       Current research: One of her present focus areas in the research involves extensive empirical research (with Azubuike, S.) to test the efficacy of her admissions pipeline which saw the increase of the most socio-economically disadvantaged state school students, seeking to determine whether these students are appropriately supported on entry to their programmes. They have completed Phase 1 (empirical data to show preliminary gap) of the research and are entering Phase 2 (action plan to reduce or eradicate this gap).

 

Research area 4: Consumer Protection

·       Her interest in consumer protection is specifically connected to subscription contracts, which have quickly become a scourge and can be termed subscription traps. 

·       She has presented on the subscription trap in Panama at the Commonwealth Caribbean Commercial Law Workshop under the heading: ‘Subscription Traps in Digital Markets - Rethinking Commonwealth Caribbean Consumer Protection in Light of The UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.’ 

·       She will be presenting at the 2026 Society of Legal Scholars under the topic: 'The Subscription Trap: Do the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 Provide Robust Protection Against Automatic Subscription Practices?'.

·       An academic paper in this area is under review for publication assessing global perspectives.

 

Research area 5: Intersection of property and Contract Law

·       She has led, lectured or tutored on the Contract Law (LAW1071) and Land Law (LAW2011) and has supervised extensive research students exploring the intersection between property and contract law.

·       Her piece, which traces the law from Allcard and then closely examines the 2025 decision of Waller-Edwards v One Savings Bank Plc [2025] UKSC 22, is under review by a leading journal: Tripartite Navigation of Lender Risk Through the Lens of Undue Influence in Hybrid Mortgage Transactions: The Post-Waller-Edwards Position.

·       She is interested in the narratives of fairness in contract law has also spoken at the Fairness in Law Making Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland: A Counter-narrative on ‘Fairness’ in Contract Law: A Holistic Assessment of Fairness under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

·       She is also working on papers under the research theme of good faith in Contract Law under the notion of an evolutionary approach to looking at the English jurisprudence termed 'conditional enforceability'.

 

Research area 6: Corporate Insolvency

·       She has written on priority and rescue financing seeking to learn lessons from the United States of America, United Kingdom and European: (‘Priority and rescue financing in the Commonwealth Caribbean: lessons from the United States of America, United Kingdom and European Union’

·       She has also spoken on rescue financing at a law conference in Florida, United States: More Bark than Bite: Rescue and its Financing in the Commonwealth Caribbean - Lessons from Abroad

·       Her pro-rescue corporate law work in the published piece on the creation of a ten step best practice insolvency financing framework (The enigma of 21st century corporate restructuring: successes and failures (ten-step best-practice framework) was cited with approval and regarded as being particularly beneficial to the European Law Institute's 400 page Instrument on Rescue of Business in Insolvency.

·       She was also cited with approval in Wessels, International Insolvency Law, 4th ed., International Journal of Business Excellence and the International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology.

     She has also written on restructuring in the European automotive (When the car runs out of gas: restructuring in the European automotive sector) and airline sectors (Mild turbulence and crash landings for illegally state-aided European airlines).

 

Research area 7: Company Law

·       Regional Expert on Company Law to the IMPACT Justice Project, funded by the Government of Canada assessing company law reform in 14 jurisdictions: Bridging the Gap? A Status Report on Company Law in the CARICOM Region: 142 Recommendations with a view to Reform [414 pages] . This report included draft provisions for all recommendations. Using a comparative approach to build a construct for modern approaches, the report critically assessed the advent, development and modern traditions of company law in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The transformational and groundbreaking research assessed the breadth of company law, from company formation and operation, protection of creditors and investors to winding up.

·       A further report was commissioned which looked at not simply ensuring that the regional legislative framework was on par but that it now could be even more competitive: Advancing Company Law in the Commonwealth Caribbean: Further Steps to Creating a Competitive Framework [103 pages]

 

Other research interests and indicators

 

Continuing Development

·       Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK)

·       Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (CUTL)

·       Durham University Excellence in Learning and Teaching Award (DELTA 3)

·       Postgraduate diploma in International Insolvency Law (UK)

·       Level 6 NVQ in Contracting Operations Management (which is equivalent to an undergraduate degree with Honours) (UK)

 

Prior to this, she was a Lecturer in Law at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados where she taught Corporate Insolvency Law, Corporate Finance Law and Contract Law. Before teaching at The University of the West Indies, she pursued an Associate Degree in the Arts and then a Bachelor of Laws (top 1% - 2nd in cohort by 0.02) where she was a Ralph Boyce Scholar and American Foundation for the UWI Scholar. She pursued a Master of Laws in Corporate and Commercial Law at The University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, with specialities in Corporate Insolvency, Corporate Finance Law, Corporate Governance and Intellectual Property Law where she was a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar, Wolfson Scholar and a prestigious National Development Scholar (Barbados) for studies in areas critical to national development. After this, she worked as a consultant on varying national and regional legal affairs.

During her studies, she was awarded many prizes including the Most Outstanding Academic Achievement in Legal Studies and the prestigious Frederick Kelsick, Q.C. Memorial Prize in Revenue Law.

Recruitment Excellence & Target Achievement

  • Inspirational leader who consistently met and exceeded Law School recruitment targets.
  • Designed and implemented transformational programmes to align Law’s recruitment strategy with University targets for BAME and low-participation neighbourhoods, earning formal recognition from the VC in Senate.
  • Oversaw the first cohort of DSC student integration, addressing nuanced access requirements and multiple admissions pathways.

 

Access, Fairness & Inclusion Initiatives

  • Built a bespoke 500+ school database to accurately target disadvantaged students, including first-generation entrants, independently and without external support. This initiative led to increased enrolment of students who subsequently achieved first-class degrees.
  • Established the only department led student run First-Generation Scholars Network in the University, F.O.R.G.E. (First-Gen Opportunity for Representation, Growth, & Excellence) with the motto Breaking Barriers. Building Futures, providing mentorship, networking events with law firm partners, and confidence-building activities.
  • Secured over thousands of funding for access initiatives including textbooks from a prominent London law firm, enhancing equitable access for students from low-participation neighbourhoods.
  • Led targeted Open Days for North East schools and tripled the number of Open Days organized by the Law School, independently managing sponsorships, logistics, and student ambassadors.
  • Manages all Law School summer schools: Destination Durham, Sutton Trust, STEP and Asian Access

 

Strategic University Engagement & Leadership

  • Collaborated closely with Vice Chancellors and Pro-Vice Chancellors on the development and trial of Law School access programmes and cross-department/faculty/university wide knowledge-sharing initiatives.
  • Invited to speak at university-level Open Days by the PVC (Education), receiving commendation for effectively communicating the “Durham difference” and inspiring prospective students to pursue education at Durham.
  • Developed content for university admissions materials, serving as a public face of the Law School and contributing to the branding of Durham University Admissions.

 

Operational Expertise & Global Engagement

  • Managed Law School’s internationalisation strategy in partnership with the International Office, contributing to global recruitment and partnerships.
  • Maintained full knowledge of key admissions metrics and terminology, including ACORN, and managed offer adjustments across undergraduate and postgraduate cycles.
  • Demonstrated forward-thinking and independent execution in recruitment strategy, inspiring colleagues to engage with state schools and broaden outreach.

 

Recognised Excellence in Law Education

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, with a teaching approach consistently acknowledged through recognition or awards at all levels:
    • National: Oxford University Press Law Teacher of the Year (Top 6 in the UK)
    • Regional: Northern Law Awards (Top 4 in the North East)
    • University: Durham University Excellence in Learning and Teaching Award 2017; Recognition for Excellence in 2026
    • Departmental: Law School teaching awards for 4 consecutive years 
  • Teaching evaluations consistently exceed 4.5/5, with some courses averaging 4.8/5 across undergraduate and master’s programmes, regardless of compulsory or optional course status. Her engaging approach in her Master's level course resulted in 100% course satisfaction (25/26 academic year)
  • Holds two professional teaching qualifications: Leadership in Learning and Teaching (DELTA 3, 2019) and Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, demonstrating deep expertise in inspiring both students and colleagues.

 

Innovation & Knowledge Transfer

  • Pioneered the “Learning and Teaching Toolbox”, a departmental initiative collecting instructional videos from colleagues at all career stages, promoting best practice knowledge transfer. This initiative was fully developed and executed independently and commended by Faculty, despite no workload allocation.
  • Initiated a Higher-Level Schedule of extracurricular events aligned with module teaching terms, enabling students to engage with leading scholars and practitioners through guest lectures.
  • Conducted research on student perceptions of assessment preparation and module evaluation engagement, collecting qualitative and quantitative data from 59 law students. Findings were fed directly into Law School processes to enhance NSS (National Student Survey) responses.
Advance HE 2026 Presenter
Esteem Indicators: Awards and Recognition for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Scholarship and Administration

2026 

  • Award for Rewarding Excellence (University level)
  • Judged best Technical Paper of conference under the title 'To nudge or not to nudge in mastery goal-driven education: That is the question?'  (International Conference on Teaching, Education & Learning, Australia)
  • Launched FORGE: First dedicated student-run department supported network for students from First Generation Background (FORGE: First-Gen Opportunity for Representation, Growth, & Excellence)

2025

  • Notification by University for excellence in academic support and teaching (University level)

2024

  • Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award (University level)

[2020 - 2022 - Separate portions of academic leave]

2019

  • Durham University's Women Making a Difference (University level)

2019

  • Law Teacher of the Year (Durham Law School)

2018

  • Oxford University Press Law Teacher of the Year (Finalist - one of six finalists for Law Teacher of the Year) [National Award]
  • Northern Law Teacher of the Year (Finalist) [Regional Award]
  • Law Teacher of the Year (Durham Law School)
  • Recognised by University for Excellence in Teaching (Celebrating Excellence Dinner) (University level)

2017

  • Durham University Excellence in Learning and Teaching Award (University level presented at Congregation)
  • Law Teacher of the Year (Durham Law School)
  • Recognised by University for Excellence in Teaching (Celebrating Excellence Dinner) (University level)

2016

  • Recognised by University for Excellence in Teaching (Celebrating Excellence Dinner) (University level)

2016 + 

  • Regional Expert on Commonwealth Caribbean Company Law 
Areas of Research, Scholarship, and Pedagogy

Academic Research

  • Corporate Insolvency Law (Rescue)
  • Contract Law
  • Company Law (Comparative approaches, Modern approaches, Commonwealth Caribbean)
  • Consumer Protection Law 
  • Property Law 

Pedagogy

  • Thaler and Sunstein's nudge theory recontructed through law academic learning lens
  • Student engagement 
  • First generation access to university and theoretical frameworks to support university adjustment and thriving 
Current Research/Scholarship Focus

Contract Law: Good faith and undue influence

Consumer protection law: Subscription traps (and should time allow, would like to explore new research set within consumer protection on packaged holidays and absence of recourse where there is full cancellation of holiday due to late payment though one part of the holiday is fully paid, for example, all admin costs and all flights)

Property Law: Access to beaches/public land and the intersection between contract and property law, for example, undue influence 

Insolvency law: Corporate Rescue including developing legislative frameworks, Rescue financing, state aid, transport sector state aid, in particular, airline and automotive sectors

Company Law: Comparative developments in company law, in particular, in developing countries

Pedagogy (nudge theory): Understanding approaches to higher education through the lens of Thaler and Sunstein's nudge theory > through this, the further development and testing of my innovative preparation pod used in lectures as evidence of one type of nudge

Pedagogy (engagement): Enhancing student engagement in all aspects of learning 

Equality and access to higher education/widening participation: Empirical research on students from the most deprived backgrounds: first, their access to higher education and (in particular) a Russell group university; second, whether they thrive alongside their peers (if not, why); third, what are their degree classification outcomes on completion. Ultimately, what targetted interventions can be used to remedy this. 

Supervision

I am interested in supervising papers on any area of present interest in contract law, consumer protection law, commercial law, company law or the intersection between land/property and contract law. I am particularly interested in insolvency law and would welcome papers on issues of corporate reorganization/restructuring, comparative insolvency law, international insolvency law, critical theoretical analysis of insolvency law (and/or its relevant frameworks) and any commercial law papers which employ an inter-disciplinary approach (e.g. law and economics) or reseach in modern innovations in company law.

Areas of Teaching Expertise

26/27 Academic Year - Bachelor of Laws (Class size: 300 - 400) 

  • Year 1 (LAW1071): Contract Law - Module Convener, Lecturer and Tutor
  • Year 2 (LAW2011): Property/Land Law - Lecturer and Tutor

Master of Laws

  • Corporate Insolvency Law (LL.M.) (LAW40516) - Seminar based course (Seminar Leader) - this course will run subject to my availability so please check Module Course offerings each academic year

Historically, I have taught Trusts Law (LAW 2211) and English Law and Legal Methods (LAW 1121).

Publications

Authored book

Conference Paper

Journal Article

Other (Print)

Report