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Karen Lawson qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and worked at various regional firms in the East Midlands, specialising in employment law. In 2015 Karen was awarded an LLM in Employment law and practice from ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ, having studied on their distance learning programme while working as a solicitor. In 2016 Karen joined the University of Northampton as a Senior Lecturer in Law. In 2017 Karen began teaching part time at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ on the LLM Employment law programme. In May 2019 Karen joined ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ on a full time basis as a Senior Lecturer in Law.

• Walsh, D., Pajon, L.., Lawson, K., Hafeez. K., Heath, M. & Court, N. (2022) ‘Increased Risks of Labor Exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of the Agri-food and Construction Sectors’. Journal of Human Trafficking.

• Walsh, D.  & Lawson, K. (2020) ‘New insights into business sector compliance and Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015’. Modern Slavery Research Consortium Bulletin.

Employment law; Labour exploitation and modern slavery

Employment law; Legal skills;  Constitutional and Administrative Law.

• A 2:1 (upper second) B.A Hons undergraduate degree in History and Politics from the University of Nottingham.
• Post Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and Legal Practice Course (LPC) from Nottingham Law School, both with Commendation (equivalent to a 2:1).
• Qualified as a solicitor in 2001.
• LLM in Employment Law with Distinction from ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ awarded in 2015.

LLM Employment law and practice and the LLB 

Lexis Nexus prize for the highest overall mark on the LLM Employment law programme at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ, May 2015.

• Member of the Law Society
• Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

• Supporting business to meet new UK immigration rules and consumer demand, while avoiding worker exploitation, (2021), Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), Co-Investigator.
• Recruitment challenges in the agricultural sector following implementation of the post-Brexit immigration system, (2023), Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), Principal Investigator

• Supporting business to meet new UK immigration rules and consumer demand, while avoiding worker exploitation, ( January to July 2021), Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) - awarded £15,000, Co-Investigator. Project Team -  Khalid Hafeez, Karen Lawson, Dr Laura Pajón, Professor Dave Walsh
• Recruitment challenges in the agricultural sector following implementation of the post-Brexit immigration system, ( January to September 2023), Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF)  - awarded £7,500, Principal Investigator. Project Team - Karen Lawson, Alwyn Jones, Julia Pointon and Professor Dave Walsh