University of Law appoints new centre directors

The University of Law announced this month that they have appointed new centre directors in Bristol and the two London campuses as they continue to promote innovation across the legal education landscape. 

Jill Howell-Williams and Sandie Gaines were announced as the new centre directors of The University of Law’s London Moorgate and Bloomsbury Campuses respectively, whilst at ULaw’s Centre in Bristol, Zoe King will take on the top role. 

Jill Howell-Williams is a qualified barrister and solicitor, who specialises in private equity and mergers and acquisitions. She joined The University of Law in 1997, and from that point, has occupied a number of different managerial positions, including as the Moorgate Centre's head of academic staff. During her time with ULaw, Howell-Williams has gained extensive teaching experience across the board - working on the LPC, GDL, LLM and professional development programmes, and she will step up from her previous appointment of associate professor, which she was promoted to in 2012.

Sandie Gaines transfers across from being Centre Director at the University of Law's Manchester Campus, and will head up the University's Bloomsbury site in London. Sandie is a qualified solicitor, and her areas of expertise include criminal and employment law. She has also had significant success in managing and driving new business in Manchester. She began her career at the University in 2009 where she started out teaching business law and practice, mergers and acquisitions and contract law, and later was appointed an associate professor, before moving up to the Centre Director role in Manchester. 

After a period as interim Centre Director, Zoe King has been permanently appointed as the head of The University of Law in Bristol. King trained and worked as a solicitor at Burges Salmon in Bristol before she joined ULaw in 2011 – just a year after the Bristol Centre first opened. Zoe has been a crucial part of the delivery of the LPC and GDL programmes to students across the Bristol and Exeter campuses, and previously held the role of student lead for the GDL and LLB programmes.

Professor Andrea Nollent, Vice-Chancellor & CEO at The University of Law, said: “At ULaw, we are committed to delivering the best training for legal firms while continuing to promote innovation in the market. With many developments in the legal sector currently underway, these appointments are a testament to our dedication to provide students across our centres with the highest quality of education while at the same time supporting some of our brightest academic talent.”

Professor Bill Bruce, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at The University of Law, said: “We are lucky to be in a position to appoint three outstanding individuals to these vital roles. The combination of Jill, Sandie and Zoe’s previous practice expertise, and their understanding of The University of Law, puts them in a strong position to lead three key centres through the challenges and opportunities provided by our new strategic plan.”

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