The Legal Position

This is the first in a new series of blog posts that I will be writing over the next six years whilst I study for a PhD. I know that my usual readers include housing practitioners, tenant organisations, and their instructing solicitors. Given that my PhD thesis is on housing law, I hope there will be a few nuggets of useful information for the regular readers of my blog. I intend to be quite candid and informal in this series.

The part-time PhD in Law that I am studying at the University of Manchester officially starts today (22nd September 2026). However, my relationship with the prospect of a PhD in Law started in 2019 when I studied an LLM in Security and International Law. I had a place to commence a full-time PhD in Law in September 2020; however, COVID-19 then hit, and the prospect of studying for a full-time PhD during a global pandemic did not seem appealing.

Instead, I studied for the Bar, secured pupillage, and have spent the last few years building a fairly busy housing practice. So why study for a part-time PhD now? I suppose the answer is multifaceted. On a personal level, this was something I set out to complete years ago, and the idea of not succeeding in something fills me with dread. The study of law and society has always been something I have really enjoyed. I would say that my academic success, together with my time at Sandhurst, helped me move on from working in factories and stacking shelves at Tesco. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with those jobs, but I wanted to spend my life doing something different.

On a professional level, a PhD is an excellent way to improve my research and writing skills to the highest level. The thing with the Bar is that there is extremely limited feedback. We can commit ourselves to reading various texts on how to draft pleadings and skeleton arguments well, but nothing beats specialised training and bespoke feedback. The thesis topic, Fitness for Human Habitation Provisions for Contractual Licensees, also ties in directly with my primary practice area, and I hope that my research and practice will feed one another.

I also feel that the topic itself is worthy of this level and depth of research. Housing law is developing at a neck-breaking pace. It has been exciting to be at the coalface as the law develops; however, at the end of the day, there are real people suffering with life-changing issues. There is also a whole category of people who miss out on these basic protections: licensees.

So, why part-time and why now? Well, to be frank, life is expensive. The monthly nursery bill is nearly £2,500 alone. I have also built a busy practice that I do not wish to lose. Finally, it helps to be in practice to see how cases pan out at both first-instance and appellate level.

The Proposal

I contacted one of my supervisors, Dr Luke Graham, early in the year. Within 48 hours, I was on a Teams call with Dr Graham discussing some of my ideas. This exceptionally quick turnaround filled me with confidence about what the future could look like as one of his supervisees. Dr Graham suggested that I complete a literature review and prepare a draft proposal.

I will not go over the requirements of a proposal here because the requirements of each university will be slightly different, but I saw it almost as the academic version of a skeleton argument. It had to be concise and succinct, whilst getting across all of the key points in a persuasive manner.

The first difficult task was to complete a literature review. I had not completed one for several years, so I had to buy a couple of books on how to undertake one properly. I really did feel as though I was starting from scratch; however, being able to draw on the experience gained during my LLM made me feel that it was certainly achievable, as I had done it before.

It took several drafts before I had a finalised proposal. Again, Dr Graham responded quickly. My original proposal was too broad: it included vulnerability theory, the allocation of social housing, and discrimination in possession proceedings. The ‘red-penning’ from Dr Graham at this stage was both humbling and rewarding. As noted above, there is next to no feedback as a barrister, and it has been several years since I was in the Army. Put another way, I am not used to my work being amended or commented upon, beyond spelling corrections and further instructions from clients. I realised at this early stage that having someone with greater academic specialism and experience analyse my work would be an invaluable learning and development opportunity, and one that I am unlikely to encounter again in my career.

The Interview

Several months after submitting the proposal I was invited for an interview with a number of members of the team. I was asked some probing questions about the scope of my proposal. I felt that I knew the law inside out and was able to answer questions on the black-letter aspects of my proposal with relative ease, which is perhaps unsurprising given that it is my practice area.

However, there was a clear weakness in my knowledge of research methodologies and other academic concepts, such as “impact”. This was despite quickly reading a book on research methods to prepare for the interview.

That weakness is perhaps unsurprising; it has been seven years since I properly engaged with academia. In that time, I have worked in Military Intelligence and developed the skills required to practise as a barrister. However, what has become clear is that there is not a direct crossover between the skill set and writing style required in each field, and that is something I need to actively develop.

Onboarding and Preparation for the Course

I met Dr Graham in person for an informal meeting a few weeks before the start date. This was extremely useful. When you are due to work with someone for six years, it helps to have a strong working relationship with them. The meeting encouraged me to think ahead: which housing conferences can I attend, how do I produce research papers at the highest level, and what opportunities might become available over the next few years?

I am due to meet the rest of my supervisory team in a few weeks. I am looking forward to that. It will be useful to understand their expectations and to gain an insight into how they prefer to work. In turn, that will allow me to set boundaries within my practice so that I can attempt to achieve some form of balance between all of these competing commitments.

Just on that point, none of this would work without the support of my clerks and key clients. My clerk, Josh, has been excellent in managing the projected workload moving forward. My key clients also continue to trust me to return papers efficiently, maintain the usual standard of work, and represent our lay clients to the best of my ability at hearings and trials.

I look forward to sharing more candid thoughts and reflections as I progress through the PhD. I will also continue to share more practice-focused posts, particularly as I continue to blend research and practice in the field of housing disrepair.