Professor Jason Tucker

Dean for Student Employability and Professor of Law

: TuckerJM@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 29208 70966
: Law Building, Room 3.43a, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX

Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, I worked in industry (Shell UK Oil) and in the voluntary sector (SOVA and the Children’s Society). I was admitted as a solicitor in November 1996, whilst with Loosemores Solicitors in Cardiff, and undertook a broad range of litigation work. In June 2001, I moved to Hurlows Solicitors, a niche family law practice, as an Associate, specialising in public and private law children’s litigation, and was a member of the Law Society Children Panel from 2000-2012.

I joined the Centre for Professional Legal Studies (CPLS) at Cardiff School of Law & Politics in January 2003, and completed an MA (Legal Practice) later that year. I have taught litigation and a range of practitioner skills on both the LPC and BPTC. In addition, I was Director of the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate between 2005 and 2017. Latterly, I have specialised in clinical legal education provision, acting as the academic supervisor of the Mencap-WISE student advice project, delivered in partnership with Mencap Cymru, from 2014-2020.

Since 2015, I have been involved in developing the University’s employability strategy initially as Associate Dean (Graduate Employability) for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and latterly as University Dean for Student Employability. Embedding legal practitioner and general employability skills into the curriculum is a key focus of my pedagogy, which was recognised in 2016, when I was made an HEA National Teaching Fellow, and, in 2017, by the award of a personal chair.

I have undertaken various research projects for the CPLS, and was a member of the project teams which conducted the Quality Assurance for Advocates pilot, and the Alternative Commissioning of Expert Evidence Pilot (both for the Legal Aid Agency). In addition, I was co-author (with Professor Luke Clements and Dr Julie Doughty), of ‘Child Law for Social Workers in Wales’ (Care Council for Wales). I also regularly deliver conference papers relating to my key interests, including expert evidence and clinical legal education/employability skills.

Outside of the University, I retained a consultancy with Hurlows Solicitors, between 2003-2013, providing litigation and advocacy support in children proceedings. Between 2007-2021, I sat as a Justice of the Peace, initially in the adult criminal court and latterly as a family court specialist. In 2011, I was appointed as a fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement Chamber (SSCS), hearing social security appeals. In 2022, I joined the editorial board for the Tribunals Journal. I am a member of a number of Law Society committees: Children Law Sub-committee (appointed 2016) and Education & Training Committee (appointed 2020). Since 2021, I have been a member of the Investigations Committee for CIPFA.

2023

A Framework for Student Futures – embedding graduate attributes and employability skills into the student experience (Goodfellow J, and Tucker J) in ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ (Norton S, and Penaluna A; HEFCW/Advance HE: Advance-HE-report-Unpacking-the-3-Es-a-national-perspective.pdf (hefcw.ac.uk)).

Book review: Making Decisions Judicially (Tribunals Journal, Edition 3 of 2023; Judicial College: https://sway.office.com/8uNGeBXPK0ZpqCMT?ref=Link).

2014 to 2020

Mencap WISE Student Advice Project

Supervisor of a clinical legal education project, delivered in partnership with Mencap Cymru, which authors advice guides to support people with a learning disability and their families/carers experiencing difficulties in relation to:

‘Housing Law: Supporting tenants with a disability’;
‘Accessing social care and health care services in Wales’;
‘Supporting parents with a learning disability through the child protection system’;
‘Applying for specialist further education provision’;
‘Advocacy and Access to Information, Advice and Assistance under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014’;
‘Accessing leisure and community services’;
‘Friendships, sexual relationships and marriage’;
'Access to Education';
'Applying for disability benefits'.

The guides are available as a public access resource via Mencap Cymru's website: Learning Disability Legal Guides - Know Your Rights | Mencap Cymru ~ Wales and the project won the 2018 LawWorks Pro Bono Award for ‘Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership’.

2018

Third-Sector-Funded Clinical Legal Education in the United Kingdom: A Reflection and Proposal for Future Partnerships (Tucker J) in ‘Reimagining Clinical Legal Education’ (Thomas L, Vaughan S, Malkani B and Lynch T; Hart (2018))

[A reflection on delivering a clinical legal education project in partnership with a third sector organisation – Mencap Cymru.]

2017

Graduate Employability – How Can Universities Best Meet Student Expectations (Tucker J) in ‘Role of Law, Human Rights and Social Justice, Justice Systems, Commerce and Law Curriculum’ (Frenkel D; Athens Institute for Education and Research (2017))

[A review of different models of employability which support students in developing transferable skills and preparing for their future carers.]

2014

Acting as an expert witness (Tucker J) in ‘Forensic Odontology – An Essential Guide’ (Adams C, Carabott R and Evans S; Wiley (2014))

[A guide to acting as an expert witness, authored for a text book for forensic odontologists.]

2013

Child Care Law and Practice (Tucker J, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (2013))

[A course manual for a practitioner course in child care law for legal support staff.]

2011

Evaluation of Alternative Commissioning of Expert Witnesses in Care Proceedings Pilot (Tucker J, Moorhead R and Doughty J; Legal Services Commission (2011))

[An 18 month project, evaluating the provision of expert witness services by multi-disciplinary teams in public law children proceedings. The evaluation was cited as part of the evidence base informing the Family Justice Review, which recommended that a further pilot be undertaken building upon the lessons of the initial scheme.]

Child Law for Social Workers in Wales (Clements L, Doughty J and Tucker J, Care Council for Wales (2011))

[A programme of training materials for child protection social workers in Wales.]

2009

Quality Assurance for Advocates (Devereux A, Tucker J, Moorhead R and Cape E; Legal Services Commission (2009))

[An 18 month project, piloting and evaluating quality assurance procedures for advocates in criminal proceedings.]

I teach a range of knowledge and skills subjects across the Legal Practice Course and the Bar Professional Training Course, and also the undergraduate programme, with particular emphasis on criminal litigation and child care law, and practitioner skills.

In addition, I supervise students undertaking the LLM Legal Practice, and students participating in the School’s clinical legal education programme, and am currently piloting a Family Law Assistance and Self-help (FLASH) clinic.

Honours and awards

2016 – Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellow

2018 – LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 'Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership'

Professional memberships

Solicitor [Non-practising] (admitted 1st November 1996).
Alternative Dispute Resolution Group Accredited Mediator (June 2005).
Fellow Higher Education Academy (2016).
Member of Law Society Children’s Law Sub-Committee (2016 to date).
Board member of European Network for Clinical Legal Education (2017 to date).
Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy (2018).
Member of Law Society Education & Training Committee (2020 to date).
Member of Tribunals Journal editorial board (2022 to date).

Speaking engagements

Conferences

2023

‘Looking back to move forward: chasing the elusive CLE Holy Grail’ (with Prof Julie Price and Dr Michal Urban) (July: European Network for Clinical Legal Education conference, Liverpool John Moores University)

2022

‘Cardiff, Covid and Clinics (but not the medical variety!)’ (with Prof Julie Price) (November: Te Puna Aurei LearnFest, Higher Education Symposium, University of Waikato)

‘Experts and the Law: An Introduction, and how things can go wrong!’ (February: Radiographers CPD Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University)

2020

‘Externships, placements and external partners’ (with Prof Julie Price and Hannah Marchant) (October: Training of Trainers Workshop for Law Teachers, ENCLE and the Letterkenny Institute of Technology)

2019

'Piloting a Family Law Self-Help Clinic' pecha kucha session (July: IJCLE/ENCLE Conference, Comenius University, Bratislava)

2018

'Recent cases expert psychiatric witnesses should know about’ (September: Seventeenth Annual Grange Conference for Mental Health Professionals, Mental Health Education and Training Network, Harrogate)

2017

'From pilot to module – developing clinical provision in partnership with a third sector organisation' (July: IJCLE-ENCLE-CLEO Conference, Northumbria University)

2016

'Graduate Employability - How can universities best meet student expectations?' (July: 13th Annual International Conference on Law, Athens Institute for Education and Research)

'Training for Tomorrow, TEF and Beyond - Threats and Opportunities for clinical legal education' (with Prof Julie Price) (June: Clinical Legal Education Organisation Conference, University of Central Lancashire)

'Curricular or Extracurricular - What Model of Clinical Legal Education Best Meets Students' Needs and How Can It Be Achieved?' (May: Annual Public and Private Justice Conference, Inter University Centre, Dubrovnik)

2015

Annual Legal Update 2015 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

'Getting it Right' - What the courts expect of expert witnesses (September: Fourteenth Medicolegal Conference for Psychiatrists, Andrew Sims Centre, Leeds and York NHS Foundation Trust, Ripley Castle, Harrogate)

'Running and sustaining a legal clinic' (with Prof Julie Price) (April: European Network for Clinical Legal Education, Northumbria University)

'Clinical Legal Education and the Third Sector: creating new opportunities' (March: Re-imagining Clinical Legal Education Conference, CEPLER - University of Birmingham)

2014

‘Clinics and the Third Sector’ - Opportunities for collaboration between Law Schools and Third Sector organisations (November: Clinical Legal Education Organisation’s Conference, Sheffield)

Annual Legal Update 2014 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

2013

Annual Legal Update 2013 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

2012

Annual Legal Update 2012 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

‘Going into the Courtroom’ - Giving expert evidence in family proceedings (October: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (Wales) Conference, Cardiff)

2011

‘Jones v Kaney’ - Implications for expert witnesses and the legal profession (November: Association of Forensic Odontologists Conference, York)

Annual Legal Update 2011 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

2010

Annual Legal Update 2010 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

2009

Annual Legal Update 2009 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)

2008

Annual Legal Update 2008 - A review of the policy, procedural and case law changes affecting experts working in the criminal, civil or family jurisdictions (November: Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, London)