Law

Mansfield has three Law tutors: Prof Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Prof Andrew Higgins and Elizabeth Drummond. In addition, since 2018 the Principal of Mansfield College has been Helen Mountfield KC - an experienced and award-winning barrister with over 25 years of expertise in constitutional law, human rights and equality law, including particular experience of the higher education sector.

Mansfield is one of the smallest Oxford colleges, but there are usually seven or eight Law/Law with Law Studies in Europe students in each year.  There is a dedicated College law library, and Mansfield is also very conveniently located only a few minutes away from the Law Faculty and the city centre.

Law students at Mansfield are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, both from the UK and overseas. There is no preference for any particular A level (or equivalent) subjects. We consider any candidate who demonstrates the ability to organise information quickly and efficiently and present a well-constructed argument. No prior knowledge of the law is required.

Prof Eleftheriadis specialises in public law, European Union law and jurisprudence. He has published widely in both areas and was a Visiting Professor in European Union Law at Columbia Law School in 2001. Before coming to Oxford he taught at the London School of Economics. His book Legal Rights was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press.  He is also a barrister and practices in public and European law from chambers in the Temple. 

Prof Higgins is the Associate Professor in Civil Procedure at the Law Faculty and a Fellow in Law of Mansfield College. He has taught civil procedure on Oxford’s BCL/MJUR course since 2008 and has taught contract and tort for University College and New College respectively.   Prof Higgins worked as a solicitor at the Australian law firm Slater & Gordon until 2007, and has been a practising barrister at the Victorian Bar since 2011. His main area of practice is mass tort litigation and has worked on asbestos, thalidomide and tobacco litigation amongst others.  Prof Higgins' main research interests are civil procedure, tort and causation.

Elizabeth Drummond qualified as a solicitor and practised for three years before moving to the Law Commission as a team lawyer in the Property, Family and Trust Law team. At the Law Commission, Elizabeth worked on the review of the law of intestacy and family provision claims on death, leading to the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014. She was also involved with the projects leading to the enactment of the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 2009 and the Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013, and other issues of trust, land and charity law reform.