Suzanne grew up in Burnley, Lancashire, a manufacturing town in the north of England. She went on to study law at the University of Oxford.
Suzanne combines her role as Professor of Commercial Law and Practice Chair at Brunel with other academic roles including at the University of Oxford. Suzanne is a full-time practising barrister and mediator. She practices EU, competition and regulatory law as a barrister at Serle Court Chambers. She also serves as a non-executive Board member of the Legal Aid Agency which dispenses civil and criminal legal aid. In 2022 Suzanne was recognised by The Lawyer as one of the ‘Hot 100’ lawyers in the UK. She has also been nominated in the Inspirational Women in Law Awards, in the Barrister of the Year category.
The subjects Suzanne teaches coincide with her professional practice. She has advised the UK government on preparations for Brexit and been involved in drafting legislation under the EU Withdrawal Act. Suzanne advises some of the biggest international public institutions such as Ofgem (on net zero matters) and the Department of Health and Social Care on competition and subsidy issues relating to the public health crisis.
Suzanne has extensive research interests in international regulatory law. She is author of leading texts on Indian and Hong Kong competition law and has forthcoming publications in the areas of artificial intelligence, legal tech and the future of EU law in the UK.
Suzanne’s journey through the law is somewhat atypical. Her students tell her it has been inspirational to their own motivation in studying law, economics and business. She qualified as a solicitor in 1999. After 15 years practising as a solicitor, including as a partner and head of EU competition law in an international law firm, she was called to the Bar in 2013. She has also held the role as a director with the economics and forensics teams of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Students may be wondering whether their study of European Union law and regulation will be relevant to them in the future. In Suzanne’s view, now more than ever EU and international law will be of increasing relevance for those who intend to pursue a career in law or business in the UK and also further afield. Maintaining the level-playing field – which includes the rules on competition, regulation and subsidy control – is expected to be a key element in the years to come.
Suzanne has designed and leads Brunel’s Comparative Competition Law Summer School which, now in its fourth year, builds the nexus between the classroom study of law and realworld realities.