People & Partners

Gary Slapper

Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Law

Professor Slapper is Head of the Centre for Law at The Open University. He is a Door Tenant at 36 Bedford Row, the Chambers of Frances Oldham QC. He was educated at University College, London, where he read Law as an undergraduate and for a Masters degree. He studied for his doctorate at the London School of Economics. He has been writing legal articles for The Times since 1992, and has been writing a legal column for the paper since 2001. He is a member of the Society of Legal Scholars.

Gary has written and co-written many law books, and has published a wide range of academic journal papers. His particular research into corporate crime has been pioneering. In a forward to his book Blood in the Bank, the philosopher and writer Noam Chomsky describes the work as 'pathbreaking'.

Another book Corporate Crime, written with Professor Tombs, has generated debate about the nature of regulation in the corporate world. Another area of interest is in the role of companies and organisations as victims, as opposed to culprits, and his book Organisational Prosecutions, generated much professional interest. His book, written with Dr David Kelly, The English Legal System, has influenced legal education and is now in its 9th edition.

The encyclopaedic work English Law, written with Dr Kelly, was the first work of its kind in the UK to use a companion internet site to keep its readers informed of any changes to the law that occurred after publication of the book. This critical volume covers all major areas of English Law and the third edition was published in 2009.

Professor Slapper is a co-founder and editor of The Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education. Part of his dedicated mission from the Chair of Law at The Open University is to inspire wider public interest in legal scholarship, and to enhance social access to the law. He is a legal consultant to BBC drama productions and for documentary series. In 2008 he was the legal consultant to Channel Four's series on the history of English Law, and to the BBC2 series The Barristers. His book How the Law Works is a friendly guide to the law.

Read more about Gary's research.

Contact Gary Slapper