Richard W Whitecross is Professor and Head of Law at Edinburgh Napier University. A former commercial and environmental lawyer, he taught at the University of Edinburgh. Between 2007 and 2012, he led on access to justice, equalities and civil justice research in the Justice Analytical Services, Scottish Government.
Access to justice and the central importance of equality underpin his ethos, while his research on access to legal need and justice informs his collaborations with students. Richard has created and leads on a range of innovative learning and teaching experiences, and he is recognised for his collaborative approach to legal education within and outside the university.
In 2015, he collaborated with undergraduate law students to establish the first law clinic at Edinburgh Napier. Richard designed and facilitated extracurricular training to support law students develop their client-centred skills, notably in relation to mediation and trauma-informed practice, reflecting the integration of his academic research with professional skills that support his students’ professional development. Richard led on the development of the Legal City Challenge (shortlisted for THE Award 2020) that engaged with the Scottish legal profession, Scottish Government, Law Society of Scotland, and the Crown Office to provide Edinburgh Napier law students with an opportunity to access legal internships.
Richard established a professional practice committee with representatives from across the Scottish justice sector. Richard led the embedding of a new law and technology module in the law programme, developed in collaboration with law firms and law technology entrepreneurs to ensure students understand the role of technology in legal practice.
Based on his research with Scottish law firms on graduate skills, Richard designed and introduced accredited modules to enhance commercial awareness, student interpersonal confidence, and a deeper understanding of legal professional practice. Richard’s core focus is on engaging and supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds, including from Traveller communities, as well as from other minorities in Scotland to study law and join the legal profession. Building on his collaborative work with students from students of colour, he actively promotes the study of law to students from diverse minority backgrounds. In 2019, he won the Edinburgh Napier Inclusion Award.
