Neera Bhatia

Year of Graduation: 2003

  • Course LLB & LLM
  • School University of Wolverhampton Law School
  • Nationality British/Australian
  • Career industry Education
  • Current job title Associate professor
  • Current Company Deakin University, School of Law, Melbourne, Australia

Studying at the University of Wolverhampton is your stepping stone to the world. It provided a great foundation for my career that eventually led me to the other side of the world!

This might be a sensitive topic with 'Brexit' in the UK at the moment, but I loved my EU law lectures! In fact, I recall receiving one of my best grades in the subject! I have lived in Australia for ten years now, so have lost touch with many of my friends from university, but I will always remember my LLM thesis supervisor, who was the inspiration for my love of health law. I went on to complete a PhD in this area and it is now my research focus, and I have written extensively in this area.
Both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law built the foundations for my career in legal academia. My study of the law was the beginning of my curiosity of the law and passion for legal research. I feel like I am always learning, and being in a university environment helps!
I love what I do! It doesn't feel like a job. I am fortunate enough to be able to teach Tort Law and Health Law (both subjects that I love!) in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I also get to research and write in topical areas of health law that I am interested in and are important to everyday people and are matters that are about life and death. These areas of research include end of life decision making for critically ill children, organ donation, voluntary assisted dying, and emerging health technologies. I also get to engage with the broader community, outside of the university environment in the media as an expert commentator on my areas of research, as well as sitting on a number of clinical ethics committees.
Working with the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in the UK in 2018.
Be openminded to any (and every) opportunity, even the ones that might take you out of your comfort zone - you never know where they might lead. Don't think of your time at university as merely the avenue to obtain a qualification - seek mentorship and advice as much as possible. Start thinking early about where you might want to want to go and what you might want to do after your time after your time at university. Saying that, don't narrow your mindset in thinking because you are studying law that your have to become a solicitor/barrister. There are vast number of professions and options to available to you.