Julius Grower, Associate Professor of Law, University of Oxford

Julius Grower completed his PhD, From Disability to Duty: From Constructive Fraud to Equitable Wrongs, in 2021. Julius then moved to the University of Cambridge and was a Fellow of Jesus College for four years. He subsequently returned to the University of Oxford – where he’d completed his undergraduate degree – as Associate Professor of Law, and Ann Smart Fellow in Law at St Hugh’s College.

What motivated you to pursue a PhD at UCL Laws?

I first came to UCL in 2012 to do an LLM and had a fantastic time. I returned as a Teaching Fellow in 2014 and had been tutoring a range of subjects for two years, again really enjoying myself. At some point Charles Mitchell said that if I really was keen on staying in academia from a while I should apply to do a PhD, and there was no place I would rather have been than Bentham House. It was a natural choice!

What was your PhD topic, and what inspired your research in this area?

My doctorate sought to explain various modern and practically significant puzzles in fiduciary law and undue influence by tracing their development from the moment they each emerged as distinct legal doctrines to the present day. It turns out that the way judges conceived of those two areas of law to work has changed over time, and that such changes were the cause of much modern confusion. My task was to straighten out some of the confusion by filling in the gaps in the historical/developmental record! What made me choose equity? Charles again, really. He was an inspiring teacher and dissertation supervisor on the LLM, who introduced me to various intriguing ideas which I would later explore in depth in my thesis. I still recall scribbling the words: ‘Mahoney v Purnell = equitable disability’ on the top of a seminar sheet, and that was the first seed…

Who were your supervisors, and what was the experience of working with them like?

Charles Mitchell (surprise!) and Ben McFarlane. Ben, who also taught me as a Masters student, is now a colleague at Oxford, and I am delighted to have kept in close touch with both of them since I finished my doctoral studies. Ben and Charles are different types of scholar, but both take an uncompromising and rigorous approach to law and its academic study. I couldn’t have wished for better role models. They are also both kind men, with deep wells of patience! Across the years, they have inspired me to try to be better, to emulate them, and to enjoy the process of digging deep into the law.

How would you describe the experience of undertaking a PhD?

I can’t say I had many expectations at all. Nobody else I knew had a doctorate (and certainly not one in law)! It was challenging at times, and frustrating at times. But nothing good was ever produced without a bit of effort. I had to learn new skills, and new ways of thinking and expressing myself. I had to spend a long time in libraries reading and thinking. I had to write and rewrite my work. But I developed my resilience, my patience, and deepened by interest in my subject. I am (I think) so obviously not the same scholar who went into the process, and I am very grateful for that.

How would you describe the research community and research culture at UCL Laws?

Very supportive. I loved attending all the lunchtime research seminars, and the special ‘New Work in…’ events which the private lawyers at the Faculty organised. It felt very active, new ideas and new people were always being brought in. I would also praise the fact that so many of the academics were so engaged with the research students. It didn’t feel like ‘us’ and ‘them’, it felt like one community, where everyone had an interest in everyone else’s work. I remember Ian Williams (now also at Oxford) spending much time reading my work and talking to me about it. Niamh Connolly was also amazing too. She asked the most brilliant questions to help you see through problems you brought to her. It felt like you had so many friends pulling on the same chain as you.

Can you share a memorable moment or experience from your time at UCL Laws that has had a lasting impact on you?

Writing A History of the UCL Faculty of Laws! I was commissioned to do it by Dame Hazel Genn, and I said yes, provided I didn’t have to go sit in any more archives or libraries. She agreed that I could do most of it by talking to people (including those who had attended UCL in the 1940s!). I won’t say too much more because it’s all there in the book, but it allowed me to meet some wonderful former staff and students, hear hundreds of funny and moving stories about the place, and really fall in love with the institution. I had planned to use the money I was paid to go to Sri Lanka to watch England play cricket. But then I got a job at Cambridge, and never did. I think I spent the cash on my first car, a rusty old Honda Jazz! (By the way, England won the series 3-0… I was gutted to have missed it!)

How has your career path evolved since finishing your PhD? How did the PhD/UCL Laws prepare you for this?

I left London after two years of doing the doctorate full time and moved to Cambridge. I was a Fellow of Jesus College. My research work slowed, naturally, but it didn’t stop, and I used the Covid lockdowns as an excuse to stay at home and finish the job. I came back occasionally to see Ben and Charles and continue to gain the benefit of their wisdom, and then started sending them other papers I had written which became other (stand-alone) published works. Put simply, I don’t think I would have got the Cambridge job without the learning and development which the two years of the doctorate gave me. Nor would anything else have followed thereafter without it. It was essential!

You are the Ann Smart Fellow in Law at St Hugh’s College, Oxford and an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford. Can you tell us a bit about what these roles entail?

I left Cambridge after four happy years in 2022 to come ‘home’ to Oxford where I did my undergraduate degree. I am an Associate Professor at the Law Faculty here now, giving lectures and seminars to undergraduate and postgraduate students in trusts, contract, commercial law, and succession law. I am also a Tutor at one of the colleges. This means I give tutorials in various subjects, and help coordinate the teaching of its law students more generally. Each college is its own charity, too, so part of my time is spend doing administrative work in relation to its governance. I don’t think this is much different to any other full time academic role, save that I have two employers rather than one! (HMRC *love* that…).

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far, or had the biggest impact on you?

The highlight? Oooh, a few things spring to mind. I gave a lecture to a room full of judges (including Supreme Court judges) while in Cambridge which was as thrilling as it was terrifying. It went well, and they were all very complementary afterwards, but I had sleepless nights in the run up to it. I was also involved a little bit with one of the parties to this summer’s big multi-billion pound car finance litigation in the Supreme Court, and all the fun and games around that process will live long in the memory.

The biggest impact, though, is the people. You don’t just meet some clever people doing this job (and/or studying law), but many of them are wonderful too. I’ve mentioned some of the UCL people already, and there are so many at Cambridge I could mention too: Nick, Janet, Martin, Louise… these people are not just inspirational scholars but have become real friends too.

I need to talk about Ben and Charles again, though. When I turned up at UCL I think I was a nervous, (certainly) geeky, and (probably) awkward guy, filled with ideas about the law, but with little confidence in expressing them. Ben and Charles were the first two academics I had come across who took me and my interests and my ideas seriously, and took the time to talk with me about them and work through them with me. That was priceless, it changed the course of my life, and is something I cannot thank them enough for. They are both remarkable scholars and great men.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of pursuing a PhD at UCL Laws?

Do it. Do some investigations, talk to people, circulate your ideas, and do it!

What advice would you give to current PhD researchers at UCL Laws?

Trust the passion and interest that brought you into your doctoral studies. It will sustain you when things get hard. And enjoy the ride. It can be great fun.

Is there anything else you would like to add or mention?

There were a huge number of support staff at the Faculty who were invariably friendly, helpful, and supportive. Cat and Lisa were magnificent. I still miss our trips to Chillicool. So was Henry. And many others!