Nichola is a Senior Lecturer in Law in the School of Business & Law. Nichola's research interests fall within three broad areas: legal education, private international law, and criminal law.

Before pursuing a career in academia, Nichola was a practising barrister in England and Wales and from this experience, she developed a passion for developing and enhancing law students' legal skills, and in particular legal research and writing, in authentic and innovative learning environments.  Her textbook, Effective Legal Writing: A Practical Guide (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2nd ed, 2016, co-authored with Brendan Grigg), is an example of this.  It is purposely designed to facilitate students' transition to studying law by focusing on explicit teaching practices combined with student-focused, authentic learning activities and examples.  Nichola's work in legal education has also involved leading a range of curriculum projects.  She has presented papers at conferences and symposiums on topics such as utilising machinima to foster engagement in first year law students, embedding explicit teaching practices in statutory interpretation across the law degree, and first year transition pedagogy for law students.  Her current research project involves analysis of law students' understanding and ability to respond to written feedback.

Nichola's research is also focused on criminal law and procedure.  She has previously presented papers on a range of criminal law topics, including gross negligent manslaughter, and the regulation of new and emerging drugs. 

As a barrister, Nichola's practice was primarily focused on civil and commercial matters.  Her research in commercial matters is predominantly focused on issues arising in private international law.  Her PhD thesis was titled: 'Is a global regime regulating the exercise of jurisdiction in civil and commercial cases a feasible reality or a utopian dream?  A comparative perspective'.  This involved a comparative analysis of the policies and theoretical bases underpinning the jurisdictional rules of the United States of America (limited by 'due process' requirements), the Brussels Regulation II, and the traditional rules of England and Wales.  Due to technological advancement, a more mobile society, and connection via the internet 24 hours a day, the legal and practical issues in this area are arising more frequently.  The need to have a consistent approach across the globe has drastically increased but the political and legislative response to tackling these contemporary issues has been slow.  Nichola is particularly interested in the law's ability to determine and mediate disputes that have arisen in an online context or can be resolved through online mediation.