Dr Smita Kheria

Dr Kheria, a senior lecturer in intellectual property law at Edinburgh Law School, is the first woman of colour to hold the position since the association was established in 1990.

She was elected to succeed Professor John Harrington of Cardiff University during the SLSA’s annual conference at the University of Liverpool’s School of Law and Justice earlier this month.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr Kheria said: “I am deeply honoured and privileged to have been elected to this role, and I sincerely appreciate the trust the members of the association have placed in me to assume this responsibility.

“The SLSA’s annual postgraduate conference was my introduction to socio-legal studies and the association has been my academic home since the days of my doctoral research.

“At the time, my subject of expertise, intellectual property law, had a negligible amount of socio-legal scholarship and limited research in a social context.

“The association’s supportive and inspiring conferences benefited me enormously, providing a forum to meet peers with similar interests in law’s interaction with society, which in turn shaped my work in developing and promoting socio-legal studies within intellectual property law.”

Dr Kheria has previously served on the SLSA board of trustees in varied roles such as the international liaison officer and the Scottish representative, and since 2023 as the vice-chair.

She hosted the association’s annual postgraduate conference at Edinburgh Law School in January 2020, and has for a number of years co-convened the intellectual property stream at the SLSA annual conference.

Formed in 1990, and registered as a charity in 2019, the SLSA aims to advance education and learning in the field of socio legal studies and to promote socio-legal research.