Dr Rachel Allsopp

Dr Rachel Allsopp is an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University Law School. Her research interrogates the intersection of data-driven decision making, regulation and policy from a socio-legal perspective, with a particular interest in gambling regulation.

She holds a PhD in Law from Northumbria University, where her thesis, Big Data in the Production of Safe Gamblers and a Sustainable Gambling Industry: A Genealogy of Gambling Regulation in Great Britain, employed a Foucauldian lens to examine the historical evolution of gambling regulation and interrogate its entanglement with data-driven governance.

Rachel has a practitioner background having been previously employed in the legal department of a Newcastle-based gambling software company and she uses this experience to bring unique insights to her research, as well as her teaching practice. In her research, Rachel seeks to bridge academic research and industry, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex societal issues in a way which is informed by real-world practices. She has actively participated in academic conferences, interdisciplinary research projects (including the AHRC-funded OMDDAC project which examined data-driven Covid-19 responses), and policy discussions on the ethical implications of data-driven governance.

Her research interests also encompass legal history, genealogy, and the application of critical theory, drawing especially upon Michel Foucault’s insights into power and knowledge.

Rachel teaches on a number of core modules within the Law School, including: Land Law, Property Law and Practice, and Key Skills for Employability, and is module leader of Placements. In her teaching practice, she is passionate about widening participation, championing accessibility and inclusivity in legal education.