Skip navigation

Dr David Sixsmith

Assistant Professor

Department: Northumbria Law School

I am an Assistant Professor in Law at Northumbria University, where I also studied for both my undergraduate and LL.M. degrees. I qualified as a solicitor at Evans and Co Solicitors in County Durham in 2011, subsequently becoming a partner in the practice. I moved into academia in 2016, joining the University of Sunderland where I was senior lecturer in law and Legal Practice Course programme leader, before moving to Northumbria in February 2023. My teaching specialisms include Wills and Administration of Estates, Trusts, and Dispute Resolution.

My research interests and publications are primarily in the area of civil dispute resolution, civil justice reform and online dispute resolution, and I was awarded my PhD, which put forward recommendations to enhance the proposed online dispute resolution model for low value civil claims in England and Wales, in February 2023. I am currently working on an edited collection concerning the role and function of mediation within the modern civil justice system with colleagues at the University of Leicester, to which I am also contributing a chapter.

My research interests also encompass legal education, particularly solicitor legal training and the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). I am currently working in collaboration with colleagues on a project assessing the impact of the SQE on undergraduate law provision. I am also the joint series editor of a series of revision guides designed to assist candidates with revising for their SQE1 assessments, Revise SQE. I authored the revision guide on Dispute Resolution from that series.

David Sixsmith

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • The COVID-19 Response as a Mediation Blueprint for the Future? Mediators’ Perspectives on the Shift to Remote Mediation in Civil Disputes, Sixsmith, D. 15 Apr 2023, In: Mediation, Theory and Practice
  • To what extent, if at all, has the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) changed the purpose, aim and delivery of undergraduate legal education in universities in England and Wales", Dunn, R., Roper, V., Sixsmith, D. 17 Apr 2023, Association of law teachers annual conference 2023
  • Mediating online: the future or merely a sticking plaster?, Sixsmith, D. Oct 2022, In: Journal of Personal Injury Law
  • Falling at the First Hurdle? A Critical Analysis of HMCTS’s Implementation of Stage 1 of the Online Court, Sixsmith, D. 16 Nov 2021, In: Journal of Law, Technology and Trust

  • Law PhD February 01 2023
  • Law LLM July 31 2016
  • Law LLB (Hons) July 31 2009
  • Member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority 2011

Our Staff


a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

CCE1
Pictured is Northumbria University’s Ahmed Elmarakbi, a Professor of Automotive Composites
Front row, L-R: Professor Matthew Johnson from Northumbria University and Piotr Mahey from ACCESS: Policy are pictured with members of the ACCESS: Policy team (left) and Northumbria University students (right) selected to be part of the first ACCESS: Climate and Environment programme.
How music heals us, even when it’s sad – by a neuroscientist leading a new study of musical therapy
an image showing a pile of books with one open on top
Generic phone with social media apps.
More news
More events

Upcoming events

Northumbria University Carol Service
North East Solicitor Apprenticeship: Information Event
Professor Helena Farrand Carrapico Inaugural
Viruses of Microbes-UK (VoM-UK) Conference 2024
-

Back to top