David Thomas

Law, Society and Justice Research Group

I qualified as a solicitor in 1986 and specialised latterly in legal aid cases in housing, together with related public and human rights law. I ceased to practice in 2013, moving into higher education and studying for a PhD at the School of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London.

The PhD remains a work in progress. It concerns a story about the origin of human rights, focussed on the Seventeenth Century, Thomas Hobbes and Gerrard Winstanley the Digger, told with the assistance of Michel Foucault and Jacques Rancière.

I have taught Land Law at the University of London Worldwide and since January 2025 have been teaching and researching at the University of Brighton. My other research interests are around housing and homelessness.

I also train community volunteers and advice workers in housing law for Advicenow (the Foundation for Public Legal Education).