My research focuses on the impact of new technologies such as AI and blockchain on private and commercial law, and the regulation of new technologies from comparative and international perspectives. I have spent most of my academic career in the UK and Hong Kong, and have held senior positions at top universities including a Chair in Commercial Law at the University of Exeter and the first-ever Fellowship in Chinese Law at the University of Oxford. In 2019, I founded and led Oxford Law Faculty’s inaugural lawtech research and innovation lab.
I am a member of the LawtechUK Panel and a senior independent expert advising the UK Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary on new and emerging technologies, data governance, and open justice. I have previously served on the UK Government’s expert body on responsible AI and data innovation and on international taskforces and panels on digital law and governance topics, including the G7 and World Economic Forum Taskforce on Governance for a Digitalised Society, the World Bank Group Taskforce on Technology and Access to Justice, and UNIDROIT Working Group on Private Law and Digital Assets.
I am a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford Martin School. I have held honorary and visiting appointments at Columbia University (New York), University of Zurich, Peking University School of Transnational Law, China University of Political Science and Law, University of Sydney and Newcastle University, Australia.
I have been called to the Bar in England and Wales and admitted as a Solicitor in New South Wales.