Dr. Alex Williams

Dr Alex Williams is a practising barrister specialising in public law and human rights, with a particular focus on licensing, planning and social housing matters. He has been involved in litigation at all judicial levels.

Formerly Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Human Rights Centre at Durham University, Alex is a distinguished academic writer with internationally recognised expertise in public law and human rights, particularly on the intersection between public and private law, the meaning of 'public authority' and 'public functions', and the scope of ECHR and judicial review obligations. He has advised on these matters both as an academic and a barrister. He has also acted as a consultant to the Law Commission on its misconduct in public office project.

Alex has published in top-tier academic and practitioner journals such as the Law Quarterly Review, Modern Law Review, Public Law and Judicial Review, and lectured to expert audiences across the world. He is also co-author of Text, Cases and Materials on Public Law and Human Rights (4th edn, Routledge, 2016), which is core reading on many English undergraduate law courses.

Alex studied at Cambridge and Durham universities, receiving a number of awards for academic and mooting achievement during his time as a student. In addition to his tenured academic post at Durham University, he has also held visiting fellowships at Cambridge University, University College London and UNSW, Sydney.