University Lecturer in Law | Expertise in all core legal areas | Tuition offered for any legal area| Degree | A-Level | GCSE

Find out more about Mason

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  After completing an LLB and the BPTC, I turned my hand to teaching. I realised that I enjoyed it more than legal practice and so decided to pursue it full-time.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I enjoy teaching all areas of law at any level. The variety of different areas, applied to different situations, is what keeps things interesting. My teaching includes practical legal subjects (such as mooting, debating and advocacy), preparation for entrance exams (such as the LNAT and BCAT) and essay writing. I am particularly adept in showing students how to simply break down an essay question and find the best approach in constructing answers to it.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  The most inspiring teachers were those who made the subject interesting. I was fortunate to have had many of these and I, likewise, endeavour to teach in an engaging way (I'll let my reviews speak to whether I achieve this).

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  In addition to the obvious qualities (i.e. competence, reliability, good preparation, etc.), the simple answer is that a good tutor guides their student to achieving the student's goal, both effectively and efficiently.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  The physicist, Richard Feynman, once noted how he would count in his head (without looking at a clock) and try to accurately tell when a minute was up. He was able to read while doing this (much to the surprise of his friend). The friend was not able to read while counting, but was able to talk out loud about a subject while counting (much to the surprise of Feynman). It was revealed that Feynman's approach was to count out the seconds with an internal voice in his head (and so could not talk aloud whilst doing this). The friend's approach was to picture the image of a second-hand ticking (and so was not able to see the words on the page to read). The conclusion was that, even with something as elementary as counting, approaches can wildly differ.
  
  The moral of this anecdote is that teaching must account for these different approaches of thought. As such, my method is to try to ascertain what your approach is, so as to best translate concepts into your way of thinking.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  University legal subjects often fail to neatly match with legal practice. For example, there are no 'tort law' departments in solicitors' firms. This means that the study of law is, to this extent, impractical. I therefore encourage my students to take a holistic approach to legal problems and show them how academic concepts would apply in practice.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I enjoy reaching the 'click' moment (i.e. when a student understands a concept or issue for the first time). I pride myself on being able to explain complex concepts simply, resulting in this 'click' occurring. Some tutors take a long time to get you to the 'click'; I can get you there in the first lesson.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I am incredibly adaptable in what I teach and how I teach it and I will go over and above to ensure that you reach your goal.
  I look forward to the prospect of tutoring you - just send me a message and we can arrange a time to discuss your goal and the best way of achieving it.