Our next Warwick Law School Staff Spotlight interview features Dr Jeremmy Okonjo, Assistant Professor and Careers Officer.

Can you provide a brief overview of your academic background and professional experience in the field of law?

I completed my undergraduate degree (2004-2008) at the University of Nairobi (UoN, Kenya), and immediately joined the Kenya School of Law to get my legal practice qualifications, and was admitted to the Roll of Advocates in 2011. In 2010, I joined the LLM program at UoN, specialising in Law, Governance and Democracy, as I was by then engaged in constitutional and election law litigation practice. The 2008 global financial crisis piqued my interest in international finance, and in 2013 I enrolled at University College London (UCL) to undertake an LLM in International Financial Law and Regulation, to change my career trajectory. I enjoyed the program so much that in 2014 I decided to immediately enrol in a PhD research program at the University of Kent in Canterbury (2014-2018), to deepen my knowledge of the political economy of international finance. Having received a full scholarship and a studentship, I also started teaching law at Kent. In 2019, I joined Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) as a post-doctoral researcher, examining the impact of digitalisation on international trade and financial regulation. At the end of my post-doc in 2021, I joined the University of Warwick as an Assistant Professor of Law.

How long have you been in your role at Warwick Law School and what motivated you to pursue a career in academia?

I have been at Warwick Law School as a member of the faculty since September 2021. However, I was an Honorary/Visiting Research Fellow since 2018, after completing my PhD programme. I made efforts to join Warwick as it was another home of socio-legal and critical approaches to legal scholarship, having started the journey at Kent.

I was motivated to join academia during my undergraduate studies, as I worked part-time as a research associate for one of my law lecturers, who mentored me into the world of academia. I was inspired by how a career in academia empowers one to contribute to, and participate in international and national policy, legal and regulatory reforms, which require conceptual thinking.

Could you describe your primary areas of research interest and expertise within the field of law? What inspired you to focus on these areas?

My current areas of research interest and expertise are International Economic Law, International Commercial Law, and their intersection with the digital economy. Having previously specialised in Constitutional and Administrative Law, the turning point was the global financial crisis that vividly demonstrated the interconnectedness of our national economies and the need for international cooperation in addressing domestic economic dislocations caused by events happening across the world.

Are you currently working on any research projects or publications? Could you provide some insight into the topics and objectives of these projects?

I am currently working on a Warwick Policy Support Fund(ed) project titled “Innovation Law and Policy for Sustainable Development in Kenya”. The project explores Kenya’s innovation law and policy framework and proposes reforms that place Kenya’s Innovation Ecosystem towards contributing to sustainable development goals. It also entails providing policy support to the Kenya National Innovation Agency, as a public body.

I am also involved in a multi-stakeholder research project under the auspices of the Climate Finance for Equitable Transition (CLiFT). The research examines the Just Economic Transition Partnership (JETP) framework (a novel climate finance platform that aims to provide financial support to developing countries to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy while addressing social and economic transition risks) and its intersections with developing countries’ international economic law commitments.

What does ‘law in context’ mean to you?

‘Law in context’ is an approach to legal scholarship that explains the law’s rationales, operations and impact by examining the specific cultural, political, economic and social contexts of the law’s origination, legitimation, and impact on specific communities. It emphasises that legal norms and doctrines are not universal but rather contextually situated.

Are there interdisciplinary connections in your work that students may find interesting or valuable?

My approach to legal scholarship is interdisciplinary, to the extent that I understand the law as a product or expression of, and a contributor to, other domains of knowledge and practice, including economics, sociology and technology.

Law constitutes and is constituted by these domains. I therefore borrow insights from economic sociology, science and technology studies, etc., in my approach to international economic law, international commercial law, and their intersections with the digital economy.

How can students reach out to you for academic advice or support outside of regular classes?

Students can email me and we can set up an office hour meeting either online or in-person.

Are there any university committees or initiatives that you are involved in that students should be aware of?

I am the Careers Officer at the Law School, working alongside Sam Brown, the Careers consultant at the Law School. We create and co-run careers events together with faculty members and student societies, aimed at exposing students to the careers opportunities available.

Are there any emerging legal issues or trends that you find particularly fascinating, and do you incorporate these into your teaching or research?

The most fascinating legal issues I am currently exploring in my teaching and research is the emergence of the digital economy, and how it is shaping and is being shaped by law and governance frameworks.

How do you stay updated on developments in the legal field?

I use X (formerly Twitter) to stay updated on developments in the legal field, by following academic colleagues, public intellectuals and knowledge creating institutions.

Do you feel that the area of law you specialise in is widely recognised? Do you consider it a niche?

International Economic Law and International Commercial Law are widely-recognised. Perhaps what might be niche is the particular conceptual or theoretical lens (e.g. interdisciplinarity) that one may adopt in this field.

Thank you for completing our interview, Jeremmy!