Craig is a dedicated and passionate academic with a 13-year career marked by a commitment to student experience, educational innovation, and world-leading pedagogic research. His journey began at the University of Exeter, where he earned his LLB degree. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, Craig pursued further academic studies at Lancaster University, earning an LLM by research, and then pursued a PhD at the University of Exeter. During this period, his research focused on the public image of the bar in the nineteenth century, contributing to the growing body of knowledge in the cultural histories of the legal profession and studies in legal culture.
In 2012, He was appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Exeter. Craig then held positions at the University of Plymouth as a lecturer and the University of Leeds as a lecturer and associate professor before returning to the University of Exeter in 2022. He was promoted to my personal chair at the University of Exeter in July 2024.
Throughout his academic career, Craig has consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence in education and scholarship, combined with effective and dynamic leadership. He is a co-convenor and founder of an international pedagogic research network on game-based learning in legal education - LEGEND. Craig’s work has always been characterised by the importance of student-centred pedagogies and cutting-edge scholarly activity, reflecting his dedication to advancing the boundaries of legal education. Some highlights of his academic journey include invited keynote presentations, numerous teaching awards, international recognition for his scholarship, and numerous successes in his leadership roles. These experiences have not only enriched Craig’s understanding of legal education but have also allowed him to collaborate with esteemed colleagues and experts across the world.
Craig is the author of The Successful Law Student: An Insider’s Guide to Studying Law, now in its 2nd edition and published by Oxford University Press. He has also published a recent edited collection with Edward Elgar — How to Apply Game‑Based Learning in Legal Education. Craig has also recently written several articles that have explored the relationship between law, justice, and popular culture, particularly examining the representation of the dystopia in science‑fiction texts. Finally, Craig is currently undertaking an ALT (Association of Law Teachers)‑funded project that is testing a custom‑designed TTRPG (Tabletop Roleplaying Game) for law students.
Craig is originally from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, in South Wales. He was the first in his family to go to university. He is a proud working‑class academic and has a passion and dedication to ensuring access to higher education for all. In his spare time, Craig is an avid gamer (both video games, board games, and tabletop games) and is a fan of football, rugby, and motorsport. He also enjoys walking, camping, and spending time with his family.
- Legal History
- Studies in Legal Culture
- Law in Popular Culture
- Jurisprudence of Popular Culture
- Legal Pedagogy
- Digital Education
- Public Legal Education
- Game-Based Learning
- PhD Law Exon
- PGCAP (Postgraduate Certificate of Academic Practice)
- LLM by Research
- LLB (Hons) Exon
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
- Co-founder and Co-Convenor of LEGEND – Legal Educational Games: Evaluation, Network, Dissemination
- Equity and Trusts
- Contract Law
Craig is currently working on an ALT (Association of Law Teachers)‑funded project that is testing a custom‑designed TTRPG (Tabletop Roleplaying Game) for law students. He is also writing a chapter that examines the history of legal education in Wales and argues for the decolonisation of legal education in Wales.
Craig is happy to receive applications for postgraduate study from student across the world that fit within his research interests.
- Montagu-Cairns, S., Newbery-Jones, CJ. & Warburton, J. ‘Clients and Courtrooms: Tabletop Role Playing Games and Designing the Litiverse for Contemporary Legal Education’ (Forthcoming).
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Virtual Law Firms and Virtual Boardrooms: Teamworking and Presentation Skills for a Mixed-Modal World’ in Ashton, J., Ni Drisceoil, V. and Wilson, J. How to Design and Embed Authentic Assessment in Law. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (Forthcoming).
- Montagu-Cairns, S., Newbery-Jones, CJ. & Yuratich, D. (eds.) How to Apply Game-Based Learning in Legal Education, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd (2026) - https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/how-to-apply-game-based-learning-in-legal-education-9781035349630.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqVF8LGHA3YWH-Uas_XyVfDOs7AOGr1EFLdPzODoLCRXhCG64kM.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Experimenting in Legal Dystopia: Conceptualising and Interrogating Socio-Legal and Jurisprudential Problems in Science Fiction Video Games’ in Green, A., Tranter, K., & Travis, M., Cultural Legal Studies of Science Fiction. Routledge, 2024 -https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003412267-10/experimenting-legal-dystopia-craig-john-newbery-jones.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘‘The Changes that Face Us’: Science Fiction as (Public) Legal Education’ (2022) 4(2) Law, Technology and Humans 137-https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.917537735638199.
- Bleasdale, L., Maharg, P. & Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Three authors in search of phenomenologies of learning & technology’ in Dunn, R., Maharg, P., & Roper, V., (eds) (Re-)reading the Present: Legal Education, Historical Change and the Future of Law Schools. Routledge, 2022. -https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003322092-8/three-authors-search-phenomenologies-learning-technology-lydia-bleasdale-paul-maharg-craig-newbery-jones.
- Moore, I. & Newbery-Jones, CJ. The Successful Law Student, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 2022. - https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-successful-law-student-an-insiders-guide-to-studying-law-9780198865650?cc=gb&lang=en&.
- The Immersive Healthcare Collaboration. The Role of Immersive Technology in Healthcare Training & Education: Three Principles for Progress, Centre for Immersive Technologies, Leeds, UK, 2021. https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/173091/.
- Firth, N. & Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Digital Assessment for the YouTube Generation: Reflective Practice in 21st Century Legal Education’ in Bone, A., Duncan, N. & Maharg, P 50 Years of Assessment in Legal Education, ANU Press, 2019. -https://phlconnect.ched.gov.ph/admin/uploads/add217938e07bb1fd8796e0315b88c10/Critical-Perspectives-on-the-Scholarship-of-Assessment-and-Learning-in-Law.pdf#page=75.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Judging the Judges: Judges as Moral Arbiters in the Popular Illustrated Press of the Nineteenth Century’ in Bautz, A, Gregory, JR, Grey, D, and Stevenson, K, (ed), Judgement in the Victorian Age, Routledge, 2018. - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203732021-8/judging-judges-craig-newbery-jones.
- Moore, I. & Newbery-Jones, CJ. The Successful Law Student, Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Lucas, G., Luke, M., Stevenson, K., & Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘ESRC Festival of Social Science 2017: #CHITCHAT’s ‘Creating Purpose’ Crime History Exhibition’ (2018) 10 Plymouth Law & Criminal Justice Review. 185.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Ethical Experiments with the D-Pad: Exploring the Potential of Video Games as a Phenomenological Tool for Experiential Legal Education’ (2016) 50(1) The Law Teacher 61. - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03069400.2016.1146465.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Screencasting Ethics and Values: Teaching Contemporary Legal Issues and Collective Legal Values Through Live Screencasting’ (2016) 50(2) The Law Teacher 242. - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03069400.2015.1064220.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Answering the Call of Duty: The Phenomenology of Justice in Twenty-First Century Video Games’ (2015) 9(1) Law and Humanities 78. - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17521483.2015.1042218.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Trying to Do the Right Thing: Experiential Learning, e-Learning and Employability Skills in Modern Legal Education’ (2015) 6(1) European Journal of Law and Technology 1. - https://ejlt.org/index.php/ejlt/article/view/389.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Legal Heroes and Practising Villains in the Nineteenth Century Press’ (2014) 6 Plymouth Law & Criminal Justice Review 58.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. ‘Review of Rowbotham, J. Stevenson, K. and Pegg, S. Crime News in Modern Britain: Press Reporting and Responsibility, 1820-2010 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)’ (Apr. 2014) 35(1) Journal of Legal History 90.
- Newbery-Jones, CJ. & Prince, S. ‘Preparing First Year Law Students for a Changing Legal World.’ HEA Social Science Seminar Series (June, 2013) - http://blogs.heacademy.ac.uk/social-sciences/2013/06/24/preparing-first-year-law-students-for-a-changing-legal-world/.
Craig has been quoted in a range of media outlets, including The Times. He is available to work with journalists across subjects connected to his research and wider scholarly expertise. Craig is also keen to collaborate with media production companies to develop projects that promote public engagement with crime and legal history, as well as broader forms of public legal education.
Craig’s external engagement demonstrates a sustained and internationally recognised contribution to public legal education, legal ethics, law and popular culture, and innovative pedagogy. He has delivered invited keynotes and papers at leading academic and professional forums, including the Public Law Project Access to Justice Conference, the Society of Legal Scholars Conference at the University of Oxford, the International Legal Ethics Conference at Fordham Law School, and the UK Games Expo at the NEC. Alongside this scholarly engagement, he has developed substantial community-facing initiatives, including co‑organising “Law on the Beach” outreach clinics with the University of Exeter Law School and curating major transmedia heritage exhibitions in partnership with organisations such as Bodmin Jail and the Devonport Guildhall.
Through his co‑leadership of the #CHITCHAT initiative and consultancy with CHEx, Craig has fostered collaborations between academia, industry, heritage institutions, and the public, developing innovative digital and immersive resources to make legal and crime history accessible beyond the academy. Collectively, his portfolio evidences a coherent, long‑standing commitment to widening participation, enhancing public understanding of law, and positioning legal education as a socially engaged and culturally embedded practice.
