Biography

Dennis graduated from Oxford University with 1st class honours, and the prize for top marks. For his master’s degree wrote a thesis on the duties of trustees, which became the basis of the Trustee Act 2000. His doctorate was a study of the effectiveness of employment legislation. He taught at London University, Oxford University Department of External Studies, Oxford Brookes, Hertfordshire and Exeter Universities. During the banking crisis he taught banking law at Brunel University.  

Dennis is interested in a wide range of subjects, including commercial law, contract, tort and legal history. He has a special interest in animal rights and in legal ethics. The Trustee Act 2000 was based on a series of articles written by him in the Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, and is especially relevant to the problem of regulating investment trusts. He argues that the banking sector is in need of radical reform and that banks should be trusts rather than the limited liability companies. Another special interest is Roman Law, the foundation of all the European civil law systems. From this he argues that the concept of fairness should be part of the law of contract, and that ethics should be a principle underlying the law. His heroes are Lord Denning and Thomas Jefferson.

Research Interests

• International commercial law, contract, tort and banking law, and in the question whether the trust is a more appropriate vehicle than the limited liability company as a vehicle for the banking sector.
• Animal rights.  
• Ethical, realist and critical legal studies aspects of jurisprudence.
• Legal history and Roman Law.
• The rule of law and its substantive content.

Publications

The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer four articles on the Duties of Trustees.  

A Sourcebook on Jurisprudence, Holborn Publications.  

Articles on Roman law in the Juridical Review and the Bracton Law Review.  

Articles on mistake in contract in the New Zealand Law Journal.  

Teaching

• Contract
• Tort Law
• Commercial Law