Robin teaches property and obligations. He is always pleased to hear from prospective research students, and welcomes enquiries about projects relating to these fields.

Robin re-joined the School of Law at Queen's in 2013, having previously been a Senior Lecturer at Durham Law School and a lecturer in law at Queen's. He was appointed Professor of Law in 2018. He is currently Dean of Education in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and was formerly Head of the School of Law.

Robin’s research focuses on property, particularly on foundational concepts of property like “ownership” and “possession”, and how these interact with civil and criminal rules protecting property. His work on these themes has been published in major journals and collections, whether as a sole author or having collaborated successfully with co-authors from leading universities (eg Melbourne, Cambridge, Oxford)

Robin has special expertise in the law relating to lost and found things. His first book, Property and the Law of Finders (Hart Publishing, 2010) is the first full-length account of the legal position of finders, and was one of two books shortlisted for the Inner Temple Book Prize 2011 (New Authors' Category). The Inner Temple Book Prize is a triennial prize which “rewards outstanding contributions to legal scholarship and our understanding of the law".

Robin's work also seeks to apply insights from property law to contemporary global challenges. He has contributed to academic debate and impact on modern slavery, the reconstruction of cultural heritage in the aftermath of genocide, and access to housing in Northern Ireland. He is currently working on a range of projects concerned with property law and the problem of food waste.

Robin is a past-President (2020-21) of the major international scholarly subject society for property, the Association for Law, Property & Society (ALPS), and served on its Board from 2014–2022. In 2019 he was elected an Honorary Academic Member of the Property Bar Association.

Finders law, ownership, property, obligations, modern slavery, food waste

Finalist, Inner Temple Book Prize 2011 (New Authors' Category)

Robin is a former Casenotes editor of the Conveyancer. He also has general interests in legal theory and history. He has served on the editorial board of the journal Jurisprudence (Hart Publishing), and is a member of the Council and Publications Committee of the Irish Legal History Society.