In June 2022, Dr Gloria Alvarez, Senior Lecturer and leader of a number of international arbitration and dispute resolution courses, sat down for a coffee and a chat with us about her research and teaching.
Q: What drew you to the discipline of law?
GA: I always wanted to work in an international sphere and to be able to travel. Although I originally wanted to be a journalist, coming from a family of lawyers has predetermined my path. I found that studying law allows you to network, to study, to understand and learn from legal cultures and other ways of thinking.
Q: How did you become interested in your area of research?
GA: I was lucky to have a special course on Dispute Resolution in the last year of my undergraduate law degree in Mexico. I volunteered in a moot competition and became fascinated about ways to resolve disputes outside of the court – in a flexible setting with a more commercial mindset where all parties are keen to finding a solution to a business problem.
Q: Who do you admire in legal research?
GA: I really admire legal theorists – I find that legal theory gives us meaning as lawyers, helps us to add an additional lens to our analysis. I still think about Kelsen even when I think about modern legal problems. When I got stuck during my PhD, some ideas form Joseph Raz helped me find answers to some of my struggles.
Q: Would you share some insights into your current research and what makes it so important?
GA: As we continue living and growing in a very globalised life; dispute resolution comes to offer a forward-looking, flexible, and commercially-minded way of resolving disputes. This is now more important than ever, we can’t move on in the world if we are stuck in problems; and arbitration, mediation, negotiation, offer solutions!
Q: What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?
GA: I really enjoy communicating and networking, linking academia and practice. I integrate my own work and discussions with practitioners into my research and my teaching.
Q: What achievement are you most proud of?
GA: I am still waiting for that one achievement! Even more than my career progression, I think I am most proud of getting my first academic job. It was a very gratifying experience as it gave validation to all the years of studies that I had done previously.
Q: What do you love doing in your spare time?
GA: I do not have a lot of spare time! I like to spend it with my family.
Q: What 3 things would we be surprised to learn about you?
GA: First, that I am a mother of twins which is a big challenge when pursuing a full-time career. Second, you might not expect it from an academic, but I am interested in research mainly as a way to impact legal practice. Third, I am very passionate about social justice in the context of international arbitration. It is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of business and money, but I am interested in what the social benefits of arbitration are.
