Personal profile
Biography
Ana graduated from the University of Birmingham with a first class BA (Hons) in Sociology and Cultural Studies in 2009. Ana completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law (London, Bloomsbury) and the Legal Practice Course at Northumbria University, achieving distinctions in both.
Prior to commencing her training contract, Ana worked as a financial analyst for the national commercial law firm, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP. Ana completed the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and advised clients about investment and retirement planning and family protection.
Ana was admitted to the roll of solicitors in September 2016. During her training contract, Ana was seconded to the International Family Law department of the regional legal aid practice, Ben Hoare Bell LLP. Ana has experience of all areas of family law however she continues to have a particular interest in cases with an international or cross-border element. Ana's primary role is supervising clinical students in the Student Law Office, where they advise and represent members of the public on a range of family law matters. Ana supervises students in the Policy/Law Reform Clinic where they conduct research with the view to influencing law reform or policy change. Ana is also the co-module tutor of the International Family Law module. The impact of Ana's work in meeting unmet legal need in vulnerable communities was recognised at the Law Works and Attorney General Student and Pro Bono Awards 2018, where a project she co-convened was awarded the ‘Best Pro Bono Activity’ at the House of Commons.
In 2022 Ana was awarded a PhD by publication. Her research focusses on developing civil law responses to domestic abuse. Her work explores barriers to seeking and securing protection, the impact of major reforms which have taken place in the family justice system (including the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021) and societal changes, such as Covid-19 and the UK’s departure from the European Union. More recently, Ana's research has focussed on the protection afforded to victims of domestic abuse as they cross state borders. She co-edited the leading Research Handbook on Domestic Violence and Abuse, which was published in September 2024. In 2020, Ana was part of a team who secured Modern Law Review funding to host a conference entitled ‘Gender-based violence: approaches to education, engagement and elimination’, which brought together academics and practitioners from England, Canada and Bangladesh.
Ana is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. She is a visiting lecturer at the Euro University of Bahrain.
Ana has won/been shortlisted for a number of prizes including being a finalist for Trainee Solicitor of the Year at the Northern Law Awards 2016. Ana was awarded the Winn Solicitors Prize (2012) for the best LPC performance in civil litigation and the David Gray Solicitors Prize (2012) for the best LPC performance in private client law.
Education/Academic qualification
Law, PhD, Seeking and securing protection from domestic abuse through the family courts: an examination into the accessibility of non-molestation orders and occupation orders under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders under Part Three of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, Northumbria University
1 Jan 2018 → 10 Feb 2022
Award Date: 10 Feb 2022
Law, Graduate Certificate, Legal Practice Course, Northumbria University
1 Sept 2011 → 1 Jul 2012
Award Date: 1 Jul 2012
Law, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Law, College of Law
1 Sept 2009 → 1 Jul 2010
Award Date: 30 Jun 2010
Sociology, BA, University of Birmingham
1 Sept 2006 → 1 Jul 2009
Award Date: 1 Jul 2009
External positions
North East Legal Support Trust
1 Sept 2016 → …
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 4 Quality Education
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SDG 5 Gender Equality
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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An ‘instrument of harm’? Where parental conflict meets armed conflict: a children’s rights focussed analysis of the judicial interpretation of the ‘grave risk of harm’ defence under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in situations of war.
Coapes, L. & Speed, A., 7 Mar 2026, (Accepted/In press) International Handbook of Child Protection: Laws, Rights, Policies and Practices - Child Protection and Family Conflict. Cham, Switzerland: SpringerResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Transnational Marriage Abandonment
Speed, A., 10 Mar 2026, (Accepted/In press) Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Gender, Sexuality and the Law. Ashford, C. & Graham, L. (eds.). Cheltenham: Edward ElgarResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Beyond borders: A post-Brexit analysis of the domestic and international law challenges in enforcing civil protection orders in the European Union
Clayton-Helm, L. & Speed, A., 25 Aug 2025, In: International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family. 39, 1, 17 p., ebaf022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Downloads (Pure) -
Civil protection orders when crossing jurisdictional lines: Gaps in the law and a call for reform to better protect victims of domestic abuse
Speed, A. & Clayton-Helm, L., 17 Sept 2024, Research Handbook on Domestic Violence and Abuse. Burton, M., Bettinson, V., Richardson, K. & Speed, A. (eds.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 150-168 19 p. (Research Handbooks in Family Law).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)10 Downloads (Pure) -
From Policy to Practice: Critiquing the Implementation of the Domestic Abuse Advocacy Scheme in Family Proceedings from the Perspectives of Qualified Legal Representatives and Key Stakeholders
Speed, A., Richardson, K. & Donnelly, M., 1 Sept 2024, In: Child and Family Law Quarterly. 36, 3, p. 193-212 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
- 2 Invited talk
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Seeking and securing protection from gender-based violence on the border: A case study of the Irish context
Speed, A. (Speaker) & Clayton-Helm, L. (Speaker)
2 Dec 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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From policy to practice: critiquing the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Advocacy Scheme in family proceedings from the perspectives of qualified legal representatives and key stakeholders.
Speed, A. (Speaker)
2 Dec 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Prizes
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LawWorks and Attorney General Pro Bono Awards
Speed, A. (Recipient) & Richardson, K. (Recipient), 1 May 2018
Prize
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Northern Law Awards - shortlisted for trainee solicitor of the year
Speed, A. (Recipient), 24 May 2016
Prize
Thesis
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Seeking and securing protection from domestic abuse through the family courts: an examination into the accessibility of non-molestation and occupation orders under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders under Part Three of
Speed, A. (Author), Hall, E. (Supervisor) & Arthur, R. (Supervisor), 31 Dec 2021Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File
Impacts
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Gender-based violence conference 2019
Speed, A. (Participant) & Richardson, K. (Participant)
Impact: Practitioners and professional services
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International Family Law module
Speed, A. (Participant) & Clayton-Helm, L. (Participant)
Impact: Pedagogic/curricula (within Northumbria)
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Student Law Office (Law in the Community)
Speed, A. (Participant)
Impact: Pedagogic/curricula (within Northumbria)
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Northumbria Law School response to the consultation on the Home Office Preparedness for Covid-19 (domestic abuse).
Speed, A. (Participant), Richardson, K. (Participant) & Thomson, C. (Participant)
Impact
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LEAPS Case study evidence master list
Hall, E. (Participant), Sylvester, C. (Participant), McKeown, P. (Participant), Roper, V. (Participant), Gregersen, E. (Participant), Morse, S. (Participant), Alexander, J. (Participant), Hood, C. (Participant), Dunn, R. (Participant), Simmonds, C. (Participant), Mukwevho, T. (Participant), Speed, A. (Participant), Richardson, K. (Participant), Hall, J. (Participant), Ashford, C. (Participant), Davies, G. (Participant) & Piasecki, E. (Participant)
Impact: Practitioners and professional services, Pedagogic/curricula (beyond Northumbria), Pedagogic/curricula (within Northumbria), Public policy, law and services, Economic, commercial and technological, Health and welfare