Professor Ashford is the Interim Deputy Faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Exchange) in the Faculty of Business and Law, and Professor of Law and Society.  He is also the University Senior Sponsor for LGBTQ+ Equality.

Chris has published widely on the area of law and sexuality and legal education. A queer theorist; his research has focused upon challenging normative assumptions about sexuality. He has advised LGBT community and health groups, the NHS, Police and UK Parliament. His legal education research has explored and documented the rise of the apprenticeship route to qualification, and the impact upon Law Schools, whilst his pedagogic research has focused upon the use of technology and media.

Chris was a member of REF2021 Sub-Panel UoA18 (Law) and is a member of the ESRC and AHRC Peer Review Colleges. In 2020 he was appointed to the Advisory Council of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS). He also served as Chair of the 2023 QAA Law Subject Benchmark Statement review. He previously undertook the minor 2019 review of the QAA Law Benchmark Statement (which defines the academic standards that can be expected of UK law graduates), and he was a member of the 2014 Review Group. Following this review, he worked with the USAID Justice for All project in Ukraine to better connect legal education practitioners, regulators and Government across the two jurisdictions.

He is a former Chair of the Association of Law Teachers(2015-2017), a former Vice Chair, Secretary, Trustee and Board member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA), and a former member of the SLS Legal Education Sub-Committee. He was a member of the 2015 Bar Standards Board (BSB) Academic Stage Working Group, and 2016 BSB Pathways to Qualification Task Completion Group.

He was General Editor of The Law Teacher: The International Journal of Legal Education (published by Routledge) between 2014 and 2024, and now serves as Joint Consultant Editor.

He has worked with various UKHEIs to advise on research quality and strategy.  He is also a former Chair of the LGBTQ arts organisation Curious.