Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +44 (0) 121 204 4308

Chris Umfreville is Deputy Dean Education in the College of Business and Social Sciences. He has responsibility for Education strategy and activities across the College, including responsibility for portfolio review and development, quality assurance and enhancement, student experience, and learning and teaching development across the College’s three Schools.

Chris is a Senior Lecturer in Aston Law School, specialising in the law of business organisations, with a particular focus on corporate insolvency law. Prior to entering academia, Chris was a practising solicitor at an international law firm, with a practice focused on Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency, working with major UK and international banks and insolvency practitioners on a broad range of pre- and post-insolvency advisory work.

The main focus of Chris' research is in the field of corporate insolvency, and in particular the administration process and the concept of corporate rescue. Chris has published work in a number of academic and practitioner journals, has presented at a number of national and international insolvency law conferences, and is a contributing editor for Palmer’s Company Law and Palmer's Insolvency Law.

Chris has conducted externally funded research projects on behalf of the Insolvency Service as part of the Graham Review into Pre-Pack Administrations and R3, the trade body of the insolvency profession, including the 2018 project in conjunction with the ICAEW Company Voluntary Arrangements: Evaluating Success and Failure. 

Since joining Aston, Chris has led on the organisation of a number of conferences. In November 2018 Chris organised the conference 15 Years of the Enterprise Act 2002 Insolvency Reforms: Reflection and thoughts on further reform, together with Professor Peter Walton from the University of Wolverhampton. The conference was held at Aston University and the proceedings published across two editions of the journal Insolvency Intelligence. In November 2021 Chris played a leading role on the organising committee of the inaugural Insolvency Service Research & Technical Conference, which was hosted at Aston University, featuring papers from leading academics and practitioners. The conference proceedings were published on the Insolvency Service website.

Chris' teaching focuses on all aspects of company law, with a special interest in corporate insolvency law. Chris has previously taught on LLB, LLM and LPC programmes in modules including Business Law and Practice, Insolvency Law and Practice and  International Corporate Insolvency. Chris has wide experience of Transnational Education, with experience in Hong Kong, Mauritius and South Africa, and has acted as an External Examiner across a range of provision at several UK institutions.

In 2021 Chris led Aston Law School in hosting the Association of Law Teachers' 2021 Annual Conference. The Conference was hosted online for the first time, attracting a global audience of presenters and delegates.

In September 2022 Chris was awarded the Aston Achievement Award for Excellence in Learning in Teaching for his work in teaching of undergraduate Company Law.

• Academic Member of the Insolvency Lawyers Association 
• Member of the Society of Legal Scholars 
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

• "Company Voluntary Arrangements: Evaluating Success and Failure" (2018) for R3 Association of Business Recovery Professionals, Co-authors Professor Peter Walton and Dr Lezelle Jacobs
• "Insolvency Practitioner Fees – an Empirical Investigation" (2015) for R3 Association of Business Recovery Professionals, Co-author Professor Peter Walton, University of Wolverhampton 
• “Pre-Pack Empirical Research: Characteristic and Outcome Analysis of Pre-Pack administration” (2014) for the Insolvency Service as part of the Graham Review into Pre-pack Administration, Co-authors Professor Peter Walton and Dr Paul Wilson, University of Wolverhampton

Contributing editor, Palmer's Company Law (Part 14 - Company Administrations, Receiverships and Volntary Arrangements and Part 15 - Winding Up)

Contributing editor, Palmer's Insolvency Law (Part 2 - Company Administrations, Receiverships and Volntary Arrangements and Part 3 - Winding Up)

Chris has experience of both written and broadcast media, including being interviewed by numerous BBC outlets on insolvency law developments such as the administration of Jamies Italian, the pre-pack of Debenhams and the Arcadia Group CVA proposals.

Chris features in the 'Aston means business' podcast series. In the first podcast 'What happens when the money runs out', Chris was interviewed by Steve Dyson about different aspects of insolvency and corporate rescue, including exploring the different options available to businesses in financial trouble, along with their legal responsibilities.

Academic 

• Lecturer in Law, Aston Business School (2017 - Present) 
• Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Wolverhampton (2012 - 2017) 

Legal 

• Solicitor, Eversheds LLP (2009 - 2012) 
• Trainee Solicitor, Eversheds LLP (2007 - 2009)

• LLM Professional Practice, University of Wolverhampton, 2014 
• PG Certificate Higher Education,University of Wolverhampton, 2013 
• PG Diploma in Legal Practice, Nottingham Trent University, 2007 
• Graduate LLB (Hons), Nottingham Trent University, 2007 
• PG Diploma in Law, Nottingham Trent University, 2006 
• BA (Hons) Ancient and Medieval History, University of Birmingham, 2004