Dr Hawkins has held the position of Lecturer in Business Law at the University of Leeds since January 2016. Prior to this she completed her PhD research on the legitimacy of shale gas regulation, and regulatory decision making in the law department at the University of Bristol.  Her research interests lie in the area of environmental law and regulation, focussing to date on the shale gas context in the UK.  She has published on the existing legal/regulatory landscape in the UK (drawing on an analysis of EU and UK law), and the perceived legitimacy of this framework (drawing on empirical data). Her research continues to focus on the regulatory and legal frameworks/decision making structures related to shale gas and public perceptions of these.