Graham Virgo

In 2003, Virgo was promoted to Reader in Law.[7] In 2007, he was appointed to a personal Professorship of English Private Law at the University of Cambridge.[8][9] In 2008, he was elected an Academic Bencher at Lincoln's Inn. In 2012, he was appointed Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.[10] He stepped down from this role in 2014.[11]

Virgo's research interests are in criminal law, restitution, the law of contract, equity and trusts.[12] He described the decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Bank of Cyprus UK Ltd v Menelaou as "the worst decision in the history of the Supreme Court, betraying such ignorance of the law and legal principle and such confusion about the nature of judging",[13] prompting Lord Neuberger, who had delivered the leading judgment, to lament the article as "over-the top" in his retirement lecture at Oxford.[14] In 2009, he delivered a paper at the Law Society of England and Wales titled The Law of Unjust Enrichment in the House of Lords: Judging the Judges.[15]

Virgo is credited with contributions to the growing law of restitution in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he was the Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Law Fellow at the University of Melbourne law school.[11] Virgo was the New Zealand Law Foundation's Distinguished Visiting Fellow in 2016, during which he gave lectures at various universities including the University of Auckland, University of Canterbury, University of Otago and University of Waikato.[16] In 2017, he was appointed Queen's counsel (honoris causa) in recognition of his work in restitution.[5] In 2019, he was the Jones Day Visiting Professor in Commercial Law at Singapore Management University.[17][18] His work has been frequently cited in the English courts, including in the Supreme Court, and has shaped the direction of the law of unjust enrichment, mistake, and other related areas of restitution.[19]

Virgo at a lecture in Singapore in 2019

Virgo has described his teaching and pastoral style as being influenced by his former Tutor, John Hopkins.[6] In particular, he describes having learnt how to interview, supervise, and develop a genuine fondness for his students from him. In 2002, he was awarded the Pilkington Prize from the University of Cambridge in recognition of outstanding teaching in Law. On 1 April 2003, he was appointed Senior Tutor of Downing College,[20] a role which gave him responsibility over both educational matters and the overall well-being of the students at the College. He stayed in this role until 2013.[20] When he stepped down as Senior Tutor, he described the students of Downing College as having made his time as Senior Tutor "the happiest of [his] life".[20] In 2004, he was appointed Director of Studies for Law at Downing College.[21] He stepped down as Director of Studies in 2014.[22]

In 2013, Virgo engaged in a debate with Lord Sumption at the University of Cambridge on the topic "Those Who Wish to Practise Law Should Not Study Law at University", arguing against the motion.[23] That year, Virgo was also a finalist for both the OUP Law Teacher of the Year and the LawCareers.net Law Teacher of the Year Award.[24] In 2017, when he was appointed Queen's counsel (honoris causa), the announcement celebrated his "significant contribution to the teaching of law."[5]

He was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education in 2014, with responsibility for developing education policy and strategy for the University.[24] Virgo has addressed problems of sexual misconduct within the University of Cambridge[25] and suggested that the University may phase out the traditional academic 1st/2.i/2.ii/3rd system with a US-style GPA system in an attempt to stem grade inflation.[26]