[surfacedetail]

I have some serious doubts about this story. Strathclyde Law School does not have Mark Leiser listed as a law lecturer. Searching for "Mark Leiser Strathclyde" produced a page that seems to indicate that he's a PhD student.

If he's not being truthful about this, then I for one would think that he might not be telling the entire truth. Easyjet have replied to this indicating that he might have been disruptive.

Reading this guy's twitter feed also is eye-opening, he comes across as a self-important prick.

[scott_s]

From his academic page,

"I am a PhD Student in Cyber-Law at the University of Strathclyde. I am researching the effects, limits and the legitimacy of regulation and law in cyberspace. I am currently researching what “activates” the active dot in the active/pathetic dot matrix within the context of cyber-legitimacy. My interests are governance -Internet and Corporate, copyright, trademarks, social media and Internet Regulation. I lecture part of Internet Law and am a tutor for Internet Law, Commercial Law, Business Law, Legal methods, and Voluntary Obligations."

Emphasis mine. He is a graduate student who also teaches.

[surfacedetail]

Sorry to be pedantic about this (I'm an academic), but the fact that he tutors and lectures doesn't make him a lecturer. A law lecturer is someone who has been hired and holds that title. I taught a lot while doing my PhD, and I wouldn't have dared to call myself anything other than a PhD student. If anything, my level of suspicion has gone up.

[scott_s]

I would not have called myself a lecturer, either - I also have a PhD, and taught while I was doing it. But I also don't know what the customs are in the UK regarding titles, both official and unofficial.

I also think it's worth noting that I think he does have a law degree. He says "was enrolled," but I can't tell if he also means it was awarded. (I also had to look up LLB and LLM, and I admit I'm still confused on if those are equivalent to the JD that is granted in law schools in the US.)

[surfacedetail]

The UK academic titles are very specific: Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), Reader (short of US tenure), Professor. I can't call myself a lecturer unless I have been appointed to that title.

Law degrees are different as well, there's no direct equivalence. The levels are LLB (minor), practice diploma (sort of JD), LLM (masters), and Phd (graduate school). It's possible to write a PhD in law without having received a law degree, although it is common for law PhDs to at least have finished an LLM.