Dr Alan Brown
- Senior Lecturer (School of Law)
telephone:
01413305236
email:
Alan.Brown.2@glasgow.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959Biography
Alan Brown joined the School of Law as a Lecturer in Private Law in 2018, having previously been a Lecturer in Law at Abertay University (2017-18), and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2022. He holds an LLB (University of Strathclyde, 2008) and PhD (University of Strathclyde, 2016).
His research interests are primarily in the field of family law, focusing on the construction of the family and parenthood within the law, particularly in the context of assisted reproduction, surrogacy and non-traditional families.
His monograph, ‘What is the Family of Law? – The Influence of the Nuclear Family’, which involves a discursive and theoretical analysis of the definition and construction of ‘family’ within the law, is available from Hart Publishing.
He has presented his work at various academic conferences, both nationally and internationally, and is a member of various academic organisations and networks.
Research interests
His research explores how the law understands and defines the family and familial relationships (particularly that between parent and child).
His research is currently focussed on the legal regulation of parenthood in the context of assisted reproductive technologies. This involves considering the legislative and judicial response to those factual situations (such as surrogacy and ‘home based’ insemination involving known sperm donors) which do not fit easily into the pre-existing and orthodox legal understanding of parenthood.
In that way, as well as family law, his research also touches on aspects of medical law, bioethics and critical legal theory.
Publications
2025
Romanis, Elizabeth Chloe and Brown, Alan 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2025)
Legal parenthood, novel reproductive practices, and the disruption of reproductive biosex.
Modern Law Review, 88(1),
pp. 155-191.
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12914)
2024
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Dunne, Peter
(2024)
All marriages are equal, but some are more equal than others: Trans spouses and voidability rules in England and Wales.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 36(4),
pp. 285-308.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2024)
Reform of the legal framework for origin information in assisted reproduction.
In: Bendall, Charlotte and Parveen, Rehana (eds.)
Family Law Reform Now: Proposals and Critique.
Hart Publishing, pp. 77-97.
ISBN 9781509962181
(doi: 10.5040/9781509962211.ch-003)
Dunne, Peter and Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Trans parenthood in the UK: the “unanswered questions” of the McConnell litigation.
Cambridge Law Journal,
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197324000461)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Suzanne Lenon and Daniel Monk (eds), Inheritance Matters: Kinship, Property, Law, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2023, 326 pp, hb, £90.00.
Modern Law Review,
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12906)[Book Review]
(Early Online Publication)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
What is the purpose of marriage in contemporary legal regulation?
In: Probert, Rebecca and Thompson, Sharon (eds.)
Research Handbook on Marriage, Cohabitation and the Law.
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 8-22.
ISBN 9781802202649
(doi: 10.4337/9781802202656.00007)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Trans (legal) parenthood and the gender of legal parenthood.
Legal Studies, 44(1),
pp. 168-185.
(doi: 10.1017/lst.2023.27)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Parenthood and assisted reproduction.
In: Ashford, Chris and Maine, Alexander (eds.)
Gender, Sexuality and Law: A Textbook.
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 230-249.
ISBN 9781800882652
2023
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2023)
The incoherent role of the child’s identity in the construction and allocation of legal parenthood.
Legal Studies, 43(1),
pp. 29-46.
(doi: 10.1017/lst.2022.21)
2022
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2022)
Parental orders for deceased intended parents: Re X (Foreign Surrogacy: Death of Intended Parent) [2022] EWFC 34.
Medical Law Review, 30(4),
pp. 744-752.
(doi: 10.1093/medlaw/fwac045)
(PMID:36394235)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2022)
'Everyone remains the child of someone': a parental order for an adult.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 44(3),
pp. 411-413.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2022.2102760)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2022)
The legal regulation of cohabitation in Scotland: a failed attempt at compromise.
Houston Journal of International Law, 44(2),
pp. 221-251.
2021
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Trans Parenthood and the Meaning of ‘Mother’, ‘Father’ and ‘Parent’—R (McConnell and YY) v Registrar General for England and Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 559.
Medical Law Review, 29(1),
pp. 157-171.
(doi: 10.1093/medlaw/fwaa036)
(PMID:33718953)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Surrogacy law reform in the UK: the ambiguous position of payments to the surrogate.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 33(2),
pp. 95-114.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
IVF Treatment and “Effective Consent” in the Nobile Officium: B v University of Aberdeen.
Edinburgh Law Review, 25(2),
pp. 215-220.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0695)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Relational Vulnerability: Theory, Law and the Private Family, Ellen Gordon-Bouvier.
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 35(1),
ebab042.
(doi: 10.1093/lawfam/ebab042)[Book Review]
2020
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2020)
The Construction of Fatherhood: The Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, Alice Margaria.
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 34(3),
pp. 333-339.
(doi: 10.1093/lawfam/ebaa013)[Book Review]
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2020)
'Parental rights’, ‘best interests’ and the withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment of children in Scotland: a lack of authority.
In: Goold, Imogen, Auckland, Cressida and Herring, Jonathan (eds.)
Medical Decision-Making on Behalf of Young Children: A Comparative Perspective.
Hart Publishing.
ISBN 9781509928569
2019
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2019)
When is a ‘Mother’ not a ‘Mother?
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 41(3),
pp. 365-367.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2019.1628433)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2019)
What is the family of law? The Influence of the Nuclear Family.
Hart Publishing: Oxford, UK.
ISBN 9781509919581
(doi: 10.5040/9781509919611)
2018
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2018)
Two means two, but must does not mean must: an analysis of recent decisions on the conditions for parental orders in surrogacy.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 30(1),
pp. 23-40.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2018)
Pension sharing in Scotland: general principles in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985?
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 40(1),
pp. 104-106.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2018.1414395)
2014
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2014)
Re G; Re Z (Children: sperm donors: leave to apply for children act orders): essential 'biological fathers' and invisible 'legal parents'.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 26(2),
pp. 237-251.
Articles
Romanis, Elizabeth Chloe and Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2025)
Legal parenthood, novel reproductive practices, and the disruption of reproductive biosex.
Modern Law Review, 88(1),
pp. 155-191.
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12914)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Dunne, Peter
(2024)
All marriages are equal, but some are more equal than others: Trans spouses and voidability rules in England and Wales.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 36(4),
pp. 285-308.
Dunne, Peter and Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Trans parenthood in the UK: the “unanswered questions” of the McConnell litigation.
Cambridge Law Journal,
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197324000461)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Trans (legal) parenthood and the gender of legal parenthood.
Legal Studies, 44(1),
pp. 168-185.
(doi: 10.1017/lst.2023.27)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2023)
The incoherent role of the child’s identity in the construction and allocation of legal parenthood.
Legal Studies, 43(1),
pp. 29-46.
(doi: 10.1017/lst.2022.21)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2022)
Parental orders for deceased intended parents: Re X (Foreign Surrogacy: Death of Intended Parent) [2022] EWFC 34.
Medical Law Review, 30(4),
pp. 744-752.
(doi: 10.1093/medlaw/fwac045)
(PMID:36394235)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2022)
'Everyone remains the child of someone': a parental order for an adult.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 44(3),
pp. 411-413.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2022.2102760)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2022)
The legal regulation of cohabitation in Scotland: a failed attempt at compromise.
Houston Journal of International Law, 44(2),
pp. 221-251.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Trans Parenthood and the Meaning of ‘Mother’, ‘Father’ and ‘Parent’—R (McConnell and YY) v Registrar General for England and Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 559.
Medical Law Review, 29(1),
pp. 157-171.
(doi: 10.1093/medlaw/fwaa036)
(PMID:33718953)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Surrogacy law reform in the UK: the ambiguous position of payments to the surrogate.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 33(2),
pp. 95-114.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
IVF Treatment and “Effective Consent” in the Nobile Officium: B v University of Aberdeen.
Edinburgh Law Review, 25(2),
pp. 215-220.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0695)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2019)
When is a ‘Mother’ not a ‘Mother?
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 41(3),
pp. 365-367.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2019.1628433)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2018)
Two means two, but must does not mean must: an analysis of recent decisions on the conditions for parental orders in surrogacy.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 30(1),
pp. 23-40.
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2018)
Pension sharing in Scotland: general principles in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985?
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 40(1),
pp. 104-106.
(doi: 10.1080/09649069.2018.1414395)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2014)
Re G; Re Z (Children: sperm donors: leave to apply for children act orders): essential 'biological fathers' and invisible 'legal parents'.
Child and Family Law Quarterly, 26(2),
pp. 237-251.
Books
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2019)
What is the family of law? The Influence of the Nuclear Family.
Hart Publishing: Oxford, UK.
ISBN 9781509919581
(doi: 10.5040/9781509919611)
Book Sections
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959 and Wade, Katherine
(2024)
Reform of the legal framework for origin information in assisted reproduction.
In: Bendall, Charlotte and Parveen, Rehana (eds.)
Family Law Reform Now: Proposals and Critique.
Hart Publishing, pp. 77-97.
ISBN 9781509962181
(doi: 10.5040/9781509962211.ch-003)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
What is the purpose of marriage in contemporary legal regulation?
In: Probert, Rebecca and Thompson, Sharon (eds.)
Research Handbook on Marriage, Cohabitation and the Law.
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 8-22.
ISBN 9781802202649
(doi: 10.4337/9781802202656.00007)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Parenthood and assisted reproduction.
In: Ashford, Chris and Maine, Alexander (eds.)
Gender, Sexuality and Law: A Textbook.
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 230-249.
ISBN 9781800882652
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2020)
'Parental rights’, ‘best interests’ and the withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment of children in Scotland: a lack of authority.
In: Goold, Imogen, Auckland, Cressida and Herring, Jonathan (eds.)
Medical Decision-Making on Behalf of Young Children: A Comparative Perspective.
Hart Publishing.
ISBN 9781509928569
Book Reviews
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2024)
Suzanne Lenon and Daniel Monk (eds), Inheritance Matters: Kinship, Property, Law, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2023, 326 pp, hb, £90.00.
Modern Law Review,
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12906)[Book Review]
(Early Online Publication)
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2021)
Relational Vulnerability: Theory, Law and the Private Family, Ellen Gordon-Bouvier.
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 35(1),
ebab042.
(doi: 10.1093/lawfam/ebab042)[Book Review]
Brown, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5402-3959
(2020)
The Construction of Fatherhood: The Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, Alice Margaria.
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 34(3),
pp. 333-339.
(doi: 10.1093/lawfam/ebaa013)[Book Review]
Supervision
Dr Brown would be happy to consider inquiries from students in all areas of family law, for either a doctrinal, socio-legal or theoretical perspective.
Research students under supervision
- Zheng, Congwei
Study on the phenomenon of surrogacy among gay men in China
Teaching
- Family Law (Level 1)
- Property Law (Level 2)
- Issues of Family Law (Level 4)
- Business Law (Level 1)
Additional information
Book Review Editor of Juridical Review, the Law Journal of the Scottish Universities
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Member of the International Society of Family Law, Socio Legal Studies Association and Society of Legal Scholars
Research Assistant on the 7th edition of Professor Joe Thomson’s Textbook, ‘Family Law in Scotland’ (2014)
Regular 'host' of the University of Glasgow's School of Law podcast: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/law/podcast/
Interview with Professor Jane Mair on the subject of his monograph 'What is the Family of Law?' on the School of Law podcast: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/law/podcast/alanbrown/
